Trump's Independence Day speech was criticized for "darkness and division"
[Global Times correspondent in the United States Zhang Mengxu and Chen Xin] The United States spent an independent day with a flying show, a fireworks feast, and a large gathering on the 4th, but CNN called it a "gloomy day" ". On the same day, President Trump delivered a speech at the White House, continuing the argument on "President Hill" on the 3rd, fiercely describing the protesters as evil left-wing thugs who intend to "end the United States," condemning them to erase American history through the "left-wing cultural revolution." ". This statement caused great controversy in the United States, and was called a "dark and divided speech" by the Washington Post. Some U.S. media criticized Trump for making "election speeches" to please white voters. As of the evening of the 5th, Beijing time, real-time statistics from Johns Hopkins University in the United States showed that there were more than 2.84 million confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the United States and nearly 130,000 deaths. However, in his speech on Independence Day, Trump did not mention the deaths caused by the epidemic, but he preached the "results" of the fight against the epidemic. "USA Today" commented that the Trump administration's waving of the white flag against the new crown virus is a mockery of the American birthday.
Confrontation and disunity coexist
"One, two, three, four, slavery, genocide, and war. Five, six, seven, eight, the United States has never been great!" On the 4th local time, outside the White House, it is now named "The life of a black man is also a life." "On the square, a group of demonstrators burned the American flag in slogans. Not long ago, Trump delivered a speech at the celebration of the "Salute to the United States" on the South Lawn of the White House, praising "We are the same United States, and we put the United States (interests) first." Agence France-Presse said confrontation and disunity became the hallmarks of American Independence Day this year.
CNN summarized Trump's Independence Day speech with a "deeply divided speech." He vowed to defend American values, saying that he was defeating "radical leftists, anarchists, instigators, predators, and in many cases who had no idea what he was doing," emphasizing that "no angry thugs are allowed to demolish our statues." , Erase our history." The Associated Press commented that the president did not hesitate to use the national birthday as an opportunity to attack people who did not support him. The speech was full of dissatisfaction and bellicoseness in political rallies.
This continues Trump's argument on Mount Rushmore the night before. On the 3rd, he and his family went to South Dakota to hold an air show and a fireworks feast in front of "President Hill", and completed a speech on live television. CNN said that in this speech, which is equivalent to a "cultural war", Trump said that the anti-racial inequality demonstration threatened the foundations of the American political system.
The New York Times commented that Trump used the usual "doomsday" phrase. He tried to use both race and culture to ignite fear among his white supporters. According to Reuters, many people attending the rally held Trump's campaign slogan and shouted the slogan "Four more years in office".
Trump signed an executive order to build the "American Heroes National Park" on the 3rd to display historic figures. In the evening of the 4th in Baltimore, local protesters dragged a Columbus statue and threw it into the city's inner harbor waters. Earlier in the day, Trump stated in his speech that he wanted to defend the American lifestyle when Columbus discovered the American continent.
This tit-for-tat atmosphere is more direct online. On Twitter, a large number of black American netizens launched a boycott of American Independence Day. Some white netizens demanded that those attacking Independence Day leave the United States. Anti-racist protests are still staged in many places in the United States. On the 4th, a car dashed into a group of protesters on an interstate highway in Seattle, killing 1 person and seriously injuring 1 person.
Agence France-Presse commented that the United States is in a polarization, and even on the days that usually signify patriotism and unity, the gap cannot be crossed. Trump did not promote national reconciliation, but further incited social opposition. Shouting the slogan "The life of a black man is also a life" and the two demonstrators waving Trump's slogans, it seems that they can only reach consensus on one thing: this is not the United States they want.
New White House strategy: promote coexistence with viruses
As can be seen from the video and picture reports of the American media, many guests gathered on the South Lawn of the White House on the 4th to listen to Trump's speech, and few people wore masks. That night, a grand fireworks display was held in the National Mall in Washington, DC. The organizer claimed to provide 300,000 masks to the people, but it is not mandatory to wear them. The day before, about 7,500 people participated in the "President Hill" event, and the seats on the scene were densely packed. The US "Wall Street Journal" said that when the epidemic is still spreading rapidly, Trump disregarded the warnings of many public health experts and insisted on holding large-scale celebrations.
Trump claimed in his speech on the 4th that great progress has been made in the fight against the epidemic, and the strategy is progressing smoothly. He refuted the statement before moving out, saying that the United States has more confirmed cases because of more tests. Trump said: "Now we have tested nearly 40 million people, 99% of which are completely harmless. No other country has such results because they have not been tested like us, regardless of quantity or quality. . "He also once again unfounded claims that "China must be responsible for the virus."
CNN commented that July 4 this year is a gloomy day for the United States. Many people are restricted to their homes, and the surge in cases is worrying. Trump made a confusing and dangerous misleading statement, asserting without evidence that the United States "99% of cases are completely harmless", trying to minimize the threat of the virus. However, on the day of Independence Day, the United States increased the number of confirmed cases daily by 45,000 cases, and at least three states set new records every day. Among them, the number of newly confirmed cases in Florida in a single day was 11,458, which surpassed that in New York State, which had the largest number of new cases in the United States. On the 3rd, at least 51,842 confirmed cases were added to the United States, and more than 50,000 cases were added on the third single day.
The New York Times reported that when Trump made these remarks, the audience had doctors and nurses and other frontline workers. American historian Brinkley said: "At least Trump should give a speech on this day, saying that we have a new hero-medical workers and technicians in the United States, and one day there will be hospitals and memorials under their names Name it. But he is just playing the game of protecting monuments and statues. It's awful!"
To make matters worse, in the face of anti-epidemic chaos, the White House is preparing to implement a new set of rhetoric. The National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) quoted senior White House officials as saying that the White House hopes to deliver a more "provoking and more appropriate" outbreak message to the public in the new week, that is, "to coexist with the virus" because the White House realizes that the outbreak will continue By the general election in November. The next stage of Trump’s senior advisers is that even if it is still in the epidemic, the United States will "continue to move forward." At the same time, the White House will emphasize "how low the death rate of the new coronavirus".
American media: The United States is being turned into a "septic country"
Trump's speech caused great controversy. Biden, who locked in the nomination of the Democratic presidential candidate in advance, quickly seized the opportunity and made a contrasting statement. On the 4th, he stated in a video that the United States "has an opportunity to eradicate the roots of systemic racism from this country." He also tweeted: "This year's Independence Day, one of the most patriotic things you can do is wear a mask."
The U.S. Business Insider website said on the 5th that the current polls did not confirm the president’s view that most Americans are hostile to the protests. The latest CBS survey shows that most Americans agree with the views expressed by the "black man's destiny" movement. The British "Guardian" reported on the 5th that some "rebel" groups now appear in the US Republican Party to defeat Trump in November. The latest one is the "43rd Biden Alumni Association" established earlier this month. Colleen Graff, a member of the Republican National Security Group who opposes Trump, said that some Republicans dared not stand up because they were afraid of becoming the target of Trump’s “weapon” on Twitter.
Increasing social opposition has caused American media to worry about the image of the country. According to the US "Atlantic Monthly", in the epidemic, the number of diagnoses and deaths in the United States has become a "world miracle" and caused fear and anxiety. Reckless nationalism made Americans unpopular in Europe and Mexico. The stupid and meaningless competition among countries is still hovering in the minds of some people. Trump is turning the United States into the "septic country" he fears.