The Left, as we have seen repeatedly, are adept at hearing “dog whistles.” Which is another way of saying that liberals have vivid, if sometimes warped, imaginations.
Take CNN’s claim that a relatively innocent Christmas card sent out by former President George W. Bush is a shot at President Trump for having not been accepting of the 2020 election results. “George W. Bush sends holiday card with pointed message as Trump denies election loss,” reads the headline at the network’s website. The “pointed message” appears to be an image of the Statue of Liberty titled, “Beacon of Hope, 2020.” The artwork is from a collection that celebrates immigrants.
Here is CNN’s explanation for how this is a shot at the president:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
The painting and its title come from a former President who has in the past leveled veiled criticism against Trump’s immigration policies and was one of the first Republican figures to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden on his election win.
Bush’s choice to make the Statue of Liberty central to his card is symbolic of his past critiques of Trump.
The statue was often one of the first sights that new immigrants to America would see as they entered New York Harbor and contains a poem by Emma Lazarus that is famous for its phrase, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
Former President George W. Bush has sent out holiday cards with a pointed message about a hopeful new year as President Trump continues to deny his election loss https://t.co/fMugcihNRm
— CNN (@CNN) December 17, 2020
Yes, that’s right. CNN thinks an image of the Statue of Liberty is a criticism of Donald Trump. While they also seem incapable – still – of understanding the difference between legal immigration and illegal immigration.
A helpful analogy for those still uncertain of the difference: One can walk into a bank and choose to withdraw money either legally or illegally, the latter of which will get you thrown in jail.
CNN also seems to link the “Beacon of Hope” message itself is for Trump, who has been unwilling to submit to what he believes is a fraudulent election. “The holiday card from the only living former Republican president comes as Trump and his GOP allies continue to deny his election loss even after the Electoral College on Monday affirmed Biden’s win,” they write.
Bush Has Taken Plenty of Shots at Trump in the Past
Don’t get me wrong: It’s not that former President George W. Bush has been reluctant to criticize Trump in the past. It’s just that drawing a line, in this case, seems rather ridiculous.
This past May, Bush made a rare public statement to address the nation during the coronavirus pandemic, calling for an end to partisanship. The comments caused Trump to wonder just where the former president was while Democrats were unfairly savaging him for the previous four years.
Come to think of it, where was Bush’s “Beacon of Hope” message when Barack Obama and his administration were throwing kids in cages?
Bush went after Trump at a speech delivered in New York City in 2017, leaving no doubt about how he felt toward the new administration. Without mentioning him by name, Bush picked apart numerous aspects of a new attitude in America under Trump – and it’s clear he was not a fan. “Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone,” Bush chided, and “provides permission for cruelty and bigotry.”
He also surmised that in today’s America, “Bigotry seems emboldened; our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.” He attacked the “America first” concept, calling it “isolationist sentiments” and lamented that “we’ve seen nationalism distorted into nativism.” Finally, he added that under Trump, our nation has “forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to America.”
President George W Bush in NYC: "We've seen nationalism distorted into nativism…we need to recall and recover our own identity" pic.twitter.com/dsiSkFzEVp
— Pat Ward (@WardDPatrick) October 19, 2017
Perhaps if George W. Bush wants to know what a “Beacon of Hope” is, he should speak to his nephew, George P. Bush, current Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office. George Prescott Bush explained why Trump is a beacon of light against socialism and communism in comments he made explaining why he would be voting for him over Joe Biden. “President Trump is the only thing standing between America and socialism,” the younger Bush explained.
It’s hard to remain a “beacon of hope” when the one man preventing socialism from coming to America is about to be replaced by one who warned — prophetically, it appears — that the country was going to enter a “very dark winter.”
Cross posted at the Mental Recession
