Sunday, July 21, 2019

WTDT may publish on a slightly irregular schedule between July 22 and August 1.

What did Donald Trump do today?

He said people who say the things he's said about the United States should apologize.

Trump has spent much of the past week alternately running towards and running away from his claim that four Democratic congresswomen, all minorities and American citizens, should "go back" to the "crime infested" places they're from. (Three of the four were born in the United States.)

Today, he tweeted that they should "apologize" for unspecified remarks about the United States. It's not clear what he's talking about because most of the things Trump has claimed they've said, like praising al-Qaeda or calling the country "garbage", are lies. 

What is less clear is where Trump draws the line about what kind of criticism of the United States is acceptable. He himself has used the word "garbage" to describe the condition of the country. In fact, trashing the United States was a main theme of his campaign: Trump said that the U.S. was like a "third world country," and was being laughed at by other nations. In his inaugural address, normally a hopeful and optimistic speech, Trump gave a grim report on "American carnage."

Trump even managed to throw the United States under the bus in order to defend Vladimir Putin. Asked why he seemed so taken with a dictator who had murdered journalists, Trump shot back, "You think our country's so innocent?"

Why does this matter?

  • Any American, not just the president, is allowed to criticize the United States.
  • Lying by saying your political opponents support al-Qaeda is about as shitty a thing as it's possible to do in American politics.
  • Americans might not like Trump as much if they knew what he really thought of them.