President Donald Trump's 4th of July speech at Mt. Rushmore Friday night focused on the United States' history and legacy in the world. He also addressed the issue with cancel culture advocates trying to completely shatter American history by pulling down monuments and statues. But, according to Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), the president's speech should have focused on the 130,000 Americans who died as a result of the Wuhan coronavirus and the bogus story about Russia putting a bounty on American troops' heads.
"Where does it end? Should statues, for example, of George Washington, come down?" CNN's Dana Bash asked.
"Well, let me just say that we should start off by having a national dialogue on it at some point, but right now, we're in the middle of a global pandemic and one of our allies, one of our countries that are opposed to us – Russia – has put a bounty on American troops' heads. What really struck me about the speech the president gave at Mt. Rushmore is that he spent more time worried about honoring dead Confederates than he did talking about the lives of our 130,000 Americans who lost their lives to COVID-19 or by warning Russia off the bounty they're putting on Americans' heads," Duckworth explained. "I mean, his priorities are all wrong here. He should be talking about what we're going to do to overcome this pandemic. What are we going to do to push Russia back? And, instead, he had no time for that. He spent all his time talking about dead traitors."
Bash pushed back, reminding Duckworth that many would not consider George Washington to be a "traitor." The senator didn't say whether or not statues of Washington should be torn down but instead insisted a "national dialogue" should take place.
What the senator fails to grasp is this: a "national conversation" can't take place. The left-wing cancel culture mob has already gunned for any and all monuments, not just those of Confederate soldiers and leaders. A perfect example are the statues of Union General Ulysses S. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln. Both men despised slavery and everything it stood for. They fought to free slaves in the south and bring together our union. No one seems to care about that bit of history. The left sees a statue of a white man from the 1800s so it's automatically assumed that they were racist members of the Confederacy.
We can't have a "conversation" about statues that have been desecrated and destroyed. Conversations are supposed to happen before those kinds of actions are taken, not after.
Duckworth can say Trump memorialized "dead traitors" and Confederates but he was talking about all statues and monuments that have been destroyed at the hands of the left-wing mob. Christopher Columbus wasn't a Confederate. Neither was King Louis IX. To say this is solely about Confederate statues and monuments is ignorant.
President Trump's speech focused on reminding Americans that our history is rich. Yes, it has blemishes, some that caused great heartache. We've learned from it, we've grown from it and we must remember it so we aren't doomed to repeat it.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth on President Trump's Mt. Rushmore speech where he defended Confederate monuments: "His priorities are wrong. What are we going to do to push Russia back? Instead, he had no time for that. He spent all his time talking about dead traitors" #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/Qs6bzdGGY3
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 5, 2020