Make America Gray again
Donald Trump launched the Civil War’s Battle of Fifth Ave. in a staggering display of verbal weaponry Tuesday — and America lost. In no particular order, Trump took aim at the truth, history, decency, equal justice, fair play and common courtesy in a freewheeling assault on core American values that confirms his utter unfitness for the high office it is our misfortune he occupies.
Not least on display: the pressure of the job is getting under his very thin skin.
Here he was to announce executive action to unshackle infrastructure from regulation, a cause with true potential — but ravenous to do combat defending the righteousness of Saturday’s racist, Klan and Nazi led-rally against the democratic decision of the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia in the lost cause of the Civil War.
The rally resulted in the killing of counter-protester Heather Heyer under the wheels of a man with history of Nazi allegiances.
Nonetheless, Trump felt compelled to insist: “very fine people” participated. Undoubtedly — and those few would have had to tune out the anti-black and anti-Semitic slogans that reverberated through Friday night’s torch-lit parade and Saturday’s unauthorized rally.
Rebooting his Saturday blame of “many sides” for “hate, bigotry and violence,” Trump then smeared counter-protesters like Heyer — who came to support the city’s decision and stand against the retrograde forces of the alt-right Trump fans — by saying they came armed and looking for trouble. Did some on the left show up spoiling for a fight? Some — but not the majority.
Thrilled by this tour de force was former KKK leader David Duke, who tweeted: “Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage.”
Folks, save your Confederate currency. The South will rise again, led by Donald J. Trump.
Asked by a reporter (“Fake news!” Trump railed) if statues of Lee and Stonewall Jackson should come down, Trump unforgivably equated these Confederates to the founders of the nation he now leads. “I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after?”
As if any but the fringiest of fringe-dwellers would suggest erasing slaveholding Presidents from the American legacy. Digging the hole to hell deeper, he charged true present-day American leaders with betrayal — again attacking Merck for its CEO’s departure from a White House advisory board and bludgeoning war hero John McCain (who unlike Lee, served the U.S.) for his principled stand against what would have been the disastrous repeal of Obamacare.
For good measure, Trump has enormously complicated the prosecution of accused Charlottesville killer James Fields by calling him a “murderer,” creating an opportunity for lawyers for Fields to argue their client cannot get a fair trial now. Not bad for 15 minutes.
After the spectacle, as Trump continued to spout off even as he heading for the elevators, behind him dourly lurked his new chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, brought aboard to bring some control and order to the chaos. Mission definitely not accomplished, sir.