This Is a Real Thing in the the World

Authoritarianism watch, part 87,942 in an endless series: "Trump names his Inauguration Day a 'National Day of Patriotic Devotion'."

No, really.

President Trump has officially declared the day of his inauguration a national day of patriotism.

...On Monday, the paperwork was filed with the federal government declaring officially that Jan. 20, 2017 — the day of Trump's inauguration — would officially be known as the "National Day of Patriotic Devotion."

"Now, therefore, I, Donald J. Trump, president of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Jan. 20, 2017, as National Day of Patriotic Devotion, in order to strengthen our bonds to each other and to our country — and to renew the duties of government to the people," the order says [pdf].

"Our Constitution is written on parchment, but it lives in the hearts of the American people," the order continues. "There is no freedom where the people do not believe in it; no law where the people do not follow it; and no peace where the people do not pray for it."

The order opens with this declaration: "A new national pride stirs the American soul and inspires the American heart. We are one people, united by a common destiny and a shared purpose." This, despite the fact that Gallup announced yesterday that the Loser President has set a new low for inaugural approval ratings.

President Donald Trump is the first elected president in Gallup's polling history to receive an initial job approval rating below the majority level. He starts his term in office with 45% of Americans approving of the way he is handling his new job, 45% disapproving and 10% yet to form an opinion. Trump now holds the record for the lowest initial job approval rating as well as the highest initial disapproval rating in Gallup surveys dating back to Dwight D. Eisenhower.

He doesn't even have a 50% approval rating, and yet he's declaring a "new national pride" among "one people, united by a common destiny and a shared purpose."

We're not even united by a common reality.

Relatedly: Last night, the Loser President met with Congressional leaders and insisted, with zero evidence, "that he only lost the popular vote because between 3 million and 5 million people voted illegally."

This straight-up did not happen. It is a lie—and it is a lie with two very specific purposes. One: To justify tasking incoming Attorney General Jeff Sessions with encroaching on voting rights under the auspices of "preventing fraud." Two: To salve the Loser President's ego, because he cannot bear that he legitimately lost the popular vote by a huge margin and has no mandate.

The Loser President is still stinging from losing popular vote. Bring it up every chance you get. #resist https://t.co/jMiGibddHN

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) January 24, 2017

He is not a legitimate president, for a multitude of reasons. But the one that bothers him the most is that, even given huge assists from Vladimir Putin, James Comey, and a corporate media that gave him billions of dollars of free advertising, he still lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly three million votes.