Glenn Thrush: ‘Dissonance’ Between W.H. and Pentagon

POLITICO Senior Staff Writer Glenn Thrush said that “time and time again” there was a “dissonance” between the White House and the Pentagon in a discussion on Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl on Tuesday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” on MSNBC.

“[There’s] this dissonance that you’ve seen time and time again between the West Wing, the White House, and the Pentagon, different information flowing out of one building, different information from another. It seems oftentimes, that they’re not only [not] on the same page, but that the White House, in this case, the National Security Advisor wasn’t getting the kind of information necessary from the Pentagon so that she wouldn’t embarrass herself on national television [with her comments on Bowe Bergdahl’s military service]” he stated.

Thrush earlier said that while he agreed with earlier comments by MSNBC Contributor EJ Dionne that the US has “traded for our people before,” he did push back against Dionne’s argument about the Bergdahl case being politicized by pointing out that the White House brought Bergdahl’s family to the Rose Garden and went on multiple Sunday shows to promote the decision and that such actions mean “to some extent, you are embracing and politicizing the decision,” and that the highlighting of the Bergdahl swap was a “strategic decision” undertaken during a time where the White House’s approval ratings were low and there were few positive stories for the White House.

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