A desperate President Donald Trump is working hard to ensure he does not lose any more of his die-hard base, despite polls showing he is slipping in every key demographic.
On Wednesday afternoon Trump entered the national conversation over renaming U.S. Military bases that are currently named to honor Confederate traitors who fought against the United States in the Civil War, by dog-whistling to his supporters.
“It has been suggested that we should rename as many as 10 of our Legendary Military Bases, such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Benning in Georgia, etc.,” Trump tweeted.
“These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom. The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars,” he added, demeaning America’s fighting forces by suggesting, superstitiously that they get their power from treasonous traitors.
“Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations,” he tweeted.
“Our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with. Respect our Military!” Trump declared.
The word “heritage” is used, often by racists, to defend monuments to treasonous Civil War “heroes” who fought for the Confederacy and for slavery, and other Civil War era attacks on the U.S., including the”Stars and Bars” Confederate flag in all its iterations, like the iconic Battle Flag.
Rather than allow demonstrators protesting the police killing of George Floyd, now in its third week, to continue without agitating them, Trump is adding fuel to the fire.
Axios adds that “the Navy and Marines have moved to ban the display of Confederate-era symbols,” including flags.
Many are weighing in, like economist David Rothschild:
A few more: