In February of this year, American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were attacked by large group of Russian mercenaries and Syrian forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad numbering in the hundreds.
Although we know some of the details of that confrontation, the details remain classified but that did not stop Trump from bragging about it during a private fundraiser.
The battle was over in about “10 minutes," he reportedly said.
The details of the battle remain classified, but speaking to donors in midtown Manhattan last Wednesday, Trump said he was amazed by the performance of American F-18 pilots. He suggested that the strikes may have been as brief as “10 minutes” and taken out 100 to 300 Russians, according to a person briefed on the president’s remarks, which have not previously been reported. [...]
The fundraiser at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel was attended by about 100 of Trump’s top-dollar supporters, who paid a minimum of $50,000 a head to attend the dinner. Though protesters lined the streets outside, Trump was greeted warmly by supporters inside, including his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
The New York Times exclusively published a detailed account of the confrontation last week and their reporting indicates the battle began at 10 p.m. local time and continued throughout the night. It was not over in "10 minutes."
Although the office of the president has the authority to declassify anything they want to, the White House has not officially declassified these reports as far as we know. The White House has also refused to talk about the confrontation when specifically asked about it.
I have to wonder why the details remain classified if it appears to be common knowledge at this point. Do we have an informal agreement not to talk about it? Did Trump break that agreement?
For Trump to casually talk about this in front of his donors tells me he was very thirsty for some applause and aggrandizement.