By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Congressman Sam Graves says the criticism President Donald Trump received for simply going to Mt. Rushmore to deliver an Independence Day speech says more about the media than the president.
Several major news media outlets criticized the president’s address and as well as its venue.
Graves, a Republican, points out Trump, a fellow Republican, was simply following the precedent set by past presidents in going to Mt. Rushmore.
“That shows just how disingenuous so much of the media is when it comes to President Trump is the fact that now, all of the sudden, it’s racist and just a terrible, dark time for the president to be going to Mt. Rushmore, one of our greatest monuments to our nation and our nation’s history and the great individuals who have led this country,” Graves tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.
Protests in wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer have sparked riots in some states, resulting in an attack on numerous monuments and harsh criticism of America’s founders, some of whom owned slaves.
Graves says many protestors are criticizing a country which gives them the right to freely protest in the first place.
“The simple fact that individuals can go out and protest in the name of whatever cause that they want, because we have freedom of speech in the United States and can say what they want to about their elected leaders without any repercussions or harm.”
Graves says those who are the loudest and the most destructive make up only a small number of citizens. He accuses them of hijacking the legitimate protests of those concerned about police brutality.
The turmoil which has gripped the country in wake of the George Floyd death only adds to a difficult year as President Trump runs for re-election. Restrictions imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19 sent a strong economy spiraling downward, driving an historically low unemployment rate to an historically high unemployment rate.
Though restrictions have eased, the economic rebound has been overshadowed by lingering concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
Graves says Trump is now fighting an uphill battle after being in a pretty good position at the beginning of the year.
“The president has been dealt a really poor hand,” Graves says. “He has a poor handful of cards right now and how he plays those is going to be very telling in the next few months.”
Graves says COVID-19 has hit hard the president’s strongest argument for re-election: the economy. He says the current protests and riots attacking the very founding of the United States add to the president’s uncertain future.