On Monday, President Donald Trump disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles from a ceremony that had been meant to honor the team because of their Super Bowl win after the White House got wind of the fact that a smaller than desired group of players would even be coming.
However, we all know how much the president likes rallies, so he wasn’t about to let his anger at the Eagles for daring to express any opposition to him at all stop him from holding a rally of sorts at the White House. Thus, instead of a ceremony honoring the Eagles, Trump held a nationalistic rally where groups of military musicians played music like the national anthem.
During that event, Trump was caught on tape seeming to many to reveal himself as not actually knowing the words to the national anthem.
Check out video of the rally moment for yourself below.
At his Celebration of America event, Trump doesn’t appear to know the words to “God Bless America.” pic.twitter.com/fzwe1gFejM
— David Mack (@davidmackau) June 5, 2018
The observation is ironic because of the fact that the president’s claimed reason for being angry with the NFL in the first place is the supposed disrespect displayed by some players for the anthem. Throughout recent seasons, players have taken to kneeling during the anthem in a display of solidarity with African Americans who face issues like police brutality around the United States. Trump’s response to these protests has been to claim that the “sons of bitches” who kneel should be fired.
A line from his administration that has slightly more of an apparent attempt at logic behind it is that their opposition to kneeling during the anthem is because the practice supposedly disrespects current and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces. That claim isn’t entirely supported by the facts, however, since on the one hand, the protests aren’t against the flag or the anthem, and on the other hand, American soldiers don’t fight on behalf of a piece of cloth or a song — they fight on behalf of the people of the United States.
Despite these facts, the president and his allies are holding fast to their claims about the situation. At Tuesday’s White House press conference, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters:
‘The president doesn’t think this is an issue simply of free speech. He thinks it’s about respecting the men and women of our military; it’s about respecting our national anthem.’
The administration’s attempts to respond to those who disagree with their policy through such means as the rally Trump held Tuesday at the White House continue to fall flat.
Although the rally was touted as an opportunity for Eagles fans to honor the country in the absence of their chosen team, it’s not as though that description actually reflected the reality of the situation.
In reality, the get together was little more than a self aggrandizing spectacle, as can be said about so many other things that take place in and around the Trump administration. Trump continues to drag the country down the path of his ultra-nationalistic dreams with little to no regard for the ramifications of his actions.
Featured Image via Screenshot from the Video
