Something is Strange with the Fourth of July Speech
--
”Our army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do, and at Fort McHenry, under the rocket’s red glare, it had nothing but victory. And when dawn came, their star-spangled banner waved defiant.”
Donald J Trump, President of the United States, July 4, 2019
There is something concerning about this quote. It is either a really bad write up, or a very bad rendition of the speech, likely both. It also reveals a president that likely did not read the speech before, and if he did, lacks knowledge of history.
He also referred to the Wright brothers later in the piece, yet he did not notice the errors. First off, we did not have an air corp in 1776. We did not have one until World War I when our flyboys took over the air in the European theater starting in 1917.
Then there is the disjointed confusion of the 1812 war, and the origin of the national anthem, and the revolutionarily war that ended in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris. None of us expects the president to be an expert in American history, but these are basic grade school facts that young children are taught in school, many times by rote.
It has, of course, generated a few funny memes on social media. There is nothing like General George Washington manning a jet fighter on the way to the battle of Trenton. Or for that matter, the crossing of Delaware on the way to La Guardia would be better with an Air Force base, but still funny.
It is also giving way to the hyper-partisan among us to make fun of the ignorance of the president of the United States. Granted, he has never been the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to History, but that is what his speech writers and fact checkers are for. For that matter, Wikipedia can prove useful for the most basic of facts.
This is concerning because at least in my mind it raises more questions about his mental health and attitudes. For all, we know he read this before delivery. Perhaps he even practiced it before delivery. Both would be normal. However, there is also a very good…
