President Trump's Memorial Day Message Is So Typical & Twitter Has Opinions
This is President Donald Trump's second Memorial Day in office. He's made it quite clear during his time as president that Twitter is his preferred method of communication. While many Americans observe Memorial Day as an occasion to remember and honor the U.S. military personnel who have given their lives in service to this country, the commander in chief took a different route in his message on this holiday of remembrance. President Trump's Memorial Day message is so typical, and Twitter is letting him know they are not here for it.
It's not unusual to be frustrated by a tweet sent out by President Trump. He has quite an affinity for sharing his thoughts on the social media site, but his multitude of tweets don't always strike the right tone. Trump's tweet on Monday, May 28 only slightly recognized the day as Memorial Day before quickly turning into a tweet meant to highlight President Trump's perceived achievements in office.
He wrote,
Happy Memorial Day! Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today. Best economy in decades, lowest unemployment numbers for Blacks and Hispanics EVER (& women in 18years), rebuilding our Military and so much more. Nice!
Um... OK?
"Nice!" is not a phrase you typically see in Memorial Day tribute posts. Mentions of the economy and the unemployment numbers of Blacks, Hispanics, and "(...women...)" are also rarely employed in an instance where you are honoring men and women who have died in service to the United States.
Twitter took note of these oddities in Trump's Memorial Day message, and they let the president know the day is not about him or his perceived achievements.
One person even took it a step further to posit that some men and women who laid down their lives for this country might have done so fighting for some of the very institutions that President Trump degrades and attacks on a regular basis. Since being in office, Trump has repeatedly referred to negative news reports about him as "fake news." More recently, he's also taken to attacking the Justice Department by calling the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election a "witch hunt."
Others pointed out the fact that Trump himself avoided the draft for the Vietnam War four times with college deferment and a "disqualifying physical condition" due to bone spurs in both heels of his feet, per Snopes.
People didn't enjoy the excited and exclamatory tone of the tweet on this usually somber day.
Finally, people couldn't get over Trump's need to toot his own horn with his message about the "best economy in decades" and unemployment numbers. In fact, Twitter took it a step further to fact-check the stats put forth in what was supposed to be the president's Memorial Day message.
Per Politifact, while the unemployment rates of Blacks, Hispanics, and women have hit the lows Trump claims in his tweet, there is much credit due to his predecessor who saw unemployment rates of those groups cut in half during his two terms as the country recovered from the Great Recession. President Obama was in office when Black unemployment went down from 16.6 percent in April 2010 to 7.8 percent when Obama left office in January 2017. Hispanic unemployment went from a high of 13 percent in August 2009 down to 5.9 percent at the end of Obama's second term.
Speaking of Obama, people also pointed to the former president's Memorial Day message as an example Trump might want to make note of. In his message, Obama shared,
We can never truly repay the debt we owe our fallen heroes. But we can remember them, honor their sacrifice, and affirm in our own lives those enduring ideals of justice, equality, and opportunity for which generations of Americans have given that last full measure of devotion.
President Trump's Monday morning tweet wasn't his only acknowledgement of Memorial Day during the holiday weekend. Apparently, the official Trump Store also gave a nod to the day by offering a 25-percent-off sale on Trump merchandise during Memorial Day weekend. The kicker for most people when they heard about the sale is that the code to get the deal is "REMEMBER."
It seems that President Trump's efforts to honor the brave men and women who gave their lives for the United States have really missed the mark. In fact, his Monday morning tweet used what reads like an obligatory (on his part) mention of the brave soldiers who died fighting for their country as merely a segue to highlight what he apparently sees as the bright spots of his presidency thus far.
It's no secret that Trump isn't a fan of anything dealing with Obama, so maybe he can turn to his daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump, for some Memorial Day message advice. Ivanka posted seemingly sincere and honorable tributes on her social media pages that expressed her "gratitude for their sacrifice and awe of their courage."
Really, any post simply and sincerely thanking men and women who have laid down their lives in service to the United States would be a welcome change from the president. And, President Trump, might I suggest leaving any and all exclamation points out of your next Memorial Day tweet.
