WASHINGTON, July 5, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump sang the
praises of the US military and American heroes of the past two and a half
centuries Thursday as he skirted politics in a rousing Independence Day
speech in Washington.
“What a great country,” Trump exclaimed in an address saturated with
patriotism and exceptionalism.
“For Americans, nothing is impossible.”
As combat aircraft, including the rarely seen B2 stealth bomber flew
overhead, Trump scrolled through myriad events of US history, from
groundbreaking inventions to battlefield victories, drawing cheers of “USA!
USA!” from an enthusiastic rain-soaked audience of tens of thousands on the
National Mall in Washington.
– ‘The most exceptional nation’ –
In front of a massive statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln, the heroic 19th
century president, Trump used the traditionally politics-free holiday to
deliver shoutouts to each arm of the military, as well as singling out first
responders and the controversial Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs
Enforcement agencies that have been criticized for their treatment of
migrants.
But he disappointed critics who had warned that Trump, the first president
in decades to make a keynote speech on the July 4 holiday, was hijacking the
celebration to bolster his own political standing and attack Democratic
rivals.
Instead, in a trickling rain, he repeatedly ascribed a singular greatness
to the country, declaring it “the most exceptional nation in the history of
the world.”
“Today, we come together as one nation with this very special Salute to
America. We celebrate our history, our people, and the heroes who proudly
defend our flag — the brave men and women of the United States military!” he
said.
“Our nation is stronger today than it ever was before. It is its strongest
now,” he said.
– Patriotic fervor –
Surrounded by the top officers of the Pentagon, and a panoply of invited
Republican officials and VIP donors, the event allowed Trump to stake a
strong claim to patriotic fervor 16 months ahead of a presidential election
with polls showing his potential Democratic rivals holding a significant edge
over him.
Trump originally wanted a grand military parade for the holiday, ostensibly
inspired by France’s rollout of its military might on its own national day.
But instead, he got a scaled-back version, with some US armored vehicles
parked for display and a flyover by the president’s own Air Force One jet,
the B2 bomber, attack helicopters, and the Navy’s Blue Angels flying team.
It was a military show that has been absent from the US capital for
decades, and Trump’s foes blasted it ahead of time as a show of militarism.
“What, I wonder, will Donald Trump say this evening when he speaks to the
nation at an event designed more to stroke his ego than celebrate American
ideals?” said leading Democratic White House contender Joe Biden in a speech
in Iowa earlier Thursday.