Trump backs proposal seeking ban on burning the American flag, calls it a 'no brainer'
On Friday, June 14, several Republicans in Congress reintroduced a proposal calling for a ban on burning the American flag.
Shortly after, President Donald Trump declared his endorsement for the ban. “All in for Senator Steve Daines as he proposes an Amendment for a strong BAN on burning our American Flag. A no brainer!,” wrote the POTUS as a Twitter post on Saturday, June 15.
Senators Steve Daines of Montana and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota had sponsored the proposal in the state Senate, while Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas is sponsoring the same in the House. The proposal calls for the US Constitution to be amended so Congress would have "constitutional authority to ban the desecration of the United States flag.”
“The American Flag is a symbol of freedom – and it should always be protected,” Daines wrote Friday. Cramer added: “A flag worth dying for is a flag worth protecting. Adding a Constitutional amendment to protect this symbol of freedom and liberty is not an attack on another Constitutional amendment, rather, it is an affirmation of the unifying principles our nation stands for.”
Since the Supreme Court has ruled in the past that burning the flag is a form of free speech, which is protected by the First Amendment, this new amendment would be necessary.
The proposal was reintroduced on Friday, which was Flag Day, and also coincided with President Trump’s 73rd birthday.
Social media critics didn't waste any time attacking the proposal. "Who cares if someone burns a flag?," asked Colin Moriarty under Trump's tweet, adding: "Expression is a right, as guaranteed by the first amendment. If this somehow passed (though it won’t even come close), I would fly to DC and burn American flag after American flag directly in front of the White House ‘til I was arrested. LOL."
Following the president's tweet in solidarity with the proposal, a lot of people took to social media to mock him over the use of "no brainer."
One Twitter user wrote: "Isn’t ‘no brainer!’ your secret service’ code name?", while another one chimed in saying: "You don’t have to sign your tweets, you know."