Trump's Finest Hour: the Speech about Taking Over the Airports

File this one under great American speeches. And if you don't break out laughing when you read the speech, you don't have a sense of humor. And, if you believe the guy who leaves you laughing ought to be president of the United States, you greatly disrespect the office. This is an excerpt from President Trump's Independence Day address in 2019:

"In June of 1775, the Continental Congress created a unified army out of the revolutionary forces in camp around Boston and New York, and named after the great George Washington, commander-in-chief." (The Revolutionary forces were named after George Washington? Well, if you say so.) "The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware, and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown" (Minor slip of tongue there. Actually, Cornwallis fought at Yorktown, but he was not of Yorktown.) "Our army manned the air." (I'm not sure he is saying "air;" it sounds more like a word created just for the occasion; maybe "epp.") "It rammed the ramparts." (While most who transcripe it suggest he said "rammed the ramparts, watching his lips in the video shows he did not close his lips for the M sound in ramparts; instead, it appears he said "ranned the ramparts) "It took over the airports." (The first successful airflight didn't come until the Wright Brothers pulled it off in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Just a small mistake, right?) "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." (And, well, the Star-Spangled Banner still waving in the Fort McHenry dawn came in the War of 1812, not the Revolutionary War.)

Trump blamed his gaffe on his teleprompter going out. I fail to see how that gets him off the hook. If the teleprompter went out, that means you were left to go by your own knowledge. That means that by his understanding, they did have airplanes and airports during the Revolutionary War. Well, well.

The whole affair is made worse by the dishonesty of those who tried to pin the revision of history not on Trump, but on Biden. Broadcaster Joe Rogan quoted Biden as saying, "One of the reasons we lost the Revolutionary War -- one of the problems of the Revolutionary War -- was that they didn't have enough airports." Rogan said if anyone else holding a job had said that, they would have lost their job. "You're done," they would have been told. Minutes later, on the same program, someone played the quote, showing it was not Biden, but Trump who goofed up. Rogan's response? "So he f---ed up." So, if it's Biden who messed up, he should lose his job, but if it was Trump, no big deal? Brush it off and forget about it?

Trump's speech came as part of the "Salute to America," a showy Forth of July celebration featuring America's military weaponry, including tanks and fighter jets. Trump said he got the idea for Salute to America while French President Emmanuel Macron was hosting him at the Bastille Day military parade in France, and Trump told Macron he wanted to "top it," by putting on an even-more impressive show. Trump's extravaganza came at great expense, a reported $5.4 million, which caused great hand ringing and debate, many pointing out such money should have been appropriated by Congress if it was to be spent.

As for myself, I could not help but see a parallel between Trump's military celebration and Putin's Moscow Victory Day Parade held each year in Russia. Military pageantry in Russia and now corresponding military pageantry in the U.S. -- how fitting, since we might soon be joining Russia as one of the world's great dictatorships.