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How Trump Fumbled What Should Be a ‘Rally Around the Flag’ Time in America: Columnist
The nation is at war. It’s our 250th anniversary. We just had historic performances at the Olympics.
“In normal times, each would summon national pride and unity,” writes The Washington Post‘s Theodore R. Johnson.
That “they’re happening together — the rally-around-the-flag effect should be supercharged,” he says. “It’s not.”
While President Donald Trump calls this “the golden age of America,” Americans aren’t feeling it.
But “when the crisis isn’t presented to the public; there’s little bipartisan support; the White House spins the events poorly,” the rally-around-the-flag effect lessens.
“The effect was Trump’s for the taking, and the administration fumbled it,” Johnson observes.
“American optimism has slumped to a record low, and 60 percent of the country thinks we’re on the wrong track,” he writes. “A Pew study published March 5 found that the U.S. is the only country among 25 surveyed where more adults view their fellow citizens as morally bad than good. And the military strikes against Venezuela and Iran have produced no customary bump in approval ratings for the president.”
Why?
READ MORE: How Trump’s ‘Delusional Faith in Himself’ Drove His Decision to Wage War: Columnist
Trump has put his name — and imprint — on “many of the nation’s institutions and symbols,” including the Kennedy Center and the Institute of Peace. He’s planning a 250th anniversary celebration with a UFC fight night at the White House on his birthday. And MAGA has changed what “patriot” used to mean.
“Meanwhile, the president has called Democratic lawmakers ‘traitors’ and labeled them adversaries in a ‘war from within.”
Johnson says that these are “not accidents of polarization. They are products of a president who uses the bully pulpit to keep the country at odds.”
He concludes, “The United States can win wars, celebrate gold and commemorate the nation’s founding, but if its president and politics reap rewards by sowing division, Americans are more likely to rally to the party’s pennant than around the nation’s flag.”
READ MORE: ‘Looking to Throw in the Towel?’: Trump Mocked as Administration Again Switches Priorities
Image via Reuters
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