Jul
7
Trump, Tanks, and Patriotism
“It seems anything this president does or tries to do, Democrats object and go after him for — and that’s just wrong. It’s gotten so tiresome.” — a New York-based attendee, father of four and a military veteran
No sooner had Trump announced the “A Salute to America” event in Washington, D.C. and that he would be speaking there, than people were complaining, saying it would be all about Trump and amount to a taxpayer-funded campaign rally.
“You will hear criticism of his critics; you will hear a celebration of self in terms of how he sees his accomplishments.” — Maggie Haberman, New York Times White House correspondent and CNN analyst
When the President said he wanted to have tanks there, not to mention a couple flyovers by military jets, some people likened him (once again) to a dictator, since such “strongmen” are known for brandishing their military might in nationalistic parades.
For example, Bloomberg‘s Jonathan Bernstein wrote:
“[T]he great leader presiding over a militaristic celebration of himself and the nation is what happens in authoritarian regimes, not in democracies.”
On MSNBC, Joy Reid asked,
“What is the message that President Trump is trying to send by rolling tanks down Constitution Avenue? Who is that message to? It’s certainly not to tyrants, because he likes tyrants. He loves tyrants…. Is it to us? Is it to the resistance in this country? … The message is a threat. And I suspect that the threat is to his fellow Americans.”
Charlie Pierce at Esquire even predicted “all kinds of catastrophes”, including tanks falling off the Potomac bridge and pilots possibly being beheaded when they try to eject from malfunctioning(?) jets during flyover. Seriously.
The problem — well, one of them — with such fearmongering is that the idea that only authoritarian regimes proudly display their military strength is false. David French at National Review pointed out,
“Yet tanks have had their own very benign role in Washington parades for a very long time. Tanks have rolled through the streets during inaugural parades for presidents Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Kennedy….
It’s certainly fair to critique the cost of any given public display, and disruptions like temporary shutdowns of Reagan National Airport can certainly annoy travelers, but the use of tanks in an Independence Day celebration is simply no big deal. There is nothing ominous about their presence, especially given the fact that our military is (rightly) one of the last trusted institutions in America. It does not threaten our Constitution; it protects our founding principles.”
One can argue about the added expense and hassles. And, sure, the President probably enjoyed showing them off. (I would have.) But, there was no military coup, nor is there good reason to think the presence of tanks and jets for the event signals one from Trump. The content of his speech was also far from being a de facto campaign speech. (Though, it certainly won’t hurt him in the eyes of patriotic Americans who aren’t Lefties, pacifists, or NeverTrumpers.) Instead, it was indeed a “salute to America”, grounded in history and honoring those who fought for our freedoms. The fact that it also made our military look good, of course, won’t sit well with the above complainers. (You know, the ones who think the rest of us are just deplorable, warmongering, racists and bigots.)
Despite the predictions and claims of the Trumpophobes, we saw a yuge turnout of (mostly) patriotic Americans enjoying themselves, being inspired and encouraged by Trump’s “unifying” speech — as described by a perplexed Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation — and thrilled by the tanks and jets. Plus, music, food, and fireworks, of course. Sounds like fun!
