(This post may contain disputed claims. We make no assertions as to the validity of the information presented by our Opinion Columnist. We are an opinion blog, not a traditional news outlet, and this post should be treated as such. Enjoy.)Liberals were freaking out on social media after President Donald Trump visited troops and signed some of their “Make America Great Again” hats. However, they all seemed to have forgotten what Barack Obama did when he was president. However, we’ve got photos.
At this point, there is no question about the fact that the mainstream media and the political left operate under a glaring double-standard. When it comes to President Donald Trump, he can seemingly do nothing right, even as his predecessors and political rivals are applauded for doing the same things he is chastised for.
This was exemplified when CNN crucified Trump for not visiting our troops over the holidays, only to be forced to issue a retraction of their previous report hours later, as the president was actually en route to Iraq to spend Christmas with members of the military when the first report was issued.
But the bias didn’t stop there. Fresh off of criticizing Trump for not visiting our troops, even as he was on his way to go see them, CNN called the president’s behavior in Germany “inappropriate” after he was photographed signing “Make America Great Again” hats for some soldiers.
“This is very much against military policy and regulation,” claimed CNN correspondent Barbara Starr. “Troops are not supposed to be involved in political activities; the U.S. military is not a political force. The sayings ‘Trump 2020’ and ‘Make America Great Again’ are political slogans of a Trump campaign. They are not governmental sayings, to say the least.”
CNN’s Pentagon correspondent said that President Trump signing red “Make America Great Again” hats for troops in Iraq may have violated Defense Department rules.
“What commander allowed that to really happen?” Barbara Starr asked Wednesday night.
“This is very much against military policy and regulation,” Starr said. “Troops are not supposed to be involved in political activities; the U.S. military is not a political force.”
The president and first lady Melania Trump made unannounced visits to Iraq and Germany on Wednesday to visit the troops. Video footage showed Trump signing the red baseball caps that were a symbol of his presidential campaign. [Source: The Hill]
But this was surprisingly disingenuous, even for CNN. President Trump did not bring the MAGA hats with him to Iraq and Germany to be distributed — which would have been inappropriate — they were the personal property of the troops who asked Trump to sign them. It was no different than if the president had signed their shirt or a photograph.
The U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) set CNN straight, saying, “There is no rule against Airmen bringing personal items to be signed by the president. Any time the commander in chief offers the opportunity to meet with Airmen, such as this official holiday visit by the President and First Lady, Airmen are welcome to participate. No policy violations have been brought to our attention at this time.”
Coincidentally, no one at all took issue with former President Barack Obama doing the exact same thing when he visited our troops.
President Trump’s actions in shaking hands and autographing items for the troops is comparable to when former President Barack Obama was in office and took time to sign items for service members, such as photos of himself. At the time, he did not receive widespread backlash. [Source: IJR]
Twitter users were able to dig up several old photos of Obama visiting troops while he was president that showed he did exactly what Trump was criticized for in Germany.
Help us spread this information and expose the double standard. When it comes down to it, President Donald Trump is going to be vilified by the mainstream media no matter what he does — even if their Golden Boy, Barack Obama, did it before him.
