The Trump administration has apparently prioritized protecting the statues around the United States that honor brazenly racist individuals from the past, like military leaders who fought on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War. The Trump team has offered increasingly ridiculous explanations for their passionate defenses of these statues, and at her Monday press conference, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany launched into a tirade claiming that “cancel culture” wants to “erase… history,” so the statues must be protected. Has she ever heard of books? They’re a great way to preserve history without having to rely on statues that honor brazen racists!
At her press conference, McEnany melodramatically proclaimed:
‘[Trump] stands against defunding our brave police officers, caving to mob rule, and cancel culture, which seeks to erase our history. Let’s be clear: the rampant destruction of statues is not a part of any ideology, but this anarchy is aided by failed Democrat leadership, and as President Trump has tweeted, these statues are great works of art, but all represent our history and heritage, both the good and the bad. It is important for us to understand and remember, even in turbulent and difficult times, and to learn from them. So let’s stand for law and order, for peace in our streets, and against anarchy. This is President Trump’s vision for the future.’
There are so many real, actual problems that the U.S. is facing at the moment, from the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic to rampant police brutality against marginalized communities, but this nonsense is what the Trump administration is occupying their time with. Watch below:
Kayleigh McEnany says Trump stands against "cancel culture" which she says "seeks to erase our history." #wut pic.twitter.com/kEaA8M2U4j
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 29, 2020
Again, if the Trump administration was really concerned about remembering history — or whatever — they could, perhaps, fund a library. They could host a town hall meeting. They could incorporate reminders of history into the president’s speeches. The idea that advocating for the removal of statues honoring racists automatically entails some kind of conspiracy to erase American history is absolutely disconnected from reality.
Just in recent days, legislators in the state of Mississippi voted to remove the image of the Confederate flag from their state flag. The Confederate flag is a brazen reminder of racism. Do Trump and his cronies want to complain about Mississippi’s decision supposedly constituting the erasure of history, too? Maybe! After all, Trump has already expressed his opposition to the idea of renaming military bases that are named after Confederate generals.
At her press conference, McEnany also addressed the reports that Russian authorities offered bounties to Afghan militants for the murder of coalition forces including Americans. She denied that there is a “consensus” on whether or not the bounties were really offered.
Reporter Yamiche Alcindor explained:
‘@PressSec won’t say if Pres Trump has now been briefed on allegations Russia paid bounties for killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. She also says there is “no consensus in the intelligence community” about the bounties. She adds, “In effect, there are dissenting opinions.”‘
When they brazenly lie about so many other topics, it’s difficult to take the Trump team seriously on topics like this one.
.@PressSec won't say if Pres Trump has now been briefed on allegations Russia paid bounties for killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. She also says there is "no consensus in the intelligence community" about the bounties. She adds, "In effect, there are dissenting opinions."
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) June 29, 2020
