Trump’s “Celebration of America” Features His Unfamiliarity With “God Bless America”

Patriotism was hard for the president today.

After abruptly canceling a White House fete originally intended to celebrate the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl victory—a decision President Donald Trump pinned on a disagreement between him and the players over protests during the national anthem—the White House on Tuesday staged an impromptu event to “celebrate” America instead. The last-minute ceremony featured brief remarks by the president and a military sing-a-long to “God Bless America.” 

But by the end of the event, Trump had already attracted ridicule over his apparent unfamiliarity with the song’s lyrics. The awkward display quickly drew accusations of hypocrisy, with many pointing to the irony of Trump’s struggle amid his ongoing attacks against athletes who kneel during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality. (Trump was notoriously heckled for the same when he appeared to forget the words to the national anthem in January.)

After the Eagles informed the White House that most of its players would not be attending the event, Trump announced Monday evening that he was calling off the traditionally apolitical ceremony. But in a tweet, Trump also blamed protests for the cancelation, when in fact none of the Eagles took a knee during the last season.

Nevertheless, after withdrawing the invitation, the White House implied that the team was disappointing fans who had planned on attending. “The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better,” a statement read. 

Reporters on the scene for “Celebration of America” have added skepticism to the White House’s claims. When asked about basic Eagles knowledge, many seemed unfamiliar. One man, however, kneeled during the event.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate