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Trump’s sad, strange, somewhat Soviet Fourth of July spectacle

  

Category:  Op/Ed

Via:  john-russell  •  5 years ago  •  49 comments

Trump’s sad, strange, somewhat Soviet Fourth of July spectacle
On another level, however, the speech was indeed offensive. Not only did it attempt to militarize our most sacred national holiday, but Trump tried to bathe himself in borrowed legitimacy from a military that was forced to march, sing and fly for him.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T





512

JR

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https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-trumps-sad-strange-fourth-of-july-20190705-57dkgu2gvnfdho7x4gdnqb4rpm-story.html

Let’s get an obvious point about President Trump’s Independence Day speech out of the way right at the top. It was a bad speech.





It wasn’t bad in the way most of Donald Trump’s speeches are bad, in that it was not overtly objectionable. It was relatively free of the populist claptrap and barely disguised racism that characterizes so many of the president’s rally addresses. In some ways, it was even anodyne, and certainly not even in the same league as his hideous “American carnage” inaugural address.





Instead, it was just a poorly written speech: a long, cliché-plagued, rambling trip through American history that tried to name-check battles and famous people as applause lines. Imagine “We Didn’t Start the Fire” if Billy Joel had been born in 1776 and his producers told him to take as much time as he needed to finish the song.





On that level, the “Salute to America” was a flop. Perhaps this was unavoidable, since it was never meant to salute America, but rather to provide the military display Trump has wanted for two years. Like any enforced celebration, it was flat and labored. There were no memorable phrases, no vivid images and no bold proposals — unless you count a promise to NASA stalwart Gene Kranz to plant a U.S. flag on Mars one day. It would have been a challenging speech to deliver even for a better speaker, and Trump, who hates reading from prepared remarks, plodded through it with a strangely detached presence and a certain amount of mushy enunciation, including a weird blip where he referred to the glorious military capture of some airports in colonial America.





On another level, however, the speech was indeed offensive. Not only did it attempt to militarize our most sacred national holiday, but Trump tried to bathe himself in borrowed legitimacy from a military that was forced to march, sing and fly for him.





There’s nothing wrong with recounting stories of American military heroism and bravery. We even have an entire holiday called Veterans Day devoted to honoring the sacrifices and valor of the men and women who have served our country. And it’s perfectly appropriate to remember that the United States was born out of a revolution, in which both ink and gunpowder were powerful weapons against monarchism and tyranny.





It is another matter entirely, however, to call forward the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs and make them stand there during a cheerless reading of the exploits of each branch of the armed services while a military chorus sings their anthems and their various aircraft roar past — including the narcissistic insistence that Air Force One fly overhead as the president took the stage. (It was also silly, because Air Force One isn’t “Air Force One” unless the president is on board.)





Mining the glories of past military battles while flanked by defense chiefs is the kind of thing Soviet leaders used to do while droning from their reviewing stand in Moscow. It wasn’t patriotic or stirring; it was cringe-inducing. This is probably one of many reasons that former Secretary of Defense James Mattis and former Chief of Staff John Kelly — both retired generals — reportedly squashed this idea whenever it came up.






The “Salute to America,” in the end, was a miniature military review, held as a partisan exercise for an insecure president who thirsts for legitimacy as a military hero. Our Constitution vests the leadership of the armed forces in an elected civilian for a reason, not least among them so that our republic does not fall prey to a generalissimo or a caudillo.





The speech itself was not the problem. Its content will be forgotten — except, perhaps by students of speechwriting, who might use it as an example of what to avoid in their craft. Everything around it, however, from beginning to end, was an offense to the traditions of our republic and our Constitution.





Nichols is a professor at the Naval War College and a former Republican Senate aide. The views expressed here are his alone.




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JohnRussell
Professor Principal
1  seeder  JohnRussell    5 years ago

The “Salute to America,” in the end, was a miniature military review, held as a partisan exercise for an insecure president who thirsts for legitimacy as a military hero. Our Constitution vests the leadership of the armed forces in an elected civilian for a reason, not least among them so that our republic does not fall prey to a generalissimo or a caudillo.

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Expert
2  MrFrost    5 years ago

Could someone please explain to grandpa that there were no airports during the Revolutionary War?

FFS

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
2.2  seeder  JohnRussell  replied to  MrFrost @2    5 years ago

Trump had never seen the speech before and he got jumbled up.  Most likely the word that came out airports in his mouth was "ports" in the text.  Even that doesnt make complete sense though. It would be interesting to see the words as written, but I dont think the White House will show us that. 

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Expert
2.2.1  MrFrost  replied to  JohnRussell @2.2    5 years ago

So we should give Trump a pass because he was too stupid read the speech at least once before giving it? 

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
2.2.2  seeder  JohnRussell  replied to  MrFrost @2.2.1    5 years ago

His aides are just happy that there was a script. Imagine the calamity had he been ad libbing.

 
 
 
It Is ME
Masters Guide
2.2.3  It Is ME  replied to  JohnRussell @2.2.2    5 years ago
His aides are just happy that there was a script. Imagine the calamity had he been ad libbing.

The "Could have been" rant !

Love it ! jrSmiley_10_smiley_image.gif

Any more "Innuendo and Conjecture" you'd like to SHARE ! jrSmiley_100_smiley_image.jpg

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Expert
3  MrFrost    5 years ago

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
3.1  seeder  JohnRussell  replied to  MrFrost @3    5 years ago

There is a big blowhard element to Donald J. Trump. 

 
 
 
It Is ME
Masters Guide
5  It Is ME    5 years ago

I thought it was GREAT !

It was nothing like the "LEFTY" Crap news tried to portrait it as. jrSmiley_90_smiley_image.gif

And the Talking points from the Dems running for President, even before it happened.....Fucking Price-LESS ! jrSmiley_10_smiley_image.gif

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Expert
5.1  MrFrost  replied to  It Is ME @5    5 years ago

Trump thinks there were airports during the Revolutionary War.  Laugh it up...lol

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Expert
5.1.2  MrFrost  replied to  XDm9mm @5.1.1    5 years ago

So you won't be voting for Obama 3 years ago in an election he wasn't running it?

You have ODS, see a doctor.

 
 
 
It Is ME
Masters Guide
5.1.3  It Is ME  replied to  MrFrost @5.1    5 years ago
Trump thinks there were airports during the Revolutionary War.  Laugh it up...lol

"Hiccups" do happen.....wouldn't you agree ?

"Open (wait until my re-election) Mics" and …. How many "States" do we really have now ?

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Expert
6  MrFrost    5 years ago

"Young people should sign up for the military!!!!"

Signed,

Five deferment donny.

 
 
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
7  PJ    5 years ago

I am happy to say that I did NOT tune in to the Donny show.  I did some work around my house and finally put up my flag (I've been out of town more than in town). 

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
8  Tacos!    5 years ago

It was supposed to be this grand catastrophe for democracy and it turned out to be pretty ordinary. He talked about our history, called for unity, and didn't attack the media or the other party. Nothing really to complain about and yet . . . here we are. Once again the partisans who oppose him point at ordinary behavior, clutch their pearls, pant heavily and pretend something terrible just happened. It's a wonder we're all still talking and breathing.

 
 
 
tomwcraig
Junior Silent
9  tomwcraig    5 years ago

When did Dwight David Eisenhower and John Fitzgerald Kennedy become Soviets?  They both had parades in DC that included tanks.

 
 
 
Jeremy Retired in NC
Professor Expert
10  Jeremy Retired in NC    5 years ago

It's funny but sad watching the left go absolutely batshit crazy over this.  All the problems in this country and THIS is what you all focused on.

 
 
 
freepress
Freshman Silent
11  freepress    5 years ago

After trashing Obama for reading a teleprompter, Trump uses the sad excuse that he slurred his words and sounded demented in his rambling speech with references to history because the rain caused his TELEPROMPTER to fail. 

No, Trump failed as he has with everything he does, multiple bankruptcies, multiple failed marriages, and a tweet record that is causing him to fail in courts because he lies and contradicts everything that comes out of his own mouth.

To top it off after the right wing went viciously after Michelle Obama for a sleeveless dress and Obama's tan suit, they say nothing about Melania going braless and nipples showing at this fake display of pageantry that was nothing but a taxpayer funded campaign ad.

 
 

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