Trump spoke of American troops at Normandy. But, as NPR pointed out, President Macron of France spoke of the French resistance, and of troops from Australia, Poland, Britain, America. He thanked the Allies. He thanked them all.
Trump thanked the Americans. To hear Trump tell it, the Americans were the only ones on the beach that day in 1944. On the 75th anniversary of the greatest alliance of arms and people ever mustered, on the day commemorating the greatest international military effort in human history, Trump could not bring himself to acknowledge our allies, then or now. He didn't "rise to the moment." He talked in a flat monotone so he could get every word out and repress his inner child who wants to scream and flail and shout "LOOK AT ME!!!!" And even in a speech written out for him, he couldn't praise the effort of so many nations, so many men and women from so many places on the globe, who came together to defeat evil and have, in 75 years, worked so hard to keep it from rising again.
He couldn't do that much, on this one day. I imagine the words would have choked in his mouth, and he wouldn't have been able to spit them out. It would have been worth it to see him try.
Maybe the spectacle of seeing Trump in all of his crass vulgarity will help suppress neo-fascism in Europe, though they've got enough of their own everywhere to take up the void.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad my parents aren't here to see this. It would have broken their hearts.