It’s fitting that Donald Trump’s birthday should fall on Flag Day because the values that Old Glory has always stood for are currently under assault from the radical left, and only President Trump can defend them.
The outrageous situation unfolding in Seattle, Washington — where activists have taken control of several square blocks that were abandoned by the police — is a poignant example of the battle that is currently being fought between the defenders of societal order and the anarchists who want to tear down our most venerated institutions.
“Radical Left Governor @JayInslee and the Mayor of Seattle are being taunted and played at a level that our great Country has never seen before,” the President tweeted after local leaders refused to restore law and order to the “autonomous zone” set up by the domestic terrorists. “Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game. These ugly Anarchists must be [stopped] IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!”
As those cowardly Democratic officials should have anticipated from the outset, organized criminal gangs have stepped in to fill the void left by police, allegedly extorting “protection” money from local businesses and setting up “checkpoints” to control access to the area.
That’s the exact opposite of what the American flag stands for. The patriots of the Continental Army fought and died under that flag to give us a government that would safeguard “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Since then, generations of American soldiers have flown, worn, and saluted the flag as they defended our country against pirates, warlords, fascists, communists, and terrorists. Those brave men and women did not risk their lives so that one of America’s major cities could be turned over to the control of mobsters and thugs.
Leftists all over the country are demanding that we “defund the police” — and the anarchy we’re witnessing in Seattle is the inevitable outcome of such a misguided, emotionally-driven policy. Fortunately, President Trump is even more determined to “defend” our law enforcement officers than the activists are to get rid of the thin blue line protecting our society from dangerous anarchy.
We saw that determination when the commander-in-chief called out weak-kneed Democratic mayors and governors for their unwillingness to stop the Antifa rioters who exploited the peaceful protests over George Floyd’s killing. If state and local leaders would not take the necessary steps to safeguard the lives and property of their own citizens, the president vowed to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy the military as a last resort — just as former presidents, such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, have done in the past when confronted with rebellious movements dedicated to tearing down the system of government that our flag represents.
It may technically be a coincidence that Donald Trump was born on Flag Day, but it’s also poetically appropriate because he is currently the main bulwark protecting this country’s core values against a sustained assault from the radical left.
Charlie Kirk is the founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, an advocacy group for young conservatives.