Sullivan's selective outrage about using the military as political props
During an extended whine two years ago, Sen. Dan Sullivan attacked President Joe Biden for using two Marines as political props for a speech in Philadelphia in which Biden said: “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic. Now, I want to be very clear, very clear up front: Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology.”
Sullivan went on the Senate floor not long after Biden’s speech with a political prop of his own—an enlarged photograph of Biden speaking with Marines behind the president.
“Every time I look at it, my blood boils,” Sullivan said of the photo. “And so should every American’s blood boil.”
Sullivan attacked Biden for having had five military deferments during the Vietnam War, complained that Biden doesn’t support the military and objected to a lack of cabinet members with military experience.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate in 2022. He said this picture of President Joe Biden makes his blood boil and should make the blood boil of every American because Biden had Marines standing behind him.
The Marines were standing that day in Philly as political props for Biden. There is no question about that.
It was a good speech that Biden delivered that day, accurately describing the Trump lie that the 2020 election was stolen, the Trump lie about the mob that attacked the Capitol on January 6th and the need to defend democracy. As for stationing the two Marines behind him, that was a mistake, a bad idea, though not the outrageous offense that Sullivan claims.
Every president and many members of Congress compete to wrap themselves in military images and symbolism for political marketing. Sullivan does it all the time.
“Look at that. Look at that,” Sullivan said of his despised photo. “In my view a sickening abuse of authority from a commander in chief who’s never served in the military—I think he got five Vietnam deferments—and knows nothing about the Marine Corps ethos of honor, courage, commitment.”
“He gave this speech against a blood-red backdrop, fists clenched. Look at him. Yelling at millions of his fellow Americans. Embrace anger. While he embraced the anger in his speech. And chaos.”
“He went on and on. The insults. Very partisan. Somewhat deranged, attacking tens of millions of his fellow Americans,” said Sullivan.
I mention that story today only because of Sullivan’s studied silence about the disrespectful actions of Trump at Arlington National Cemetery Monday.
This is the Sullivan pattern, unchanged since 2016.
Trump posed for campaign photographers while he stood behind the graves of Marines and gave a thumbs-up sign.
Federal law says that “Memorial services and ceremonies at Army National Military Cemeteries will not include partisan political activities.” The U.S. Army confirmed Thursday that a cemetery official who tried to enforce the rules was pushed aside.
The Trump campaign said the cemetery staff member was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode." The Trump campaign also claimed the cemember official is a “disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.”
The Army said the cemetery “is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.”
When it comes to Donald Trump, nothing makes Sullivan’s blood boil.
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