LIZ PEEK: Trump's Army celebration offers startling split screen with angry Democrats

Fox News

5 hours ago

Call me crazy, but dissing our nation's army on its 250th birthday seems like yet another Democrat blunder.
What a split-screen Americans witnessed this past Saturday. On the one hand, they saw thousands of patriots cheering our nation's troops, and on the other, "mostly peaceful" protesters screeching that our democracy is under assault. Demonstrators were caught on video waving Hamas flags, jeering our veterans and beating up cops. Angry crowds led by the likes of Randi Weingarten, whose teachers' union does more to promote social injustice than any other organization on earth, as they graduate class after class of minority kids unable to read and condemned to lives without futures.
Democrats, who crowned Joe Biden their candidate in 2024 by resetting the primary calendar to guarantee their incumbent's ascension, sued to keep RFK, Jr. off the ballot, banned competitors from running, and tried to lock up Donald Trump, are no friends to democracy. Democrats, who lied to the country about Joe Biden's mental decline and tried to make an incompetent man president for four more years so they could hold onto power, should shut up about tyranny.
The left is especially furious that democracy failed them last year, when a solid majority of the country elected Donald Trump and handed the government over to Republicans.
Their "No Kings Day" protests were an eruption of their fury, like the howls of angry, thwarted toddlers. They timed the nationwide demonstrations to detract from the Army's 250th birthday celebration, insulting not only President Trump but also our men and women in uniform, notwithstanding that our military is one of our nation's most respected institutions. Democrats have no agenda other than bucking everything President Trump does, even if it puts them at odds with most of the country and makes them politically toxic.
They are ready to go to bat for (in no particular order): Violent criminals in our country illegally, biological men who want to compete in women's sports, open borders, abortions through nine months, DEI, unlimited welfare checks for everyone and waste, fraud and abuse in our government.
They are against: ICE, who rids the country of sex traffickers, fentanyl dealers and murderers; school choice, which offers kids of all kinds better education options; our proud military; cutting government spending; lowering taxes to promote businesses; productivity and hiring and religion.
No wonder they lost last fall.
The contrasting events on Saturday said it all. President Trump staged an uplifting day of festivities to celebrate the Continental Congress commissioning our first military, the Continental Army, on June 14, 1775. The festival opened with an Army fitness competition, and included a chance to interact with soldiers, astronauts and Medal of Honor recipients – the bravest of the brave. The fitness event doubtless alienated many on the left, who have decided that running, being muscular and keeping fit is a right-wing fever, not an activity that improves wellness and longevity. Think I'm kidding?
In 2022, Time magazine published an article tracking "The White Supremacist Origins of Exercise," which kicked off a loony and ongoing attack on healthy activity. Last year, The Guardian published an article with this title: "Getting fit is great – but it could turn you into a rightwing jerk." This, from an author who admitted buying into every fitness craze extent, but who has come to believe that "getting fit makes you more rightwing." I'll spare you her tortured calculus on how people can enter "an unwitting slide into fascism, hastened by a treadmill."
The Army celebration culminated in a parade which showcased the history of our country's fighting forces and battles, from the revolution to today. The liberals who dragged their children through angry demonstrations should have taken them instead to D.C.; they might have learned a thing or two about our past, and taught their kids some respect for the lives lost protecting their right to protest.
Democrats were incensed that Donald Trump's birthday fell on the day chosen to celebrate our military. They accused him of using the event to celebrate himself, though the planning for Saturday's festival was more than two years in the making. As it happened, even the New York Times could not find much to complain about, describing the day as expressing mainly "patriotism and gratitude for the army" and "somewhat more restrained than other displays Mr. Trump has praised, such as Bastille Day in France."
The Times reporter acknowledged that many viewed the festival as a "savvy recruitment tactic." The U.S. military shelled out more than $6 billion over the past three years to recruit and retain service members; the administration believes the parade, which cost roughly $45 million, will boost enlistment. Already, recruitment has increased, with the Trump administration meeting its goal months ahead of schedule.
The liberal media had a tough day. MSNBC hosts Ali Velshi and Chris Hayes were clearly disappointed that the military celebration was positive and upbeat, with Hayes noting the festivities lacked the "dark, malevolent energy," which he said was often present at President Trump's rallies. Velshi agreed, commenting "I'm just sort of surprised by the number of people who were at the front of the parade watching, cheering, and then would come and ask to take a selfie."
The clueless commentators also acknowledged that America's "civic culture and democratic culture is actually quite strong and sort of is an enormous asset that we have when we compare ourselves to other places…" Yes, that's what Republicans have been saying all along: our democracy is alive and well.
Not everyone was happy. Former West Point professor Graham Parsons warned in The Atlantic that Trump is trying to "politicize the U.S. military." To protest Trump's ban on discussions of race and gender at the academy, Parsons resigned his position, since his "research agenda" -- studying "the relationship between masculinity and war, among other things —was effectively off limits."
Another win for President Trump.