Presidential historian calls for end to 'silly' Presidents' Day, compares it to celebrating a king's birthday
Presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky argued on Monday, Presidents' Day, that the holiday shouldn't be celebrated during a conversation on MSNBC, suggesting the actions of different presidents should be celebrated, but not the people themselves.
"It is a little bit silly. I mean, we have had some real duds, so I'm not sure we really want to be celebrating all presidents. And the tradition actually comes from celebrating birthdays, which is a celebration that we inherited from celebrating the king, and I'm just not sure that that's exactly what we want. I think instead, it makes a lot more sense to celebrate actions," Chervinsky, who is also the executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library, said.
Presidents' Day occurs on the third Monday of every February, and celebrates all U.S. presidents, though it originally celebrated George Washington's birthday, which was on Feb. 22. MSNBC host Ali Vitali asked Chervinsky to explain why she felt the holiday was "ridiculous."
"Let's celebrate Washington returning his command and ensuring that there wasn't a military dictatorship. Let's celebrate Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Things that they actually had control over as opposed to their birthday," she added.
Msnbc Legal Analyst Pushes Back On 'Morning Joe' Co-hosts Sounding Alarm On 'Constitutional Crisis'
Vitali then brought up something Chervinsky said earlier in the show, "the idea that Trump posted something just over the weekend where he quoted Napoleon Bonaparte-esque saying, 'He who saves his country does not violate any law.'"
Read On The Fox News App
"It feels like exactly the example of what you're saying we should push against," Vitali added.
Chervinsky agreed and said a president shouldn't be celebrated just because they exist.
"I think if we think of a president as someone to celebrate just because they exist, which is what the king was, and that's why they celebrated the king's birthday, then you kind of - it does evolve into that argument that they can do no wrong," Chervinsky continued.
Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture
Protests broke out across the country today over Trump's policies, according to reports, including outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Vitali asked Chervinsky about the "star power" often needed to win the presidency.
"I think it's worth acknowledging, like, really excellent skills. It's worth respecting those things. But I think that if we see them as somehow other, it causes us to believe that we shouldn't criticize, we shouldn't analyze, we shouldn't hold accountable," Chervinksy said.
She concluded that presidents should be celebrated for specific actions and leadership, not just because they're the person in power.Original article source: Presidential historian calls for end to 'silly' Presidents' Day, compares it to celebrating a king's birthday
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Dr. Phil says legacy media is 'creating criminals' by distorting LA riot coverage
Dr. Phil blamed the media for "encouraging" the ongoing anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles Thursday. On "The Real Story," the talk show host shared multiple photos and videos of chaos from the riots in L.A., and juxtaposed it with how members of the media have worked to downplay it. "Your eyes don't deceive you, but the media does," he said. In one clip, he showed CNN host Dana Bash downplaying what is happening in L.A. in comparison to 1992, saying, "That was a real riot." Liberal Media Downplays La Riots, Dismiss Violence As Isolated While Touting 'Peaceful' Anti-ice Protests "Guess this isn't a real riot," Dr. Phil quipped sarcastically. Read On The Fox News App He proceeded to share a video of MSNBC interviewing Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., with a split screen of cars on fire as she referred to the riot as a "manufactured crisis." Dr. Phil retorted that MSNBC's news coverage is what's actually "manufactured." He mocked one MSNBC reporter saying the protest had a "celebratory atmosphere," while another host said that these are "peaceful" protests that whole families are attending. "Great place to take kids," Dr. Phil joked with more sarcasm. "I don't think so." After showing multiple examples of violent criminals rounded up by ICE, he said, "Look, this was not a witch hunt to round up 'Abuela Maria.' It's law enforcement getting criminals off the street. "So what does the left do? Encourages everyone to become criminals by blocking freeways, setting fires, throwing rocks, destroying city property and attacking federal agents." Mayor Bass Blames Trump's Ice Raids For Starting Riots While Claiming 'Things In La Are Calm' "The real story? This isn't just about immigration, it's about media betrayal." He continued, "This isn't just a protest anymore. Everybody has the right to protest, that's one of the things that makes this country such a wonderful place to be. This is a movement fed by media distortions and open hostility toward any effort to enforce the law." The host argued that rhetoric about abolishing ICE is just as nonsensical as calling to abolish the police, and is functionally just advocating for open borders. He then highlighted MSNBC's Jacob Soboroff as a "so-called 'journalist' making the case that there's nothing wrong with coming and staying in the US illegally." "The media isn't just rewarding bad behavior by sugarcoating it, [they're] encouraging it," Dr. Phil said after the clip. "They're actually saying, 'Hey, this is okay.' They're creating criminals. They're lying to viewers, even though the video speaks for itself." "This is why mainstream media viewership has tanked," he added. "If you want the truth, you need to look for the truth, find it, demand it, it's out there. You need to cut through the legacy media noise." Fox News Digital reached out to CNN and MSNBC for article source: Dr. Phil says legacy media is 'creating criminals' by distorting LA riot coverage
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Lawrence O'Donnell Mocks Trump for Backtracking Promise to Deport 15 Million: ‘Slowest and Stupidest President in History'
Lawrence O'Donnell celebrated President Donald Trump walking back his campaign promise to deport 15 million illegal immigrants from the United States. 'The central lie of Donald Trump's deportation campaign promise came apart today,' O'Donnell announced. He pointed to a post Trump made on Truth Social Thursday morning, in which the president noted the concerns of farmers and hotel corporations throughout the country who want to keep their hard-working immigrant employees and wrote, 'We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA.' 'Donald Trump promised to deport every one of those people working on farms. Every one of them. He promised to deport all of them, and then he decided not to deport them today,' the 'Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell' host explained on Thursday night's episode. 'He's not going to deport 15 million people. He's not going to deport a million people. It's over. The mass deportation lie that he never could have done anyway is over. Donald Trump formally, publicly gave up today.' You can watch the full 'Last Word' segment yourself in the video below. In response to a clip of Trump saying that America cannot take away farmers' most hard-working employees, O'Donnell said, 'He was doing it to the farmers!' The MSNBC anchor continued, 'What everyone has been saying for years and years and years in defense of those people who Donald Trump was calling murderers and rapists, everything we've been saying, I guess, has finally sunk in with Donald Trump, the slowest and stupidest president in history.' 'Maybe they don't have what they're supposed to have in legal documentation to be here,' O'Donnell said of the immigrants Trump has been targeting since he retook office in January. 'Donald Trump doesn't care about any of that anymore. The stupidest man in the room finally realizes the Democrats are completely right about this, and always have been.' Unfortunately, O'Donnell noted that Trump's immigration surrender was overshadowed Thursday by California Senator Alex Padilla's forced removal from a press conference with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. 'What Donald Trump said today is not going to make one person in this country feel safer tomorrow,' O'Donnell lamented. 'They won't feel safer because they've all seen what happened to a United States senator today.' 'We are all Alex Padilla tonight,' O'Donnell concluded. 'Any one of us could be the next one on the floor in handcuffs, in the ragingly thuggish, unconstitutional government now run by the stupidest, most dangerous president this country has ever had to endure.' You can watch the full 'The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell' episode in the video above. The post Lawrence O'Donnell Mocks Trump for Backtracking Promise to Deport 15 Million: 'Slowest and Stupidest President in History' | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
Dr. Phil says legacy media is 'creating criminals' by distorting LA riot coverage
Dr. Phil blamed the media for "encouraging" the ongoing anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles Thursday. On "The Real Story," the talk show host shared multiple photos and videos of chaos from the riots in L.A., and juxtaposed it with how members of the media have worked to downplay it. "Your eyes don't deceive you, but the media does," he said. In one clip, he showed CNN host Dana Bash downplaying what is happening in L.A. in comparison to 1992, saying, "That was a real riot." "Guess this isn't a real riot," Dr. Phil quipped sarcastically. He proceeded to share a video of MSNBC interviewing Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., with a split screen of cars on fire as she referred to the riot as a "manufactured crisis." Dr. Phil retorted that MSNBC's news coverage is what's actually "manufactured." He mocked one MSNBC reporter saying the protest had a "celebratory atmosphere," while another host said that these are "peaceful" protests that whole families are attending. "Great place to take kids," Dr. Phil joked with more sarcasm. "I don't think so." After showing multiple examples of violent criminals rounded up by ICE, he said, "Look, this was not a witch hunt to round up 'Abuela Maria.' It's law enforcement getting criminals off the street. "So what does the left do? Encourages everyone to become criminals by blocking freeways, setting fires, throwing rocks, destroying city property and attacking federal agents." "The real story? This isn't just about immigration, it's about media betrayal." He continued, "This isn't just a protest anymore. Everybody has the right to protest, that's one of the things that makes this country such a wonderful place to be. This is a movement fed by media distortions and open hostility toward any effort to enforce the law." The host argued that rhetoric about abolishing ICE is just as nonsensical as calling to abolish the police, and is functionally just advocating for open borders. He then highlighted MSNBC's Jacob Soboroff as a "so-called 'journalist' making the case that there's nothing wrong with coming and staying in the US illegally." "The media isn't just rewarding bad behavior by sugarcoating it, [they're] encouraging it," Dr. Phil said after the clip. "They're actually saying, 'Hey, this is okay.' They're creating criminals. They're lying to viewers, even though the video speaks for itself." "This is why mainstream media viewership has tanked," he added. "If you want the truth, you need to look for the truth, find it, demand it, it's out there. You need to cut through the legacy media noise." Fox News Digital reached out to CNN and MSNBC for comment.
