SE Cupp tears into Trump: He’s ‘hijacked patriotism’ for himself

CNN’s S.E. Cupp denounced President Trump following his “Salute to America” Fourth of July celebration, saying that Trump has “hijacked patriotism” for himself despite having “nothing to do with making America great.”

“Here’s the deal, Trump has hijacked patriotism, and I’m not here for it,” the conservative host said late Saturday on “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered.” “When the president of the United States turns our democratic ideals on their head, ideals like a free press and free and fair elections, undermining them just to make himself look better, making us doubt our very best assets, he doesn’t want you to love America, he wants you to love him.”

{mosads}”When the president of the United States demands abject, unwavering loyalty of members of Congress, people who pledged an oath to uphold the Constitution, not whatever he says, people who were elected to represent us, not him,” she continued. “When he weaponizes that loyalty, he’s saying above all else, even above America herself, you have to love me.”

Cupp went on to argue that in Trump’s mind, “he is America” and that “patriotism means celebrating him.”

“Even if you’re a Trump supporter, that should be deeply disturbing,” she added. 

“So look he can boast about crowd size all he wants, he can pretend he’s what we’re all celebrating this weekend. He can imagine he’s somehow responsible for our greatness. I’m celebrating America, but it has nothing to do with Trump. He has nothing to do with making America great.”

The comments from Cupp, a frequent Trump critic, came just days after Trump’s long-planned “Salute to America” event, which culminated with a speech the president gave in front of the Lincoln Memorial. 

The festivities included five separate flyovers honoring each branch of the military as well as military tanks that were brought to the capital. Some Democratic lawmakers and Washington, D.C. officials criticized Trump over the military presence during the Fourth of July event.