Yesterday morning, as many world leaders prepared to honor the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Donald Trump picked up his phone — at 1:30 a.m. — to publish a tweet calling Bette Midler a “washed up psycho.”
Some people demonstrate solemnity in different ways.
Soon after, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel had her own take on how best to reflect on the historic occasion. As the HuffPost noted:
Apparently, the “D” in D-Day stands for “Donald Trump,” at least according to Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.
The GOP chair appeared on Fox Business on Wednesday to basically moan about the way the media has covered the president’s trip to Europe. She then suggested that Trump should be a main focus of the 75th-anniversary commemoration of D-Day.
Specifically, McDaniel said on Fox Business, “We are celebrating the anniversary, 75 years of D-Day. This is the time where we should be celebrating our president, the great achievements of America, and I don’t think the American people like the constant negativity.”
The RNC chair was apparently so pleased with the on-air comments that her party promoted them via social media.
The idea that the anniversary D-Day is an ideal time to celebrate Donald Trump dovetails nicely with the related idea that the 4th of July is also an ideal time to celebrate Donald Trump. At least, that’s how the White House apparently sees it. The Washington Post reported overnight:
President Trump plans to address the nation from the Lincoln Memorial on July 4 as part of an overhauled Independence Day celebration that would bring a host of new security and logistical challenges, D.C. officials and the U.S. Park Police said Wednesday.
The president had floated the idea of speaking at the nationally televised event, but his participation had not been confirmed. His appearance could reshape a decades-old, nonpartisan celebration that annually draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city’s monumental core.
U.S. Park Police spokesman Sgt. Eduardo Delgado confirmed that Trump plans to speak at the memorial.
For over a century, these 4th of July festivities on the National Mall have been apolitical, and presidents from both parties have had the good sense to keep the celebrations that way.
The exception was in 1970, when Richard Nixon hoped to hijack the occasion to advance a political agenda. As Rachel explained on the show last night, the result was a memorable fiasco.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."