There was a time when the President of the United States understood that America’s holiday was non-partisan. That is to say, people of all political stripes can enjoy a celebration of our independence together. On the block I’ve lived on for the last 20 years, up in the Republican part of town, that meant I could have a cul-de-sac barbecue with the neighbors and at night we pooled our fireworks and did one big show, trading cigars to light them with.
It looks like those days are gone.
In place of the standard celebration this year in our nation’s capital, Donald Trump intends to hold what basically amounts to a campaign rally right at the Lincoln Memorial, co-opting the festivities we already have every year and replacing them with a military-themed parade and event celebrating… well, himself.
He told us he planned to do as much all the way back in February, and even referred to himself as America’s “favorite President” (not for the first or last time):
HOLD THE DATE! We will be having one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, D.C., on July 4th. It will be called “A Salute To America” and will be held at the Lincoln Memorial. Major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite President, me!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2019
Then at his Orlando rally, he made his intent clear — he means for this to be a campaign event, not a Fourth of July celebration. He implored his supporters to “bring flags” to the Lincoln Memorial event, and although he didn’t specify the flags should be American, it’s an even-money bet that at least half of those brought by anyone at his rallies will say his name on them. In fact, people who disagree with Mr. Trump didn’t even hear the directive to bring flags until after his rally — they were booted out in advance, into George W. Bush-style “free speech zones.”
Will there be announcements on a loudspeaker directing anyone who’s there to protest Trump to get out, like there were in Orlando? That’s an even-money bet as well.
But the bitterest irony of all is Trump’s chosen location. Inscribed on the Lincoln Memorial is that President’s second inaugural address — short enough to be unabridged, unlike one of Trump’s hour-long sermons about the evils of brown or poor people — which ends with a quote you might recognize both for its beauty and for how opposite of it Donald Trump’s presidency has been:
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan–to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”
If only we could shake Lincoln himself awake from his white Georgia marble slumber, maybe on the night of July third, that he could dispatch with Trump’s false patriotism once and for all.
Featured image via screen capture
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