Left pounces on Trump for not knowing the words to ‘God Bless America’

Left pounces on Trump for not knowing the words to ‘God Bless America’
Image: YouTube screen grab via CNN

So what would be a fitting punishment? Wait … I know: impeachment! 

The latest scandal to plague the Trump administration occurred yesterday when in lieu of a meet-and-great with the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles, the White House hosted a Celebration of America. The event, which lasted ten minutes, featured the Marine Corps Band Vocalists, who performed a rendition of “God Bless America.”

The president started off singing with the chorus but then, wouldn’tcha know, forgot the lyrics:

Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?

And out came the fangs of recrimination. “Trump Unable To Remember Words To ‘God Bless America’ At Performance Commissioned To Prove His Patriotism” chided a headline at Screengrabber, which further taunted:

Donald Trump’s hastily arranged replacement for the Super Bowl champion Eagles’ White House visit featured the president making a very brief appearance to talk about how great the economy is and, then, stand awkwardly while mouthing maybe half the words to “God Bless America” like a Yankees fan in right field who started drinking at seven in the morning and first pitch was at 4:05.

So how big a gaffe was this? First off it should be noted that the song, while undeniably patriotic, does not carry the same weight as the national anthem or even “America the Beautiful,” which was a nineteenth-century poem set to music by a church organist and choirmaster.

“God Bless America” was written in 1918 by Irving Berlin as part of a musical revue, while serving in the Army at a military base on Long Island. The opening bars were reputedly lifted from a 1906 Jewish dialect novelty song titled “When Mose with His Nose Leads the Band.” In any case, Berlin ultimately decided that the tune didn’t fit in with the rest of the show and set it aside. It later became a stand-alone hit, albeit with new lyrics. The original included the line “Make her victorious on land and foam, God bless America”  as well as “Stand beside her and guide her to the right with the light from above.”

As for the Left’s utter shock over the president’s lack of patriotism, they weren’t quite as aghast in 2015 when Michelle Obama mouthed the national anthem wrong. From the left-leaning Bustle:

Social media was buzzing Saturday night after the first lady made a minor misstep at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. According to audience members, Michelle Obama supposedly mouthed the national anthem wrong, saying “O’er the ramparts we watched” at the wrong juncture instead of, “What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming.” Normally, someone subconsciously flipping the lines to a song they’ve sung to death wouldn’t be news. But this is the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and who are we kidding? People sending innocent text messages throws Twitter into a tizzy. All bets are off.

The title of the piece? “Michelle Obama Mouthing National Anthem Wrong Isn’t That Big Of A Deal, It Happens To The Best Of Us.”

Ben Bowles

Ben Bowles

Ben Bowles is a freelance writer and regular contributor to "Liberty Unyielding."

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