The insurrection anthem
March 27 update: the LA Times reports more accurately:
WACO, Texas —
Facing a potential indictment, former President Trump took a defiant stance at a rally Saturday in Waco, disparaging the prosecutors investigating him and predicting his vindication as he rallied supporters in a city made famous by deadly resistance against law enforcement.
With a hand over his heart, Trump stood at attention when his rally opened with a song called “Justice for All,” performed by a choir of people imprisoned for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Some video from the attack was shown on big screens displayed at the rally site as the choir sang the national anthem and a recording played of Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
End of update.
It’s pretty damn creepy to watch/listen to.
It’s bad enough as it really is, but it is a shame Mr. “No Lie” is lying in his tweets. The video posted is the national anthem, unabridged, interleaved with audio of Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
“a pro-January 6 insurrection anthem — NOT the US national anthem — plays.”
“Here is footage of their pro-insurrection song, sung by the “J6 choir” and cutting out parts of the US anthem to replace with Trump’s own words.”
Just loaded with lies. Everything you could verify by watching the video is in fact a lie: It’s not an “insurrection anthem”, it is the national anthem and the pledge mixed together, it is by definition not lyrically any more a “pro-insurrection song” than the pledge and anthem, nothing is replaced, and “Trump’s own words” are him reading the pledge.
I don’t know if this was recorded by a group called “The J6 Choir”, if this is being sold, and if the proceeds are being given to J6 scumbags, and I can’t see the footage clearly enough to see if it includes scenes of police being beaten. If that is all true, then that is terrible, and people should be made aware of it. But given that everything easily verifiable about the tweets is a lie, who knows.
I have never understood the urge to lie about what Trump does to make it even worse. What he indisputably does is bad enough. Let’s not discredit the anti-Trump movement by making us look dishonest.
But, yes, this cult-like performance is creepy to watch, and doing it in Waco, holy ground for anti-government nutbags, is repulsive.
Brian Tyler Cohen has the same habit that permeates almost all political commentary, especially that in new media: exaggeration, and lots of it. A public figure criticises a politician: “Public Figure DESTROYS Politician!
Some people visibly smirk in the background of some congressional hearing: “Howls of laughter erupt at Politician’s sad excuses!” Politician misspeaks or mispronounces a word: “Politician’s brain glitches out during interview!” And so on.
I watch mainly left leaning commentary so perhaps I have a sample bias, but it seems to be particularly notable amongst those commentators that call themselves progressive. They stop short of the absurdities of the right, but I wish they didn’t go for that approach at all.
Holms, 100% with you there; it’s a problem.