Trump's fiery rally scorches Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal and 'woke' generals, but crowd spurns his vaccination remarks



Former President Donald Trump blasted President Joe Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan during a rally on Saturday in Cullman, Alabama. Trump also notched a viral moment by blasting wokeness, but the huge crowd wasn't as enthusiastic with the ex-president's stance on COVID-19 vaccinations.

People as far as the eye can see. My home state did not disappoint.❤️🇺🇸#TrumpRally #ALTrumpRally @RealAmVoice https://t.co/MO20x5xbTG

— Amanda Head (@AmandaHead) 1629595068.0


Look at this crowd, this enthusiasm!#AmericaFirst https://t.co/0KNvIWtzpf

— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) 1629595603.0

At the rally in support of Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who is running for a Senate seat in the upcoming midterm elections, Trump took aim at the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal that has helped drop Biden's approval rating to the lowest of his presidency. Trump called Biden's calamitous Afghanistan withdrawal "the greatest foreign policy humiliation in the history of the United States of America."

"It didn't have to happen. All [Biden] had to do was leave the soldiers until everyone was out, our citizens, the weapons, and then you bomb the hell out of the bases and say, 'Bye-bye,'" Trump told his supporters at the packed rally.

The Taliban has flaunted the possession of American weaponry, which the U.S. had supplied billions of dollars of military equipment to the now-fallen Afghan government.

"Joe Biden was going on vacation as Afghanistan was going to hell," Trump exclaimed. "This is what you get when you have weakness in the White House. You can't have weakness in the White House."

"They have to respect your president," he added. "When I was president, we only had strength."

Trump said the Biden administration "tore up our really good plan" on exiting Afghanistan. Trump added that his administration and the Taliban "had a good understanding," and that if conditions were not met during the withdrawal that the U.S. would "start dropping bombs all over the place," and told the fundamentalist organization's leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, that he would "reign terror upon you" if Americans were harmed.

"Vietnam looks like a Masterclass in strategy compared to Joe Biden's catastrophe," Trump told the exuberant crowd of an estimated 40,000 people.

"This will go down as one of the great military defeats of all time and it did not have to happen that way," Trump stated. "This was not a withdrawal, this was a total surrender, for no reason."

"He surrendered our airbase, he surrendered our weapons, he surrendered our embassy," Trump continued to bombard Biden.

"Biden's botched exit from Afghanistan is the most astonishing display of gross incompetence by a nation's leader, perhaps at any time," Trump said. "And the nations of the world, both friend and foe, are looking at us and saying, "What the hell happened to the United States of America so quickly?'"

"We could have gotten out with honor," the former president said. "We should have gotten out with honor. And instead we got out with the exact opposite of honor."

"Very soon we're going to have September 11 and we're going to have — because of Biden — the Taliban flag flying over the embassy," Trump declared.

Former President Donald Trump attacked President Joe Biden's handling of the retreat of U.S. forces from Afghanista… https://t.co/KINpUKaOBB

— Reuters (@Reuters) 1629632700.0


"Joe Biden was going on vacation as Afghanistan was going to hell."Donald Trump reminds rally in Alabama how he l… https://t.co/HEGGtvVnEB

— John Cooper (@thejcoop) 1629595115.0

"I warned the entire country of the disastrous consequences of a Biden presidency," Trump boasted. "I understood, a lot of you understood it. I said Joe Biden would eliminate America's borders in the middle of a pandemic. He did."

"I predicted that he would unleash a wave of violent crime that would turn our cities into a nightmare of killing and bloodshed," Trump proclaimed at his fourth post-presidential rally.

Before he took the stage in Alabama, a video clip from the movie "Patton" starring George C. Scott played for the large audience.

"Do you think that [General George S. Patton] was woke? I don't think so. He was the exact opposite," Trump declared, and then skewered current "woke" U.S. military leaders, such as General Mark A. Milley who defended studying critical race theory in the military.

Trump also blasted "woke generals" in his first post-presidential rally that was held in June.

"You know what woke means? It means you're a loser," Trump gibed. "It's true. Everything woke turns to sh**."

Trump then applauded U.S. soccer star Carli Lloyd, who stood up at the Tokyo Olympics while her teammates kneeled as a form of protest against discrimination. Trump then tore into the U.S. women's national soccer team players who knelt, including Megan Rapinoe, "The one with the purple hair, she didn't play too well. She went woke. You can have her."

(Content Warning: Explicit language):

TRUMP: "Do you think that General Patton was woke? I don't think so ... you know what woke means? It means you're a… https://t.co/8XRvKv3Iko

— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) 1629595399.0


Trump slams US Women’s Soccer: “Our women’s soccer team was supposed to easily win, but they went woke… The one wit… https://t.co/i8FG3vd4QF

— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) 1629597550.0

"Biden failed totally on the pandemic," Trump continued to bash Biden. "Biden has obliterated our border, given up our energy independence and caused soaring inflation. He failed totally on economic policies."

Trump also encouraged Americans to get vaccinated, which wasn't well-received by some of the rallygoers.

"I recommend, take the vaccines, I did it, it's good," Trump advised, which was met by some boos, and he quipped, "No, that's okay, that's all right. You got your freedoms. But I happened to take the vaccine. If it doesn't work, you'll be the first to know, OK?"

Biden calls CNN's Don Lemon 'one of the most informed journalists in the country' during town hall



President Joe Biden recently called partisan CNN anchor Don Lemon — who has argued that Americans don't see black people as "human beings" and that parents against critical race theory are just being selfish — "one of the most informed journalists in the country."

What happened?

The president made the remarks while responding to a question about how to restore faith in the American system of government during a town hall on Wednesday night.

"How do you change the mistrust in the system among some members of the black community?" the question said.

Biden began his response by reciting a commitment he made to take responsibility for his mistakes by publicly owning up to them. Then he went on to say that generally, it's about "raising confidence in elected officials."

But confidence in government is at all an all-time low, Biden explained, as evidenced by the scoffing that ensued after he declared on the campaign trail that he wanted to "unite the country." According to Biden, Lemon remembered the criticism he received because he is well-informed.

Joke Biden is a liar.1) "I made a commitment, that when I made a mistake, I'd tell ya." Border Crisis, low unempl… https://t.co/7Z38K77Ftk

— Andrew @ Don't Walk, RUN! Productions (@DontWalkRUN) 1626914882.0

"I know this is going to sound like a non-answer to you, but part of this is that — you know because you're one of the most informed journalists in the country," Biden said.

"You know the criticism I got when I said I want to unite the country, 'You can't unite the country,'" he continued. "And if you can't unite the country, we can never get some of these problems solved. And that goes to trust. Why can't you unite the country? Why isn't there a willingness to trust?"

What else?

Lemon has insisted in the past that he is a "journalist" and "not a political person" despite his clear and obvious political leanings.

Earlier this year, Lemon made claims of nonbias while in the same breath trashing the Republican Party as "obsolete" and the Democratic Party as the only one "operating in reality."

"Perhaps Americans who want this country to be a country that is sane and rational and equitable and equal ... need to challenge the Republican Party more," he added.

Don Lemon: “I’m not a political person...I’m a journalist”Sure. https://t.co/0jksg15Y92

— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) 1621619716.0

Lemon and fellow CNN anchor Chris Cuomo routinely use the handoff time in between their shows to ruminate on the political happenings of the day from a progressive perspective.

Even so, Lemon has expressed that he doesn't understand why people view his network, CNN, as biased.

Vanessa Williams sparks outrage for closing PBS ‘Capitol Fourth’ concert with ‘black national anthem’



Vanessa Williams and PBS both sparked major backlash after Williams helped to close the network's "Capitol Fourth" concert with the "black national anthem" — widely known as "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

The network aired its 41st annual special Sunday night.

What are the details?

Williams, who also hosted the long-running event, told the Associated Press on Friday that her decision to sing the song was in "celebration of the wonderful opportunity that we now have to celebrate Juneteenth."

"So we are reflective of the times," she said. "We are reflective of the times and I'm happy to be a part of a tremendous show that the producers are aware and willing to make the changes that have happened within the past year and a half."

Before launching into the song, Williams dedicated the performance to her ancestors.

"I dedicate this to our ancestors, to our new federal holiday Juneteenth, and to all who celebrate freedom," she said.

Earlier during the program, she also performed "God Bless America," and said that she was filled with "the spirit of freedom and the perseverance that is required to achieve that most precious right."

A Capitol Fourth 2021 | PBSyoutu.be

What was the response?

Lavern Spicer, Florida Republican House candidate, tweeted, "Vanessa honey, a BLACK national anthem is something a Black African Country would have, not a country like America that exists for everyone."

Vanessa honey, a BLACK national anthem is something a Black African Country would have, not a country like America… https://t.co/ig8K9pIOg0

— Lavern Spicer (@lavern_spicer) 1625330346.0

Newsmax host Steve Cortes added, "We have one national anthem..."

We have one national anthem… https://t.co/pLFbB28OIJ

— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) 1625340551.0

Author Tim Young wrote, "This isn't unity... it's division."

This isn't unity... it's division. https://t.co/EwLuZdoxeq

— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) 1625410363.0

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Rob Maness wrote, "There is only one national anthem. This is segregationism pure and simple. Shame on @JoeBiden if he doesn't demand an end to this racist activity."

There is only one national anthem. This is segregationism pure and simple. Shame on @JoeBiden if he doesn’t demand… https://t.co/iSInzkgJ8P

— 🇺🇸Col. Rob Maness ret. (@RobManess) 1625344009.0

Former CIA ops officer Brian Dean Wright responded, "We're witnessing the unraveling of E pluribus unum in real time. The consequences will be dire."

We’re witnessing the unraveling of E pluribus unum in real time. The consequences will be dire. https://t.co/AjEHq6V0g5

— BDW (@BryanDeanWright) 1625353752.0

Another wrote, "I 100% refuse to recognize the black national anthem. We are one nation, under God and indivisible. There are no separate national anthems."

"Who's singing the Asian and Latino ones? " quipped another.