Three days before the Fourth of July, Chris Hayes and the liberal media took it upon themselves to inform the American public that the President’s planned Fourth of July celebration has ulterior, unpatriotic motives. To discuss this supposed dictatorial event, Hayes had guest, Charlie Pierce, a writer for Esquire, on All In Tuesday night.
Hayes began: “Donald Trump has hijacked the nation’s previously nonpartisan Fourth of July…” Since anything Trump does is derided as partisan, in MSNBC’s mind this goes without saying. The host then elaborated:
[A]nd the Republican National Committee and Trump campaign are confirming today that, yes, they are distributing special tickets to top donors and other allies who will have access to prime, cordoned-off areas that will be closed to the general public...In short, on a day the nation is supposed to be celebrating its independence, the President is using basically the full force of the U.S. government and the military and his role as commander in chief to throw what sure looks like a partisan reelection rally on public space complete with VIP seats for his high dollar donors.
Perhaps Hayes is upset because he won’t be among the VIPs.
The host then asked: “You know Charlie, Nixon did something somewhat similar, tried to do something similar. It was a flop. But since then have you -- this is not -- We don't do this, right? I'm not crazy that this is very, very, very weird?”
What is ‘very, very, very weird’ is that Hayes, who himself ‘hijacked’ Memorial Day in the past to promote his leftist anti-military views, is more concerned with overt displays of patriotism on the Fourth of July than any real issues.
Pierce, who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt on national television, responded:
I mean, the guy has been the tackiest person in public life for about 40 years now. And now he's got his hands on the U.S. military. So, yeah, we're going to have this incredibly tacky spectacle in front of Abraham Lincoln, who may very well get down off his chair and walk out of the memorial rather than be a part of this.... This is extraordinarily cheap and tacky and grifty.
He further warned: “And the speech is going to be dreadful and there are all kinds of catastrophes.... So I mean, we could be looking at one of the great clusters of all time.”
The real concern from Hayes seemed to be that Trump was "using his role as commander in chief to order up tanks for this event that sure looks like a campaign rally.” Pierce agreed: “Well, he has already been running the presidency as a profit-making device, running the presidency as a -- using the American military as set decoration for your re-election campaign. That's a walk in the park compared to what he’s been doing.”
Well it’s a good thing MSNBC is doing their part in spreading constant negativity and a lack of patriotism, that’s sure to win over the American people.
Here is the transcript from the July 2 episode of All In:
MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes
07/02/19
08:31 p.m. Eastern
CHRIS HAYES: Donald Trump has hijacked the nation’s previously nonpartisan Fourth of July celebration and the Republican National Committee and Trump campaign are confirming today that, yes, they are distributing special tickets to top donors and other allies who will have access to prime, cordoned-off areas that will be closed to the general public. Trump has also ordered tanks to the streets of Washington to mark the occasion. You can see them there. There will also be fireworks. There will be troops. A military flyover complete with fighter jets and of course a speech by Donald Trump. In short, on a day the nation is supposed to be celebrating its independence, the President is using basically the full force of the U.S. government and the military and his role as commander in chief to throw what sure looks like a partisan reelection rally on public space complete with VIP seats for his high dollar donors. Joining me now longtime political commentator Charlie Pierce, writer at large for Esquire. You know Charlie, Nixon did something somewhat similar, tried to do something similar. It was a flop. But since then have you—this is not--We don't do this, right? I'm not crazy that this is very, very, very weird?
CHARLIE PIERCE: No, not at all. This is Vaudeville with depleted uranium shells. I mean, the guy has been the tackiest person in public life for about 40 years now. And now he's got his hands on the U.S. military. So, yeah, we're going to have this incredibly tacky spectacle in front of Abraham Lincoln, who may very well get down off his chair and walk out of the memorial rather than be a part of this.
HAYES: This is the new reporting today. The Park Service is going to divert $2.5 million in park fees which are meant for the -- primarily intended to improve park access across the country -- to cover the costs, which I think won't be the total costs. It will be more than that. But I can't quite -- I can't quite think that the RNC donation part is okay in any way. Like, how is it that you use a public event and then make it essentially a donor perk for the RNC?
PIERCE: Well, I wonder how many of the people who are getting the VIP tickets will be staying in the Trump hotel, if they're coming from out of town. I would not be surprised if it was a special donator -- you know, donors rate for -- holiday donors rate at the Trump tower or the Trump plaza or the Trump whatever it is, the Trump Xanadu. No. This is extraordinarily cheap and tacky and grifty. And the speech is going to be dreadful and there are all kinds of catastrophes. They're not sure if the bridges over the Potomac can handle the tanks. They're doing a flyover of F-35s which have god knows how many problems, including the inability to eject without beheading yourself. Plus, it is apparently going to rain. So I mean, we could be looking at one of the great clusters of all time.
HAYES: Well, the other thing about it to me is, I think there has been a sort of slowly dawning awareness as we got an announcement this week the President raised $105 million in the quarter of just what it means for him to run this time as an incumbent. And his -- you know, Kellyanne Conway, the rare rebuke of her for Hatch Act violations and the special council saying she should be fired. The president using his role as commander in chief to order up tanks for this event that sure looks like a campaign rally. To me it's a little bit of a preview of what he can do with the power of incumbency to essentially run the Presidency as a reelection shop.
PIERCE: Well, he has already been running the presidency as a profit-making device, running the presidency as a -- using the American military as set decoration for your re-election campaign. That's a walk in the park compared to what he’s been doing. I mean, this is what happens when everybody abdicates their responsibility. Where are the fiscally -- the scions of fiscal discipline in the Republican Party? They're all on MSNBC making angry noises, but nobody in real power is doing anything about this.
HAYES: Well, there is also -- there is also clearly been pushback from the Pentagon I will say behind the scenes. This is the second or third time he has tried this.
PIERCE: Well, not just that, but I've talked to some people who have been in the military, not at a very high level, but at grunt level, soldiers hate this stuff.
HAYES: Yeah.
PIERCE: You've got to get inspection ready. It's the fourth of July. They should be home with their families. Instead they've got to get inspection ready. They've got to stand out in the uniform. Even if it rains, it's going to be 90 degrees. It's a miserable experience.
HAYES: Yes, I've been reading the complaints online. Charlie pierce, thank you for being with me tonight.
