President Begs For Burning Flags
Yesterday's order is different than his usual authoritarian reflexive responses
WHITE HOUSE (RR) — Still beset by a Republican Congressman and some of his base still demanding declassification the Epstein files, the President turns into a tried and true patriotic call to arms—flag burning.
Rallies in 2025 have been refreshingly free of American flag burnings. Instead, they’ve been quite full of proud displays of Americana and on point references to the Constitution. The only effective national red meat propaganda instances have been the repeatedly used, tightly cropped photos and video clips of one repeat felon waiving a Mexican flag on top of a burning Waymo car.
With Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) scheduling a press conference at the Capitol with Epstein victims on September 3rd, the President desperately needs some new way to paint supporters of the Constitution, and someone clearly had a great idea ready to go: Issue an doubly-illegal and unconstitutional order that there’s zero doubt will result in some propaganda footage.
The Constitutional Double-Tap
The President’s order manages to offend the Constitutional order in two different ways. First, the President created a crime and a prescribed punishment by executive order. Only Congress can pass new criminal laws, and a law about flag burning wasn’t even coming up in the queue.
Second, the President banned something that’s likely unconstitutional to ban anyway no matter the wording: burning the flag. The technical reasons on why that’s a First Amendment violation don’t seem as important as the why. The First Amendment was adopted to enshrine a right already naturally belonging to human beings — the right to express themselves.
Without the ability to express ourselves authentically, we are not free. If everyone’s opinions were popular, then not only would society be boring, but there’d be no need for an ironclad protection against restrictions. The government only ever tries to suppress speech it does NOT like, and generally that speech is also not popular with the governed populace either.
This is a Provocative, Not a Reaction
Over the last year the President has sued the media for correctly calling him a rapist. He also sic’d the Secret Service on retired FBI Director James Comey for posting seashells forming the completely innocuous number “8647” and likely personally sent the FBI after retired former cabinet member John Bolton for publishing a book revealing the President’s conduct during one of the impeachment scandals as well as being a continuing thorn in his side since then.
In terms of this one, not only were there not widespread or even significant flag burnings happening, but the President is facing a double-edged threat with community around Texas A&M’s campus unhappy and actively protesting Ghislaine Maxwell being coddled in their backyard, and probably more ominously the upcoming September 3rd Massie press conference with Epstein victims.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and there’s nothing that will rally reflexive patriotism than the imagery of people burning American flags, especially if he can get someone from a targeted minority population on camera doing it.
Simultaneously, the President had to know that the normally right-leaning and patriotic groups would react even more strongly than the left-leaning to this outrageous orders—Veterans, Conservatives & Libertarians.
The President has already received both. Conservatives on social media made posts like the below, and a multiple-decade veteran burned a flag in one of the most respectful ways possible right in front of the White House and was promptly arrested.
Thoughts on How to Respond
My first thought is the most obvious: don’t react and just go burn a flag because it’s the natural, patriotic response to tyranny. The President signed rage bait, and if we fall for it, it will set back efforts that are showing promise in resisting this President. This is an exchange I had this afternoon with someone who was irate and wanted to go live on social media burning a flag:
Beyond and maybe even before that I’m not going to do it because it would be personally painful for me to do. I love this country and it’s flag regardless of the current person sitting behind the Resolute Desk.
Here are a combination of suggestions I’ve read and thoughts I’ve had on how to channel the natural, patriotic reaction to defy tyranny:
Double down on whatever your current resistance efforts are. In my case that’s highlighting Ghislaine Maxwell’s pampering with our Governor’s implicit consent and perhaps taxpayer subsidization while working on fall campaign proposals related to masked agents.
Double down on speech that has received an authoritarian reaction from the President such as posting “8647” or saying he’s a proven rapist—better yet anything and everything Epstein related.
If you’re really fixated on the flag burning order itself, consider some alternatives; here are a few ideas I’ve had or co-opted and adopted:
Create a cartoon that integrates the suggestion that this is just another Epstein distraction. — DONE — You’re reading it.
Create an AI video that somehow illustrates that the President is really the one burning the flag here (h/t
) — DONE — See below even though it’s not perfect. Feel free to use.Burn a confederate or Trump flag. Find and pick any flag burning hash tags that are trending and try to get it into the viral-sphere. He will REALLY hate that, and if he comments on it or retaliates that would be a most excellent situation. It would have the #ClintonBodyCount effect in Trump’s 2019 tweet that sent the Epstein conspiracies viral and still echoes to this day. If I could get one, a Trump 2028 would seem to be the most ideal, on point messaging.
Hold a flag burning with veterans that follows the Flag Code on how to properly dispose of a United States flag that has been damaged or dishonored.
Thank you for reading this far. I could use your help continuing to do this, including with the expenses to report on Ghislaine Maxwell and the coming campaign proposals for
. Just sharing this article and getting a free subscription helps! Beyond that, a paid subscription or send me some body cam/harness equipment that would not only help report, but likely would be helpful to my personal safety.— Resistance Rabbit
Notes:
In Virginia, it appears a Chris LaCivita-style hit with a racist sign mixed with a LGBTQ message was effective locally.