On Friday, July 19, 2019, Donald J. Trump said:

“You can’t speak about our country the way those four congressmen – they said, ‘garbage.’ They say things about Israel that’s so bad I’m not even going to repeat them right now.

“They can’t get away with that act.”

Essentially Trump is claiming that Americans don’t have the right to say things that he disagrees with or doesn’t like. That somehow the First Amendment of free speech doesn’t apply to those who talk of things that challenge his hegemony of power.

Ironically Trump went on to claim that his right to say whatever he felt like saying about the so-called “squad” was protected by the First Amendment. The First Amendment is his and not the people’s!

Well, let me tell you something, Donald. I am a veteran and like all veterans, I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. When we raised our right hands we were swearing to protect the rights of all Americans, not just the narcissistic authoritarian idiot who by some anomaly of history now occupies the White House.

Many times the Supreme Court of the United States, who you think is fixed when it votes against your desires, has affirmed that the word that is most despised is the word most protected by First Amendment guarantees. The popular word or the word of those who are wealthy and powerful need little to no protection since the popular word never calls into question authority.

The occupant of the White House does have rights. They have the same rights that we all have and nothing more. But in that position comes great responsibility; including the responsibility to use words that unite rather than divide. Arguably we have never in our history had a sitting president who has used their words and position as divisively as this poor excuse for a man.