Don’t be fooled, just last year in an interview with David Letterman, President-elect Donald Trump agreed 100% with Letterman that burning the flag was a form of “expression.”
Recently Trump came out with a Twitter post that stated that he believed anyone that burned the flag should face losing their citizenship or face jail time, something that is vastly different than his stance just last year right before he started his campaign for President.
Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2016
I guess Trump’s flip flop on this issue shouldn’t be a surprise since his stance on just about everything he promised during his campaign has either been altered or completely changed including Obamacare, Roe vs Wade, Freedom of Speech, and even the political party he claims, which just three short years ago was the Democratic Party.
Even the beloved by Trump Justice Antonin Scalia defended the First Amendment right to burn the flag as a representation of free speech. In a 2012 interview with CNN Scalia stated:
“Yes, if I were king, I — I would not allow people to go about burning the American flag. However, we have a First Amendment, which says that the right of free speech shall not be abridged. And it is addressed, in particular, to speech critical of the government. I mean, that was the main kind of speech that tyrants would seek to suppress. Burning the flag is a form of expression. Speech doesn’t just mean written words or oral words. It could be semaphore. And burning a flag is a symbol that expresses an idea.”
I guess we will just have to wait and see how many more promises and hard stances Trump decides to flip on after years of preaching in a liberal mindset. Either way, this flag burning rhetoric is probably just some ridiculous way of covering up even more deceit by Trump and his future cabinet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYpsrstfx8o
Featured Image Via Slate
