Last week, the president confirmed reports that he was waiting to deliver his speech at the White House, a consideration that drew criticism from members of both political parties. Such a move would break with long-standing predicates maintained by presidents of both parties who have sought to maintain a separation between politics and the work of government that continues at the White House.
Trump has already come under fire this summer for mixing politics and government, setting up campaign-style events on the White House campus because the pandemic has largely stopped personal campaigns.
But delivering a political speech from a Holy Battlefield Civil War, though one located in a GOP-heavy region of a crucial swing state, could also prove controversial. Gettysburg is considered by many historians as the turning point for Union troops during the Civil War and was the site of the most famous address of former President Abraham Lincoln.
The site could also shed light on Trump’s defense of statues and military bases honoring Confederate war heroes, a divisive issue amid America’s national accounts on issues of racial injustice.
This summer, Trump has lashed out at Protestants seeking to turn over statues and memorials in honor of Confederate soldiers, ripping off NASCAR for banning the Confederate flag from its events and threatening to pass annual defense authorization legislation veto that would strip the names of Confederate leaders from the U.S. military installations.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany declined to say during a newsletter what would signal Gettysburg’s possible selection as the venue for Trump’s speech, but referred to its historical significance.
“The president has done a lot to bring this country together,” she told reporters. “We have to face unusual challenges, and he has made sure that the American people are best equipped and cared for to rise above the challenges we face.”
McEnany added that the president “has a strong track record of achievements that he will tout on that day.”
Trump is not alone in his search for a new acceptance speech space. The Democratic National Committee announced last week that former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s presumptive rival in the November election, will no longer travel to Milwaukee for next week’s Democratic convention because of the pandemic and will deliver his acceptance sermon. of his home state of Delaware.
