It’s the 4th of July and Donald Trump has taken this solemn occasion to produce the sequel to his inaugural address: “American Carnage.” This follow up can be called “American Mayhem,” because that’s the dominant narrative that Trump exuded throughout the speech. It was a spasm of hostility and alienation on a day that is meant to embrace unity. If anything it affirmed speculation as to Trump’s obvious and worsening mental infirmity.
The event should never have been held in the first place. It required people to defy all of the guidance of health experts to maintain physical distance and wear face masks. And this defiance occurred while the COVID-19 pandemic was spiking to record highs. Even close associates of Trump have recently tested positive for the coronavirus, including Don Jr’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle (who is also a Trump campaign official and former Fox News shill).
None of that, however, was sufficient to dissuade Trump from going forward with his ego-stroking cult rally. His selfish and narcissistic needs outweigh the welfare of the American people. And this is not merely a personal choice by those who wished to attend the event, because they will return to their homes and spread the virus in those communities to people who didn’t want anything to do with Trump’s festival of bombast.
The speech itself was purposefully composed to create more conflict and animosity within the American family. Trump focused heavily on his defense of Confederate traitors and the monuments erected to undeservedly honor them. It comprised the majority of his remarks, while the surging pandemic was reduced to a few words at the outset, then forgotten. Trump’s harangue took shape with this heinous rant:
“The violent mayhem we have seen in the streets and cities that are run by liberal Democrats in every case, is the predictable result of years of extreme indoctrination and bias in education, journalism, and other cultural institutions. Against every law of society and nature, our children are taught in school to hate their own country and to believe that the men and women who built it were not heroes but that were villains.”
First of all, the protests that spontaneously erupted in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police were overwhelmingly peaceful, and the participants included a broad array of America’s populace. And it’s simply a flagrant lie to say that these demonstrations were limited to “cities that are run by liberal Democrats.” They took place in over 250 cities, including many with Republican mayors (i.e. San Diego, Jacksonville, Fort Worth, Omaha, Miami, and many more). In fact, estimates show that up to 26 million people joined this Black Lives Matter movement, making it the largest in American history.
Trump’s wild and baseless assertions about “indoctrination” in education and journalism are rehashes of his relentless whining about Americans having the audacity to engage in independent thought that doesn’t idolize him. As usual, Trump offered no evidence of his preposterous claim that “children are taught in school to hate their own country.” Although, he did rattle on about the actual villains of the Confederacy that he has taken into his withered heart. But he was just getting started.
“In our schools, our newsrooms, even our corporate boardrooms, there is a new far-left fascism that demands absolute allegiance. If you do not speak its language, perform its rituals, recite its mantras, and follow its commandments, then you will be censored, banished, blacklisted, persecuted, and punished. It’s not going to happen to us. Make no mistake. This left-wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American Revolution.”
Once again, Trump is alleging disciplinary measures that are simply fabrications from his own diseased imagination. If anything, it’s the Trump administration that engages in that punitive behavior. He has literally conducted purges of Justice Department attorneys, inspectors general, and even his own personal picks for his top White House aides, when they were less than totally obedient. What’s more, Trump’s references to “far-left fascism” and “left-wing cultural revolution” are not only bizarre distortions of reality, they are unabashedly partisan attacks during what is supposed to be a non-partisan event.
If Trump wants to turn this into another campaign rally, then he, not the American people, should be paying for it. He is using taxpayer dollars to advance his political aspirations (pathetic as they are). It’s en encouraging sign that the only cable news network that carried Trump’s speech live was, of course, Fox News. So Trump is getting less exposure than he surely must have been hoping for.
It’s notable that Trump has been avoiding the media lately. In the past he would use these trips to hold impromptu “Chopper Talks” on the lawn of the White House, or going to and from these affairs. But in the wake of the surging pandemic, civil unrest, and news of his betrayal of American soldiers by permitting Russia to put bounties on their heads without repercussions, Trump is apparently afraid to face questions from the press. And while it’s a relief to have a respite from his incoherent bellowing, he still needs to be held accountable to the people.
UPDATE: On July 4th Trump doubled down on his racism and hostility in a speech in Washington, D.C. He made brazenly partisan attacks on what he called the “radical left,” comparing them to Nazis and terrorists. So in one broad sweep he’s trivializing the acts of history’s actual genocidal murderers, while offending the millions of Americans who took to the streets last month, and the Democratic patriots who support them.
How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.
