What Trump Is Thankful For: Jobs, Vets And Sean Hannity

WASHINGTON, DC — In contrast to former presidents who have used Thanksgiving to visit a warzone or feed homeless veterans, President Trump spent the holiday tweeting about everything from health care to his accomplishments to Fox News host Sean Hannity, who he called a “great guy.”

Politicizing the Thanksgiving holiday isn’t in itself unusual. The difference is in how effectively Trump continues to use Twitter to reach his base, promote his agenda and bash his critics — though Hannity, whose “great ratings” the president praised, isn’t among them.

George W. Bush made headlines in 2003 when he secretly visited Iraq on Thanksgiving — the first time an American president visited the country. At the time, the U.S. was at war in Iraq, and more than 60 troops had been killed there that month. Bush sneaked out of his Texas ranch the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and flew to Iraq to have dinner with more than 600 American troops in an airport hanger.

President Obama also used Thanksgiving to make political statements, often spending the holiday handing out food to the homeless. On Thanksgiving eve in 2015, Obama spent Thanksgiving handing out food to veterans and homeless individuals at a church in Washington, D.C. He did the same in 2014, spending the night before Thanksgiving handing out food at Bread for the City, an organization that provides meals for the homeless.

Trump and first lady Melania did visit Coast Guard troops in Florida on Thursday, but then Trump returned to his Palm Beach golf club and to his Twitter account. He started his holiday on Thursday by tweeting about the American job market, the U.S. military and building a wall on the Mexican border.

“HAPPY THANKSGIVING, your Country is starting to do really well. Jobs coming back, highest Stock Market EVER, Military getting really strong, we will build the WALL, V.A. taking care of our Vets, great Supreme Court Justice, RECORD CUT IN REGS, lowest unemployment in 17 years....!” Trump tweeted Thursday.

Later in the day, he added: “ObamaCare premiums are going up, up, up, just as I have been predicting for two years. ObamaCare is OWNED by the Democrats, and it is a disaster. But do not worry. Even though the Dems want to Obstruct, we will Repeal & Replace right after Tax Cuts!”

He even managed to throw in a random tweet to “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” his signature slogan during the 2016 election campaign.

On Friday, Trump again took to Twitter to criticize NFL football players who kneel during the national anthem.

“Can you believe that the disrespect for our Country, our Flag, our Anthem continues without penalty to the players. The Commissioner has lost control of the hemorrhaging league. Players are the boss!” Trump tweeted Friday morning, referring to NFL players who kneel during the national anthem before games to protest racial discrimination by the police.

Throughout the football season, Trump has been critical of NFL players who kneel during the anthem, and in September he called on owners to fire players who kneel during the song.

He added on Friday that he’ll be speaking to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and playing golf with pros Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods.

Also See: Trump Salutes Military Progress On Thanksgiving

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon