‘One Squad Under God:’ Trump Releases Patriotic Video With a Message

‘One Squad Under God:’ Trump Releases Patriotic Video With a Message
President Donald Trump speaks during a social media summit in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on July 11, 2019. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Simon Veazey
7/18/2019
Updated:
7/18/2019

President Trump released a patriotic video on July 17 showcasing pride in the U.S. military, accompanied by the soundtrack of “God Bless The USA,” cued to start at the famous line, “I’m proud to be an American.”

For those wondering if the video was a follow-up to Trump’s recent criticism of the “squad” of progressive Democrats as anti-American, the answer comes in the message at the end of the video: “America: One ‘Squad’ Under God.”

That spin on “One Nation Under God” was characterized by some as “trolling” the four progressive Democrat congresswomen who have been dubbed “the squad.”

Trump offered no comment on the video, other than to say, “God Bless The USA.”

The president ignited outrage and accusations of racism after he unloaded several criticisms against the four “progressive” freshman lawmakers, known as the “squad,” between July 14 and 16.

Trump’s most notable post was one in which he called on “‘progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen” to “go back” to their countries to help fix the “totally broken and crime-infested places” before returning to the United States to “show us how it is done.”

The squad of four are Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.).
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2019. (Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2019. (Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

Apart from Omar, who was born in Somalia, the other three lawmakers were born in the United States.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) speak at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2019. (Holly Kellum/NTD)
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) speak at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2019. (Holly Kellum/NTD)

The president remained unabashed after the Democrat-controlled House passed a resolution to condemn the president’s remarks on July 16, largely on party lines.

Over the course of several days, the president gradually expanded on the list of things that those congresswomen did which he believes indicates that they “hate our country.”

Trump also criticized the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party for not standing up against the “radical left” elements in their party.

The same day that he released the video, Trump also thanked the members of the squad for a four-point jump in his approval ratings.

“New Poll: The Rasmussen Poll, one of the most accurate in predicting the 2016 Election, has just announced that ‘Trump’ numbers have recently gone up by four points, to 50%,” Trump wrote in a Twitter post on July 17. “Thank you to the vicious young Socialist Congresswomen. America will never buy your act!”

President Trump hugs the American flag as he arrives to speak at Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md., on March 2, 2019. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)
President Trump hugs the American flag as he arrives to speak at Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md., on March 2, 2019. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)
On the day of the House resolution condemning his remarks, Trump said: “I think it’s terrible when people speak so badly about our country, when people speak so horribly. I have a list of things here—I’m not going to bore you with it because you would be bored. You wouldn’t write it anyway.”

He continued: “But I have a list of things here said by the congresswomen that [are] so bad, so horrible that I almost don’t want to read it, it’s so bad. I think what you [should] do is: You have the same list that I do. You should repeat some of that. When the Democrats didn’t want to mention the name of the congresswoman, not so long ago, and what they did and the way they’re treating Israel is a disgrace.”

“But not only Israel, it’s what they say about our country. It’s my opinion they hate our country. And that’s not good. It’s not acceptable,” he added.

The president also denied that his posts were racist, writing on Twitter: “Those Tweets were NOT Racist. I don’t have a Racist bone in my body.”

Simon Veazey is a UK-based journalist who has reported for The Epoch Times since 2006 on various beats, from in-depth coverage of British and European politics to web-based writing on breaking news.
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