Trump said people only say ‘Merry Christmas’ because of him

[ad_1]

In a bizarre interview between Newsmax presenter Mike Huckabee and former President Donald Trump, the former commander-in-chief said he was back to saying “Merry Christmas” and that Jewish and Muslim people love -like the holiday like Christians.

The interview, aired on Trump-friendly right wing cable channel Newsmax, centered on Mr Huckabee praising Mr Trump for re-telling people “Merry Christmas” after an alleged period of a time that people allegedly did not.

At the beginning of the clip, Mr Huckabee said that people had stopped saying “Merry Christmas” as a greeting – probably a reference to major corporations and some individuals choosing to use “merry holidays” as a more inclusive congratulations for non -religious or non -Christian people – and then congratulations to Mr Trump for allegedly convincing people to say it again.

Mr Trump agrees that “the country started with this woke” idea that he says has prevented people and corporations from using the Christmas greeting.

“It’s embarrassing for these stores to say Merry Christmas, you’ll have big chains that want your money but they don’t want to say Merry Christmas,” Mr Trump said.

The commentary is the latest repetition of conservative wars in Christmas culture that erupt every December, often marked by hand squeezing the phrase “Merry Christmas,” the elimination of “Christ at Christmas,” and often includes of some criticism of Starbucks coffee cups.

The former president accepted Mr Huckabee’s praise and mentioned that people seem to be saying “Merry Christmas” again, but “they’re not saying other things, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, you know the names that was removed out of madness. ”

He said he urged his supporters not to shop in stores that “don’t say Merry Christmas.”

Mr Trump then said “Americans love Christmas,” regardless of their spiritual beliefs.

“Whether you are a Muslim, whether you are a Christian, whether you are a Jew, everyone loves Christmas,” he said.

Although the festivities of the holiday are clearly left to individual preferences, neither Muslims nor Jewish followers do not traditionally celebrate Christmas, as it is largely a holiday of Christians put together. from earlier pagan celebrations of the solstice.

The interview was interspersed with b-roll footage of Christmas trees with national decorations-including saying “Be Best,” a reference to former First Lady Melania Trump’s anti-bullying campaign-and featuring soft music on scenes of white families celebrating a holiday. .

Due to the lack of research on the subject, it is difficult to verify almost anything the two men said in the interview. However, the data suggests that most Americans don’t care.

In 2016, when Mr Trump was allegedly just beginning to root “happy holidays” as a greeting, a Public Policy Polling survey found that more than 80 percent of Americans didn’t care what phrases were used. of people as holiday greetings.

A Pew Research Poll from 2017 found that more than half of Americans don’t care what greeting shops use during the holidays. According to both polls, the only people who care are, predictably, very strong conservatives.

Some Christian leaders even support the use of “happy holidays” because it is a more inclusive – and thus loving – way to greet other people during the holidays.

In a 2016 op-ed on the subject, Reverend JC Austin, vice president for Christian leadership formation at Auburn Seminary, wrote that the phrase is a better way to use the values ​​the holiday should celebrate.

“Using their own logic, if saying ‘Happy Holidays’ is an intentional cultural departure of Christianity, then insisting on ‘Merry Christmas’ is an intentional departure of others,” he said. he said to The Hill. “If ending political correctness means having the freedom to speak one’s mind, then it seems strange that its proponents would insist on what others should say.”

[ad_2]