Assailed for inflaming racial divisions, Mr. Trump this week sought to reframe his attack on the so-called squad of congresswomen into a question of patriotism and loyalty, claiming that they “hate our country.”The blistering debate that has followed is all the more remarkable given that Mr. Trump spent much of the last few years essentially disparaging America. It was the high-octane fuel for his campaign, the notion that this was no longer the United States of old because it had succumbed to politically correct, multicultural, open-borders globalism and allowed itself to be taken advantage of by allies and adversaries alike. As president, however, Mr. Trump has wrapped himself in the flag — at one point hugging it at a conservative political gathering — and waged a monthslong campaign against African-American football players for protesting racism by kneeling during the national anthem. He effectively co-opted the national celebration of the Fourth of July, making himself the red-white-and-blue star on center stage. He has contended that he has transformed the United States into a beacon of strength again, crediting himself with reversing the national decline he identified as a candidate.

Source: International New York Times July 16, 2019 22:49 UTC