WaPo Ed. Board: Trump will hijack any event for partisan politics. Please, not the Fourth of July.
Source: Washington Post
Trump will hijack any event for partisan politics. Please, not the Fourth of July.
By Editorial Board May 13 at 7:34 PM
IN THE abstract, it might seem fitting for the president of the United States to deliver an address to the country as part of the Fourth of July festivities in the nations capital. It is, after all, the countrys birthday; why shouldnt the nations highest officeholder lead the celebration? There is even some precedent with Ronald Reagan in 1987 at the Jefferson Memorial (on July 3, in point of fact) and Zachary Taylor in 1850 at the Washington Monument (though that didnt turn out well; he reputedly ate a bowl of cherries and cold milk left in the hot sun and died after becoming ill in the following days). One can get happily lost imagining how George Washington or Abraham Lincoln or John F. Kennedy might have graced such an occasion.
Unfortunately, no imagination is needed to know what President Trump might say, and that is one reason to worry about his plans to interject himself into the days events. According to an account by Post reporters, he has effectively taken charge of planning for the D.C. celebration. The plans apparently include moving the giant fireworks display from its traditional spot on the Mall to make room for Mr. Trump to give a speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Unfortunately, Mr. Trump has had many opportunities to show that he could speak for and to the entire nation in such circumstances and he has flunked each one. On his first full day in office, he politicized a visit to Central Intelligence Agency headquarters. He delivered a political speech at the National Scout Jamboree, of all places. He turned an overseas presidential visit to U.S. troops into just another campaign stop. He will hijack any event for partisan political purposes, or to stoke his ego, or both. The Fourth of July should be a time to remember what binds us as a country, not exploit what divides us.
There are practical concerns, too. The fireworks display on the Mall and the free concert that precedes it attract hundreds of thousands of Americans annually. The National Park Service coordinating with local officials, police and transit has mastered the logistics. Time is running short to design a new plan, and accommodating a presidential appearance, and accompanying protests, means additional layers of security that will inconvenience those attending. Mr. Trump has spent previous Independence Days at the White House, hosting military families at a cookout. We would urge him to continue that fine tradition and allow Washington to celebrate a holiday that doesnt need fixing.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-will-hijack-any-event-for-partisan-politics-please-not-the-fourth-of-july/2019/05/13/816f8738-75bc-11e9-b7ae-390de4259661_story.html
emmaverybo
(8,144 posts)FakeNoose
(32,628 posts)Expect more of this type of behavior. He can't be shamed, he must be banned.
dalton99a
(81,443 posts)empedocles
(15,751 posts)Bob Loblaw
(1,900 posts)Paladin
(28,252 posts)I am beyond sick and tired of his constant resort to Worst Possible Thing behavior. It's the clear sign of an unsound mind, and we've put up with it for way too long.
SCantiGOP
(13,869 posts)will outnumber supporters, which is what I expect, Trump will back out. They can always blame it on security concerns because antifa, Democrats and Mexicans are going to be there.
Totally Tunsie
(10,885 posts)BigDemVoter
(4,149 posts)He'll fuck up and contaminate WHATEVER he touches. When he leaves the goddamned White House, it will have to be disinfected--probably more than once after the sleaze & filth that will be oozing out of every crack. . . He is one sleazy, useless, fucking hog, and as they say in Guatemala, "Every pig has its Saturday night." That gives us reason to hope.