June 5, 2018

Trump’s “Celebration of America” Features His Unfamiliarity With “God Bless America”

Patriotism was hard for the president today.

After abruptly canceling a White House fete originally intended to celebrate the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl victory—a decision President Donald Trump pinned on a disagreement between him and the players over protests during the national anthem—the White House on Tuesday staged an impromptu event to “celebrate” America instead. The last-minute ceremony featured brief remarks by the president and a military sing-a-long to “God Bless America.” 

But by the end of the event, Trump had already attracted ridicule over his apparent unfamiliarity with the song’s lyrics. The awkward display quickly drew accusations of hypocrisy, with many pointing to the irony of Trump’s struggle amid his ongoing attacks against athletes who kneel during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality. (Trump was notoriously heckled for the same when he appeared to forget the words to the national anthem in January.)

After the Eagles informed the White House that most of its players would not be attending the event, Trump announced Monday evening that he was calling off the traditionally apolitical ceremony. But in a tweet, Trump also blamed protests for the cancelation, when in fact none of the Eagles took a knee during the last season.

Nevertheless, after withdrawing the invitation, the White House implied that the team was disappointing fans who had planned on attending. “The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better,” a statement read. 

Reporters on the scene for “Celebration of America” have added skepticism to the White House’s claims. When asked about basic Eagles knowledge, many seemed unfamiliar. One man, however, kneeled during the event.

We've never been very good at being conservative.

And usually, that serves us well in doing the ambitious, hard-hitting journalism that you turn to Mother Jones for. But it also means we can't afford to come up short when it comes to scratching together the funds it takes to keep our team firing on all cylinders, and the truth is, we finished our budgeting cycle on June 30 about $100,000 short of our online goal.

This is no time to come up short. It's time to fight like hell, as our namesake would tell us to do, for a democracy where minority rule cannot impose an extreme agenda, where facts matter, and where accountability has a chance at the polls and in the press. If you value our reporting and you can right now, please help us dig out of the $100,000 hole we're starting our new budgeting cycle in with an always-needed and always-appreciated donation today.

payment methods

We've never been very good at being conservative.

And usually, that serves us well in doing the ambitious, hard-hitting journalism that you turn to Mother Jones for. But it also means we can't afford to come up short when it comes to scratching together the funds it takes to keep our team firing on all cylinders, and the truth is, we finished our budgeting cycle on June 30 about $100,000 short of our online goal.

This is no time to come up short. It's time to fight like hell, as our namesake would tell us to do, for a democracy where minority rule cannot impose an extreme agenda, where facts matter, and where accountability has a chance at the polls and in the press. If you value our reporting and you can right now, please help us dig out of the $100,000 hole we're starting our new budgeting cycle in with an always-needed and always-appreciated donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate