Trump showed his shallow patriotism during national anthem at golf club Super Bowl party | Editorial
In yet another one of his bursts of patriotic fervor — his reportedly calling military generals “a bunch of dopes and babies” aside — President Trump enthusiastically conducted the National Anthem that kicked off the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Of course, he was at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach hosting a watch party, while the championship game was at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Garden. Plus, he was simply clowning around, pretend conducting and looking like a bored 5-year-old.
Meanwhile, first lady Melania Trump, their son, Barron, and their guests stood, respectfully, with their hands over their hearts. Just like he has insisted all Americans do, otherwise they are disrespecting the troops. (Jay-Z and Beyoncé didn’t stand when Demi Lovato sang the anthem, a political statement, reportedly in support of Colin Kaepernick. But at least they didn’t goof around.)
Yes, it’s the same deep and abiding respect that the president has shown in the past to, oh, say, the late Sen. John McCain, tortured for years as a prisoner of war (“I like people who weren’t captured”); and the Muslim parents whose son, an Army captain, was killed in a car bombing in Iraq as he tried to save other troops in 2004. They criticized his hostile stance on Muslims during a speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. A petulant candidate Trump responded: “Who wrote that? Did Hillary’s script writers write it? I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard.”
Let’s throw in one of the president’s latest “salutes” to his shameful list of greatest hits: Upon learning that troops indeed received traumatic head injuries in Iran’s attack on two U.S. bases in Iraq — initially, it was announced that there were no injuries — Trump referred to them as mere “headaches.” “I can report that it’s not very serious,” he said reassuringly.
It’s amazing that so many “patriots” who brandish the flag and wear the red cap actually don’t mind any of this.
Yep, headache.
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 5:27 PM.
