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COMPARE: Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s Memorial Day messages couldn’t be more different

COMPARE: Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s Memorial Day messages couldn’t be more different

Memorial Day messages

“All gave some, some gave all.”

The beautiful turn of words has memorialized America’s fallen in their sacrifice, and even though Trump is all too alive, he wants his sacrifice memorialized, too.

No, there is no evidence that Trump has sacrificed anything.

But his Memorial Day message expressly states that his fight is equal to the sacrifices made by those who died on Omaha Beach, in Da Nang, and Iraq.

The Saudi-loving presidential candidate started out off-key for a day in which we remember the dead by beginning with a big, all-caps HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

To be fair, he did wish a “happy” Memorial Day to everyone, not just his supporters, and thus included families who have lost loved ones and remember them today.

He must hope they’re happy.

Trump’s statement insists that everyone remember his equal sacrifice in service of the nation by bravely fighting on the front lines in a war against Americans.

Apologies ahead of time because all caps are in the original.

“HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, BUT ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHO GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR THE COUNTRY THEY LOVE, AND TO THOSE IN LINE OF A VERY DIFFERENT, BUT EQUALLY DANGEROUS FIRE, STOPPING THE THREATS OF THE TERRORISTS, MISFITS AND LUNATIC THUGS WHO ARE WORKING FEVERISHLY FROM WITHIN TO OVERTURN AND DESTROY OUR ONCE GREAT COUNTRY, WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN IN GREATER PERIL THAN IT IS RIGHT NOW. WE MUST STOP THE COMMUNISTS, MARXISTS AND FASCIST “PIGS” AT EVERY TURN AND, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump posted.

As has been noted before, “communists, Marxists, and fascists” are now simply code words for “Democrats.” It is hard to be sure, but “PIGS” might be a new one.

The message is easy to laugh off as typical Trump, typically self-obsessed and typically seeing himself as both a hero and a victim. And that’s a legitimate takeaway.

On the other hand, it is a repugnant statement to those we do remember today.

Our fallen service members didn’t die to ensure that their country could wage war against itself, one that has already proven violent and threatens to do so again.

They did not die to have some Americans hate other Americans more than America’s true enemies. Putin is committing war crimes by shelling innocent men, women, and children, and yet many MAGAs (most?) hate Democrats far more than Putin.

Far more.

Fortunately, we have a real president governing the country right now, and that man, President Joe Biden, did issue a statement worthy of our heroes.

“On Memorial Day, we honor America’s fallen heroes who gave their last full measure of devotion to this nation.”

“We’ll never be able to repay the debt we owe them.”

“But today, we rededicate ourselves to the work for which they gave their lives, and we recommit to supporting the loved ones they left behind.”

Simple. Beautiful. Elegant. And worthy.

To truly appreciate the difference in the message, one needs to see the two side by side:

To come back to where we started, it’s tempting to laugh at Trump. The all-caps bullsh*t failed to shock long ago but remains equally offensive.

The fact that Trump thinks that his sacrifice is “equal” – his word – shouldn’t be our focus.

No, the focus should be focused on the 33% of Americans, the true MAGAs, who will accept this Memorial Day message as entirely appropriate.

The increasingly militant language continues Trump’s rampage as a stochastic terrorist, and if his militant language results in terrorism, violence, and death, then those innocent victims truly will make a sacrifice equal to those in uniform.

The self-obsession is hilarious.

The message is incredibly ominous.

And dangerous.

I can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com, and on Twitter @JasonMiciak.

Editor’s note: This is an opinion column that solely reflects the opinions of the author.

Jason Miciak
Jason Miciak is an associate editor and opinion writer for Occupy Democrats. He's a Canadian-American who grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He is a trained attorney, but for the last five years, he's devoted his time to writing political news and analysis. He enjoys life on the Gulf Coast as a single dad to a 15-year-old daughter. Hobbies include flower pots, cooking, and doing what his daughter tells him they're doing. Sign up to get all of my posts by email right here:

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