The Media, Trump and Independence Day

I had to chuckle when I read the reports on Independence Day celebrations in this morning's Times. The coverage of the national celebration in Washington, arranged for the first time in decades by Mr. Trump, was from an Associated Press article. The President gave a patriotic speech with no political references, celebrating our heroes of space exploration, civil rights, and so on, with a significant tribute to our military. Each branch was singled out, recounting their history and various heroic achievements, and was accompanied by patriotic renditions by the Army band and chorus along with military displays, primarily warplane flyovers.

 

This seemed to me when I listened to large parts of the President's speech that it was pretty standard Independence Day fare expressed by our nation's leader. But where Mr. Trump is concerned the press is the press. I would judge the article to have been about 75% negative. After the first paragraph it described the confusion of the staff and the concern over possible poor turnout. In fact, there was a large enthusiastic crowd but the article's implication was that a significant portion of it was manufactured, and that many of the attendees were there simply because of curiosity or custom. About half the article was devoted to the inevitable protestors and their activities with interviews recounting their complaints. The report I heard was that there were a tiny handful but you sure couldn't tell that from what was reported.

 

Compare that with the following article about the local annual Mayor's Independence Day celebration which was given substantial space and 2 photos. The attendance was meager, and the celebration was all military. It was organized by a retired military officer, the keynote speaker was the Commander of the local VFW, there were representatives from veterans of various wars and a traditional American flag was blessed and then raised. In the article there was nary a disparaging word.

 

So, in Mr. Trump's case the celebration was primarily for personal aggrandizement, was received with a lukewarm contrived response, and was excessively militaristic. The local celebration was a big deal, despite its attendance by 50 people, and appropriately honored our military heroes and flag.

 

So, the major media congratulate themselves for "speaking truth to power" and can't understand the skepticism of us folks in flyover country. We get the picture folks. 

 

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