Who said Democrats weren’t patriots? On Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia unexpectedly commented on president-elect Donald Trump’s controversial flag burning tweet, stating point-blank that he would “beat the hell” out of anybody who dares to burn the American flag in front of him. Trump tweeted early Tuesday that flag burners should be stripped of citizenship, a punishment rendered unconstitutional by the Supreme Court since the act of flag burning is protected under the First Amendment.
According to reporter from Roll Call, Manchin said the following about the anti-American act.
It’s a First Amendment right, but you do it in front of me, I’m going to beat the hell out of you.
While Manchin’s comments may be politically strategic, they still shatter liberal orthodoxies about the sanctity of America-bashing “protest.”
“Manchin is up for reelection during the 2018 cycle in a state that Trump won by more than 40 points,” notes The Hill.
Interestingly enough, the West Virginia Democrat appears to be more sympathetic to Trump’s position than some Republicans.
In fact, both House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed back against Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric, reiterating their support for free speech in whatever form it takes.
“We’ll protect our First Amendment. That’s what the court has upheld,” McCarthy stated Tuesday in an interview with MSNBC. The California Republican did question, however, the obtuse reasoning behind the act of flag burning. “[America is] a country that was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. I don’t see why someone would want to burn [its flag],” McCarthy added.
McConnell joined his colleague in the House in challenging Trump’s pre-modern prescription for “unpleasant speech.”
“The Supreme Court has held that that activity is a protected First Amendment right,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters on Tuesday. “In this country, we have a long history of protecting unpleasant speech.”