President Donald Trump commanded his followers on Sunday to "HOLD THE DATE" on July 4 for a celebration of the United States complete with a Presidential address.
The tweet didn't go over well.
Few know better than historian Michael Beschloss that history tends to repeat itself, so when he saw the President's tweet announcing "A Salute To America," he connected some dots and posted some photos from another infamous president's July 4 celebration.
The photos show determined protestors wading through the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool during President Richard Nixon's July 4 fete.
The rebuke of Trump was subtle, but people still got the message.
That wasn't all.Similar to Trump's "A Salute to America," organizers of the "Honor America Day" in 1970 sought to slap a band-aid of unquestioning patriotism onto a deeply divided country. With the day occurring only weeks after America's incessant bombing of Cambodia and the carnage at Kent State, Many Americans were more outraged than moved, leading the day to be marred by protests that more fittingly illustrated America at the time.
Some Americans had a special connection to the 1970 photo.
Again, history tends to repeat itself.
Americans seem determined to make Trump hear their voices on Independence Day. They're certainly holding the date.