The inclusion of military hardware in a July 4 celebration in the nation’s capital featuring fireworks, music, speeches at the Lincoln Memorial and a flyover by the Blue Angels has raised the suspicions of some on the far left.
President Trump has a hidden, sinister motive that goes beyond merely celebrating America’s independence, contends MSNBC’s Joy Reid: He’s sending a threatening message to American citizens.
“Who is that message to? It’s certainly not to tyrants because he like (sic) tyrants, he loves tyrants. It’s not to Putin, it’s not to Kim Jong Un, it’s not to the Saudis. Is it to our friends? Is it to Western democracies, who he doesn’t particularly like? Or is it to us? Is it to the resistance in this country? ‘I got tanks, I have this military armada.’ The message is a threat. But it’s always a threat when you roll out your military. But it’s to whom is the threat, and I suspect that the threat is to his fellow Americans. And I hate to say that, but I think that Donald Trump styles himself a tyrant, not a defeater of tyrants.”
Others on the left joined the chorus charging that the president is making the celebration “political.”
Rubbish, responded talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh.
He argued Independence Day is political by its very nature.
“The Democrats are out there, ‘Trump is turning July 4th celebration into a political event. It’s unfair. He shouldn’t do it. It’s never been done before! Previous presidents have never made speeches.’ What do you mean July 4th is not political? It is precisely a political event! I don’t care how you define it. July 4th, what is it? It’s Independence Day.”
It’s the day the U.S. declared its independence and “began the process of becoming a country.”
“If that’s not political, I don’t know what it is.”
He said the left’s underlying hatred for the holiday and its symbols is plain. A Harvard study, noted Limbaugh, “found that images, patriotic images – of, say, the American flag, fireworks, this kind of thing – the visual images, the graphics that are associated with patriotism remind people of Republicans.”
“They promote Republican Party values – or, in this case, conservative values,” he said.
“That’s what this is about.”
“The Democrats know full well when people are exposed to American symbols and patriotic displays and songs, their political leaning moves to the right!”
He said what Democrats need to do is join Republicans in celebrating the 4th.
Limbaugh said he thinks what Democrats mean by saying July 4th is not political is that it doesn’t belong to one party.
“Well, then join us! You are the guys abandoning us. You’re the guys on the left! You don’t want anything to do with the flag, you don’t want anything to do with patriotism. You want to sit there and tear it all down,” he said.
Politico reported MSNBC was refusing to carry the 4th’s “Salute to America” live.
The report claimed that the administration was “politicizing the typically nonpartisan celebration … and militarizing it with fighter jets flying overhead.”
The Stamford Advocate reported two Bradley Fighting Vehicles are parked next to the Lincoln Memorial as the “apolitical fireworks fest that typically marks Independence Day in the District of Columbia will be upended this week.”
Demonstrations will include a flag burning, a singalong and an orange balloon.
The report said, “Sgt. Eduardo Delgado, a spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, which has jurisdiction over the Nationals Mall and Freedom Plaza, the site of Saturday’s right-wing ‘Demand Free Speech’ rally, said the department’s civil disobedience unit has been activated for Thursday and Saturday but won’t be deployed unless needed.”
He said people would be “watching.”
The report said hundreds are expected to oppose the president’s presence.
Dozens of groups and individuals had sought space on the National Mall to exhibit their opinions.
Twitter news aggregator Twitchy pointed out that Rob Reiner, “one of the leaders of the Hollywood chapter of the anti-Trump Resistance,” doesn’t like what he sees.
Reiner tweeted, “In the face of a humanitarian crisis, that this malignant narcissist would steal taxpayer dollars to stage a partisan display of Autocracy to massage his damaged psyche is nothing short of sociopathic.”
In the face of a humanitarian crisis, that this malignant narcissist would steal taxpayer dollars to stage a partisan display of Autocracy to massage his damaged psyche is nothing short of sociopathic.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) July 3, 2019
Twitchy noted Reiner was singing in a different key only weeks ago.
“Reiner sounded very different back when Trump was the one warning about a ‘crisis’ at the border,” it reported.
Tonight the media will turn the oldest living Democracy into a reality show by allowing a pathological liar to treat American citizens like suckers. THERE IS NO CRISIS AT THE BORDER!
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) January 8, 2019
Laurence Tribe compared what’s going on in Washington to Tiananmen Square in communist China.
The resemblance to days before Tiananmen Square is chilling. https://t.co/cFJJZzL4F7
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) July 2, 2019
Twitchy said, “Why no, the Resistance hasn’t completely lost any sense of historic scope, why do you ask?”
MSNBC warned that tanks were seen arriving in Washington for the holiday events, and former Bill Clinton labor secretary Robert Reich called the news “profoundly disturbing.”
WUSA in Washington noted D.C. congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said, “Weapons of war have no place on the National Mall” even as the military was telling residents not to worry about the displays.
John Noonan discounted the criticism: “Military static displays have been a thing for centuries. Military air shows get millions of visitors annually. Our military is the most trusted institution in the country. You know what’ll happen. Some kids will get to crawl around in a Bradley and M1A1. That’s it.”
Robert J. O’Neill, the former U.S. Navy SEAL credited with shooting Osama bin Laden, urged leftists frenzied by the tanks to cool down:
Dear triggered Americans:
These tanks are on your side. You’d know if they weren’t.— Robert J. O’Neill (@mchooyah) July 3, 2019
