Ahead of President Donald Trump's extravagant, partisan Fourth of July celebration, CNN commentator David Swerdlick sharply criticized the president for involving the military in his vanity project, suggesting that Trump's desperation for a military parade is a sign of weakness more than anything else.
"Is the president approaching the salute to American as a campaign rally?" asked Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room."
"Like a campaign rally or this implied statement," said Swerdlick. "He's conflating himself with America's Independence, and his achievements with a celebration that's supposed to be about all of us being patriotic Americans."
"I think there's another element, which is he — whether intentionally or not — is showing American weakness, in my view," said Swerdlick. "The reason small countries have these displays is because they are small and want to show they are big. We're the world's greatest superpower. We shouldn't need to have tanks on the mall to demonstrate, but Trump thinks we do."
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