It might not be the most widely celebrated American holiday, but Flag Day exists. On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved the design of a national flag, and as such, every June 14, there’s a largely ignored commemoration marking the occasion.
It’s also, coincidentally, Donald Trump’s birthday. Evidently, as HuffPost noted, this gave one of the president’s more sycophantic congressional allies an idea.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) wants President Donald Trump’s birthday to be a federal holiday. On Friday, the New York congresswoman introduced in a news release what she called “Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day Holiday Establishment Act,” which would “permanently codify” June 14 as a federal holiday called “Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day,” according to the release.
In case there are any doubts, this isn’t intended as satire. The New York Republican really did introduce an actual bill, H.R. 1395, which does not yet have any cosponsors, though it seems safe to assume other far-right GOP lawmakers will soon follow suit.
By way of an explanation, Tenney issued a press statement saying that her proposal has merit because, as she put it, “No modern president has been more pivotal for our country than Donald J. Trump. As both our 45th and 47th President, he is the most consequential President in modern American history.” The GOP congresswoman, in apparent seriousness, added that recognizing Trump’s birthday as a federal holiday would “recognize him as the founder of America’s Golden Age.”
To be sure, it’s tempting to ignore this silly legislative effort, which will almost certainly go ignored, but there’s a larger pattern that’s worth appreciating.
After all, Tenney’s bill comes on the heels of a bill intended to carve Trump’s face into Mount Rushmore, which came on the heels of another measure to allow Trump to seek a third term.
There are also pending bills to rename Dulles Airport after Trump — an effort, incidentally, that Tenney has also endorsed — as well as legislation to “expunge” Trump’s first two impeachments.
In the last Congress, a Republican pushed a bill to put Trump’s face on $500 bills, and while the effort hasn’t yet been reintroduced in the current Congress, it’s probably only a matter of time.








