MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump said late Thursday [10-5-17] that a meeting with his military leaders was ‘the calm before the storm,’ but what he meant by his ominous comment remained unclear.
When pressed for more details, the president said, ‘you’ll find out,’ a declaration that comes amid more turmoil in his own cabinet and several foreign policy challenges around the world.
Mr. Trump was speaking ahead of a planned dinner with military leaders and their spouses. Just before the dinner, reporters were ushered into the State Dining Room at the White House. The president addressed the reporters and said, ‘You guys know what this represents?’
One reporter asked the president to elaborate. He responded, ‘Maybe it’s the calm before the storm.’ It was when he was asked what he meant that he replied, ‘You’ll find out.’
The episode raised questions about whether the Trump administration was planning some kind of military action. For weeks, Mr. Trump has been promising to respond to any North Korean aggression toward the United States.”
-Eileen Sullivan, “Trump Calls Meeting With Military Leaders ‘the Calm Before the Storm’,” The New York Times online, Oct. 6, 2017