GOP/OHIO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump cracked a joke during his visit to an Ohio army tank plant on Wednesday [3-20-19], telling a crowd that he would have gotten into one of the tanks on showcase behind him if it wasn’t for former presidential contender Michael Dukakis…What turned out to be one of the biggest political blunders in modern times sunk Dukakis, a Democrat serving as the governor of Massachusetts, in the 1988 presidential race against George H.W. Bush. Throughout the campaign, Dukakis was criticized for being weak on defense and national security. Bush, on the other hand, was a World War II veteran who had also served as vice president and director of the CIA. So, the Dukakis campaign made it a priority to focus on national security in an effort to beef up his credibility. The campaign went to a defense contracting facility in Michigan, where Dukakis climbed into one of the tanks. That’s where he made a critical mistake. He put on a helmet.”
–Christal Hayes, “President Trump could have climbed into a tank but didn’t. He blamed Michael Dukakis,” USA Today, March 20, 2019 8:27 pm