Mehdi Hasan on Donald Trump’s big, beautiful birthday
6/11/202628 min
As the US prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary and Trump turns 80, what state is the country in? And its president?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
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First 90 secondsNosheen Iqbal· Host0:00
This is The Guardian. [gentle music] Today, Donald Trump's big, beautiful distraction. [water flowing] [patriotic music] Happy birthday, America. More importantly perhaps, happy birthday, Mr. President. This weekend kicks off an extravaganza of celebrations for the nation, marking its 250 years of independence from Britain, [rock music] and for Donald Trump, marking 80 years of being, well, him.
Donald Trump· Soundbite0:46
We're having a big fight. It's never gonna happen again, never happened before, and it's gonna happen right in front of the White House. Here's a picture. I think a lot of people haven't seen this yet.
Nosheen Iqbal· Host0:59
[rock music] Presidents gone by would've used a milestone anniversary to promote national unity. Trump is organizing a cage fight.
Mehdi Hasan· Guest1:08
He's a deeply unpopular president. He's one of the most unpopular presidents, uh, in modern American history at this point in his presidency, if not the most unpopular president, and he's nakedly, brazenly, unashamedly trying to hijack these celebrations.
Nosheen Iqbal· Host1:23
[gentle music] The president is adamant every decent flag-waving American will enjoy