Donald Trump’s West Point speech today was a complete disaster
Donald Trump insisted on having a live commencement at West Point, requiring cadets who graduated to return to the campus and quarantine in the process. The cadets are spread out on the field instead of in the bleachers.
This could have been done virtually. There is no point to having the cadets show up to hear this lifeless, lusterless speech by Trump. He is rattling on about all kinds of stuff, including his typical nonsense of how much money his administration has provided to the military, and other inane statements. When the cadets clap, you can barely hear them. It is a publicity stunt by an attention hungry president who shows no compassion or care for the health and welfare of his fellow Americans. Among the things they heard while sitting in a place, far removed from their families:
• Coronavirus, the invisible enemy, that came to our shores from a place far away, a country called China
• America is not the policemen of the world
• Football team beat Navy.
We don’t know what was the (west) point of this commencement address. Maybe a precursor to his rallies starting in a week. As the New York Times wrote about what this required: “Graduating cadets…at West Point have lived in Covid-19 quarantine for the past two weeks…ordered back to campus after the president abruptly announced…that he wanted to go through with his previously planned commencement address.”
Trump also told the cadets that we will only engage when we can win. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson observed on MSNBC that someone must have gotten to him and given him a ton of valium and demanded he stick to the teleprompter and that he adhered to the script. Trump also regaled the cadets with his own overstated record. Again, endangering 1,100 cadets for this lethargic speech for an unknown purpose makes no sense.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.