In the aftermath of Trump’s State of the Union address, MSNBC’s Joy Reid took to Twitter to slam the President for his “1950s-era nationalism,” calling it a nod to a “bygone era his supporters are nostalgic for.”
Church … family … police … military … the national anthem … Trump trying to call on all the tropes of 1950s-era nationalism. The goal of this speech appears to be to force the normalization of Trump on the terms of the bygone era his supporters are nostalgic for. #SOTU
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 31, 2018
The President’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., gave a characteristically smug response that he mistakenly thought would get the last laugh.
Apparently Church, Family, Police, Military, and The National Anthem are things the left hates. I think we would all be a lot better off if we embraced those values that allowed us to become the greatest nation in the world. https://t.co/IxBv2s1It4
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 31, 2018
Of course, what would be an argument from Trump Jr. without some glaring hypocrisy to go with it? Reid, for her part, wasted no time in making quick work of the self-righteous Trump spawn.
She hit Trump on his “commitment” to faith, family, and law enforcement.
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The fun part is, Trump doesn’t actually embody any of the values he’s harkening back to. Faith? He panders to the religious far right but claims he’s never even asked God for forgiveness. Family? He has flouted his marriage vows with porn stars and is accused by multiple women
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 31, 2018
of sexual harassment and worse. Law enforcement? Sure, he is leading the culture war against NFL players who kneel to oppose police killing black civilians, but he and House Republicans are also waging war on federal law enforcement.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 31, 2018
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She then moved on to the military, claiming that he’s “putting on a show” for his base.
And as for the military, Trump’s seeming eagerness to flirt with war with North Korea can’t be heartening. Trump is putting on a show; allowing his base to reminisce about an Ozzie and Harriet past they don’t even really value anymore based on their support for his “values.”
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 31, 2018
Finally, she takes a pointed swipe at his “devotion” to family values.
He offers a promise to bring back the past, but no vision for the future. And strangely, his version of “family values” excludes the families of immigrants.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 31, 2018
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And then she went in for the kill.
Bottom line: the first half of Trump’s #SOTU speech was pure pabulum: GOP family values boilerplate that the party traded in for demographic rage and reality show vulgarity by backing him. The second half was the dark matter Trumpism actually represents:
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 31, 2018
Anti-immigrant, backward looking, anti-innovation, and anti-progress. And of course his base loved every minute of it.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 31, 2018
Unsurprisingly, Trump Jr. has been unusually quiet following the public thrashing. Like his father, perhaps he realized he is wholly out of his league.
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