Trump gets ridiculed after pretending he invented July 4th — and calling himself 'your favorite President'
As president, Donald Trump has shown scant ability to distinguish between the interests of the United States and his own personal desires. So it shouldn't surprise anyone that, as his presidency continues through a period of unproductive turmoil, he's trying to make the country's unifying national holiday all about himself.
In fact, as he talks about the Fourth of July celebrations that are held in Washington, D.C., every year, he gives the impression that he has invented the idea of using the date for a patriotic celebration. On Sunday morning, he sent a bizarre post on Twitter telling people to "hold the date" — despite the fact that it is already a national holiday:
HOLD THE DATE! We will be having one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, D.C., on July 4th. It… https://t.co/YvoeR0KhAV— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1551012232
His reference to himself being "your favorite President" is an obviously childish trolling attempt, so it's best left ignored. But his reframing of Independence day around himself, which he has tried to do before, earned him ample ridicule:
I have a sense of deja vu. As though I’ve been to this before. Maybe even, every year. https://t.co/ry9fj7hX3V— Joyce Alene (@Joyce Alene) 1551016761
HOLD THE DATE! December 31, we will be holding a brand new style of celebration called “A Farewell to the Year Gone… https://t.co/MAMIR5SiPr— southpaw (@southpaw) 1551017053
The President, anticipating meeting Rocket Man this week, is still sore that America's generals won't give Their De… https://t.co/cbr0aRnHdr— emptywheel (@emptywheel) 1551015087
This reads to me like Trump elbowing out the 40 year tradition of PBS’s “A Capitol Fourth” concert and fireworks, i… https://t.co/hhL0tpX58s— Christina Wilkie (@Christina Wilkie) 1551018707
OTD 2019: His Elective Highness Donald Trump, Protector of the People's Rights and Guardian of the Same is pleased… https://t.co/O02Q25vUGG— Jennifer Mercieca (@Jennifer Mercieca) 1551021249
Some even pointed out some troubling historical precedents for Trump's attempt to usurp the holiday:
The last president to try to hijack July 4th was Richard Nixon, who staged Honor America Day on July 4, 1970. It wa… https://t.co/6VC4PYQqL5— Bill Kristol (@Bill Kristol) 1551013340
As I noted in my book One Nation Under God, when Nixon was under fire in early 1970, he and his supporters planned… https://t.co/8CAHKd44eI— Kevin M. Kruse (@Kevin M. Kruse) 1549991948
