They’re comparing him to the Wicked Witch of the West, afraid of melting in the rain. They accuse him of being more concerned about ruining his elaborate comb-over than about paying tribute to the memories of U.S. soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.
President Trump’s decision to cancel a scheduled visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Belleau Wood in France, where over 2,000 American soldiers were killed in battle during that bloody war are buried, because of some mildly inclement weather has triggered serious blowback. Critics on both sides of the Atlantic are lining up to take a shot at the president for his selfish and horridly insulting behavior.
Former Obama speechwriter Ben Rhodes responded to a tweet about the failure of the current White House to arrange for alternate arrangements with a reminder of the competence that was lost in the transition between presidencies.
I helped plan all of President Obama’s trips for 8 years. There is always a rain option. Always. https://t.co/exZNlONQOp
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) November 10, 2018
Cody Keenan, another ex-Obama administration staffer, tweeted a picture that demonstrated how a president could actually function despite less than perfect weather.
Guess which President didn’t let a little weather stop him from honoring the troops https://t.co/k7uXnZaSB7 pic.twitter.com/cf6hNggpyJ
— Cody Keenan (@codykeenan) November 10, 2018
Veterans also took to Twitter en masse to denounce the president they already vilified for his draft dodging past as “Cadet Bone Spurs” after the reason he gave for his Vietnam war deferment.
It is only fitting that a draft dodging coward refuses to honor the sacrifices of the brave soldiers who served so bravely in WW1.
All because he is scared of a little rain.
— Andrew Goss ✊USAF✊ (@Goss30Goss) November 10, 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau all went ahead with plans to visit #WWI memorials. #CadetBoneSpurs https://t.co/iQOhorIcQK
— VoteVets (@votevets) November 10, 2018
On the international side, Winston Churchill’s grandson, Nicholas Soames, a current member of the British Parliament, attacked Trump with a devastating assessment, but mostly other world leaders simply embarrassed the president by acting like true leaders do and fulfilling their moral obligations to respect their fallen heroes.
11,000 Canadian names on these walls. pic.twitter.com/6vcoF0gdEE
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) November 10, 2018
While France and Germany were bitter enemies during two world wars in the last 100 years, their current leaders both ventured into the rain to present a unified front as the U.S. leader presumably stayed in his hotel room cursing the TV for not carrying Fox News.
French President Emmanuel Macron posted this shot of himself and German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the simple, but meaningful, caption “Unis.”
Unis. pic.twitter.com/a3we7hpKDJ
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) November 10, 2018
Trump’s supporters have remained remarkably silent in their MAGA hats about whether the president’s demonstrable disrespect for the troops rises to the level of what they see as the treason of Colin Kaepernick-inspired NFL players who kneel in protest against police brutality.
Perhaps they’ve finally stopped trying to defend the indefensible — or maybe they’re just out of breath after screaming “lock her up” at the pre-election Trump rallies last week despite the absence of Hillary Clinton on the American political scene for the past two years.
See, some Republicans do have the ability to remember and memorialize the past…as long as the weather is good and they’re indoors.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
Original reporting by Tal Axelrod at The Hill.
