On Memorial Day, Trump Honors Trump

By Red Painter — May 28, 2018

Memorial Day is a truly somber national holiday. A day where we all take time to reflect and honor those who have given so much of themselves for our country. On twitter, it is common to see personal stories of family members who served in a variety of wars, photos and memorials.

Here are a few from today:

We can never truly repay the debt we owe our fallen heroes. But we can remember them, honor their sacrifice, and affirm in our own lives those enduring ideals of justice, equality, and opportunity for which generations of Americans have given that last full measure of devotion. pic.twitter.com/pRxwmaMClL

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 28, 2018

Today we honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and safety. I’m also thinking of my beloved father, who is no longer with us, who was so proud to have served during World War II. #MemorialDay pic.twitter.com/GU7CK0DRXW

— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) May 28, 2018

On Memorial Day, we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our country.

To the men and women in uniform, to all who have served or continue to serve this nation, and to their families and loved ones, thank you. pic.twitter.com/a7pO0OJKtZ

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 28, 2018

This #MemorialDay, we remember the brave men& women who gave their lives to protect the freedoms we cherish. We must never forget their service and sacrifice& we must do all we can to honor their courage by upholding our duty to support our Veterans, servicemembers&their families pic.twitter.com/NSpMBucKeL

— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) May 28, 2018

Even Melania Trump posted this tweet:

On #MemorialDay we honor the many Americans who laid down their lives for our great country. As one nation under God, we come together to remember that freedom isn’t free. Thank you to all the service members & their families who sacrifice so much to keep us safe. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/H6yhNQXyPg

— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) May 28, 2018

Then...Donald Trump came along and posted one of the most grotesque, self serving, despicable tweets in the history of Memorial Day:

Happy Memorial Day! Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today. Best economy in decades, lowest unemployment numbers for Blacks and Hispanics EVER (& women in 18years), rebuilding our Military and so much more. Nice!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2018

Let's break this down:

"Happy Memorial Day!" HAPPY. It is a memorial for soldiers, many of whom gave their lives. And he starts the tweet with HAPPY. Oh, and he ends it with an EXCLAMATION POINT. Yes HAPPY!

"Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today." WAIT. What? Those who DIED would be "happy and proud"? They are dead? I have zero idea what he means by this...but it becomes clear when you see the next sentence...

He was clearly trying to segue into: "Best economy in decades, lowest unemployment numbers for Blacks and Hispanics EVER (& women in 18years), rebuilding our Military and so much more.". Oh, of course we have to start on the typical talking points: economy, unemployment numbers and military rebuilding. How are these things related to Memorial Day? I have no idea.

And he ends with: "Nice!"

I just...I can't. My brain, it hurts. The words don't come. My soul, hurts.

Twitter:

My advice, FWIW: If you happen to have encountered this tweet, as I did--put it out of mind. There are so many appropriate expressions of respect and appreciation on this Memorial Day that deserve your attention, and that reflect well on the country. Attend to them. Ignore Trump. https://t.co/w5O7Ik0VUD

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 28, 2018

Even on Memorial Day when we pay tribute to those who answered the nation’s call and paid the ultimate price, 5-Deferment @realDonaldTrump pays tribute to himself. He should be ashamed, but shame requires a conscience. pic.twitter.com/rr22mh28Ku

— Col. Morris Davis (@ColMorrisDavis) May 28, 2018

Many people question this president, but it’s no small achievement to write the grossest, most inappropriate, most self-flattering Memorial Day message in the history of the US presidency https://t.co/t8JN7JNwdg

— David Frum (@davidfrum) May 28, 2018

Even news orgs were throwing major shade:

Pres. Trump touts accomplishments in Memorial Day tweet about fallen soldiers.

"Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today." https://t.co/Rq6pprMYNc pic.twitter.com/CQfPfFBwR5

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) May 28, 2018

This sounds about right. 🙃 #MemorialDay https://t.co/rIjMnLTI3J

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) May 28, 2018

Some veterans groups were outraged over Trump’s self-serving tweet on a day set aside to honor and mourn America’s war dead https://t.co/hsVcUkDsGD

— New York Post (@nypost) May 28, 2018

"Happy" #MemorialDay from Donald Trumphttps://t.co/PKuVCfmSvY

— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) May 28, 2018

We will not ruin your Memorial Day by forcing you to listen to Trump's rambling remarks at Arlington Cemetery, but please enjoy this one minute clip of him barely mustering the energy to keep his head down for 10 seconds.

Disgraceful.