"So tonight we saw President Trump wrap himself in the American flag," ACLU National Political Director Faiz Shakir said in a video statement right after the State of the Union. "He used the term 'America' 82 times in his speech. And when so many of us hear the word 'America,' it sounds exclusionary; we look at the policies of his first year in office, it has felt like there are certain people who are not included in that vision of America."
Shakir doubled down on this video statement by releasing an official statement on the ACLU website.
"Tonight, President Trump said the word 'America' more than 80 times in his speech. Yet, after a divisive first year, we hear and feel how exclusionary that 'America' is, with policies that have harmed so many vulnerable American communities," the director said. "The ACLU stands ready to protect these communities, both in the courts and at the polls."
This seemed particularly ironic, coming from an organization with the word "America" in its very name — the American Civil Liberties Union.
Even so, this was not the only example of liberal self-parody and weak patriotism in responding to Trump's speech.
Toward the end of the speech, the president praised the Capitol Building, declaring it a "living monument to the American people." Republicans rose, chanting "USA! USA! USA!" Democrats, however, hesitated.
Even worse, Rep. Louis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) rushed out in the middle of the chants. His spokesman insisted this wasn't a protest, but that Gutierrez was rushing off to an interview.
Spox to Luis Gutierrez tells me that the congressman wasn't protesting when he left the chamber during "USA!" chants: "He was trying to make it to Univision. He watched the last 90 seconds on TV. It was not a protest or anything. He was just trying to get ahead of the crowd."— David Martosko (@dmartosko) January 31, 2018
Trump's presence led Democrats to refuse to clap for various parts of the president's speech they arguably should have applauded, including record low black unemployment. They even remained sitting when the president called for "merit-based immigration for those who love and respect our country."
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Tyler O'Neil is Assistant Editor of PJ Media, Tyler O'Neil is a conservative fundraiser and commentator. He has written for numerous publications.
Tags: 2018, ACLU, Donald Trump, ideology, patriotism, America, Tyler O'Neil, PJ Media To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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