Oh look, now Donnie is really pissed off and he’s not going to take it any more.
He’s changed his Twitter header from that stupid photo of him doing a thumbs up at a table full of his fans to a Great Big Awesome Rippling American Flag.
So patriot!
Plus he’s splatted out a rash of angry “you have to worship the flag!!” tweets. Nope we don’t Don, and you can’t make us.
Great solidarity for our National Anthem and for our Country. Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable. Bad ratings!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017
Wut? What does that even mean? What solidarity, whose, where? And how do you have solidarity “for” an anthem? Solidarity is “with” and it’s about people, not songs or pieces of fabric.
Please to inform that the Champion Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL will be joining me at the White House for Ceremony. Great team!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017
Unlike SOME PEOPLE who weren’t nice enough to Don.
He retweeted this subtle nudge:
https://twitter.com/DonnaWR8/status/912019764838649857
And this one:
https://twitter.com/DonnaWR8/status/912020084176146432
Then he just got down to the grubby business of telling us what to do and say and think.
Courageous Patriots have fought and died for our great American Flag — we MUST honor and respect it! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017
Sports fans should never condone players that do not stand proud for their National Anthem or their Country. NFL should change policy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017
He keeps telling us and we keep defying him – can you believe it? He’s the president yet we refuse to obey him! Can’t he have us all killed or something? It seems only right.
Comments
16 responses to “Tantrum in the West Wing”
This is a sign I tell you!
A sign!
From Heaven no less!
Jesus Christ himself is about to return!
And become Political Adviser to Donald the Donald!!!
And let me outa here! You can’t keep me locked up like this!
I know my rights!
We all know this about him by now, but there it is again: That obsession with ratings and popularity that determines what’s right and wrong. The man is completely amoral.
Doggammit, these idiots are actually going to force me to watch football, just to spite them, aren’t they?
I do love the irony. A lot of football fans honor the anthem….they must be so torn.
Freemage, if you absolutely must watch a football style sport, watch the Australian version. Hardly any concussions!
I like the way he uses capitalization. It’s very Founding Fathersesque.
Admittedly off topic but I can’t stand to see something incorrect stand, Holms. There are plenty of concussions in Australian Football. Not as much as in the rugby codes but when they happen they tend to be worse. Higher closing speed and side-on collisions make them more dangerous.
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944.71555.144310995587370/1670603869624734/?type=3&theater
I am not a lawyer, but the President might be breaking this law:
Wrongfully influencing a private entity’s employment decisions by a Member of Congress or an officer or employee of the legislative or executive branch
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944.71555.144310995587370/1670612826290505/?type=3&theater
@Dave Ricks, #9: Well, in that case, I’m sure nothing will come of it.
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944.71555.144310995587370/1670630442955410/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944.71555.144310995587370/1670639922954462/?type=3&theater
Well, the positive symbolism of the flag was damaged by the war-time rituals at concerts and sporting events. Then the John Birchers launched the car-antenna flags with the gold fringe as their ‘special’ badge. Finally, during the waning squalor of the Nixon presidency, the flag was co-opted as a pro Nixon badge.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a national symbol that DIDN’T reek of the loony right?
Dave @ 9, interesting law!
I suppose the get-out will be the “solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation” part, because he can so easily claim and demonstrate that the basis is mostly sheer asshole bullying in the key of general right-wing prejudice.
Ophelia @15,
Yes, and another valid objection would be that there is no “official act” being taken or withheld.
I’m not aware of how that phrase has been interpreted in case law, but I suspect that a mean Tweet questioning someone’s patriotism would not fall within the definition. I would think it is limited to an actual exercise of government power, not the “bully pulpit.” So, “Person X is a Democrat and his employer should fire him” would not qualify, but “Person X is a Democrat and his employer should fire him, or else I’m going to have the FTC reject his employer’s proposed merger” would.
Two other points to keep in mind: first, even if you think a stricter interpretation of that statute is plausible, criminal statutes are supposed to be read according to the principle of lenity. Second, government officials have speech rights, too, so I’m not at all sure that such an interpretation would be constitutional.
Of course, normally Presidents are aware that even the bully pulpit of the presidency should be used with care and responsibility, and that they shouldn’t shoot off their mouths and create even the fear of impropriety. But, this isn’t a normal presidency, example number 5,423,562….