Donald Trump discussed response to North Korea missile test at Mar-a-Lago dinner table
Updated
The White House Situation Room is usually used by the US President to discuss international and domestic crises.
But last week diners at Donald Trump's private country club got an inside look as the President created his own Situation Room — around a dinner table.
Members of Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago club posted pictures on social media of the President being briefed on and discussing a response to a North Korean missile test in the outdoor dining area of the estate.
Richard DeAgazio posted three pictures on Facebook of Mr Trump and his guest, Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe, being briefed on the situation.
Their discussions on the highly sensitive international incident were in full view and earshot of other members of the club.
"HOLY MOLY!!! It was fascinating to watch the flurry of activity at dinner when the news came that North Korea had launched a missile in the direction of Japan," Mr DeAgazio said in his Facebook post.
"Wow... the centre of the action!!!"
Mr DeAgazio has since deleted his Facebook account.
Another Mar-a-Lago diner, an employee at a furniture design firm, according to Slate, also posted pictures to Instagram showing Mr Trump looking at the camera while discussions continued behind him.
'Waiters brought mains as Trump discussed response'
After news of the missile test came to light, CNN reported Mr Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon and then-national security adviser Michael Flynn joined him at the dinner table for the discussion.
Because the area was only lit with candles, aides used camera lights on their phones to help Mr Trump and Mr Abe read documents about the incident.
That was a security risk, according to the Washington Post, because the cameras in the phones could have been hacked by foreign powers to read the documents.
Waiters continued to clear appetisers and deliver the main course as the men discussed how to respond to the incident, the report said.
First Lady Melania Trump and Mr Abe's wife Akie watched on as the discussion happened.
Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted her disapproval after details of the discussion broke.
Flynn resigns over Russia conversations
It is not the only national security situation the White House is dealing with at the moment.
Mr Flynn has resigned as national security adviser over a controversy involving his contact with Russia's ambassador to the US before Mr Trump's inauguration.
Last week a US official told The Associated Press that Mr Flynn was in frequent contact with ambassador Sergey Kislyak on the day the Obama administration slapped sanctions on Russia for election-related hacking.
It is illegal for private citizens to conduct US diplomacy.
Mr Flynn's conversations also raised questions about Mr Trump's friendly posture toward Russia after US intelligence agencies concluded that Moscow hacked Democratic emails during the election.
ABC/AP
Topics: donald-trump, world-politics, government-and-politics, united-states
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