Neither Donald Trump nor Patrick Shanahan, chief of Pentagon was unaware of any effort to move the USS John McCain that was stationed near the site of his recent speech in Japan.
Trump wrote on Twitter: "I was not informed about anything having to do with the Navy Ship USS John S. McCain during my recent visit to Japan."
Commander Clay Doss, a spokesman for the Navy's Seventh Fleet, said the tarpaulin was taken down on Saturday before Trump's visit to the area. "All ships remained in normal configuration during the President's visit," Doss said, Telegraph reported.
Lieutenant Colonel Joe Buccino, a Pentagon spokesman, said acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan was not aware of the directive.
"Secretary Shanahan was not aware of the directive to move the USS John S McCain nor was he aware of the concern precipitating the directive," Buccino said.
Shanahan said he heard about it on Thursday morning.
"When I read about it this morning, it was the first I heard about it," Shanahan told reporters in Jakarta after a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart.
The USS John S McCain is named for the late senator and his father and grandfather, who were both Navy admirals.
Meghan McCain, the late senator's eldest daughter, criticised Trump on Twitter on Wednesday, saying, Trump "will always be deeply threatened by the greatness of my dad's incredible life ... nine months since he passed, Trump won't let him RIP. So I have to stand up for him."
