When retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn was dismissed as President Trump’s national security adviser, the media mocked the White House for its chaos and the reluctance of others to accept a job in the Trump administration. Seven days later, the president has a new national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, and the media’s mockery has been silenced.

In fact, The Washington Post describes Lt. Gen. McMaster as “a widely respected and fiercely outspoken military strategist who was recognized for his battlefield leadership.”

McMaster is a soldier’s soldier. He wrote a book on Vietnam called Dereliction of Duty about the failure of military leaders to tell presidents that we were not fighting to win. In Desert Storm, he led a group of 12 tanks into battle against the Iraqi Republican Guard. He destroyed more than 70 enemy vehicles, including 28 tanks.

In the second Gulf War, McMaster pioneered the aggressive strategy of “clear, hold and build” that Gen. David Petraeus implemented to subdue sectarian violence in Iraq. While others argued for U.S. forces to step back, McMaster pushed back, saying, “It’s unclear to me how a higher degree of passivity would advance our mission.”

The First Lady’s Prayer

President Trump held a massive rally in Melbourne, Florida, over the weekend. According to local police reports, 9,000 people packed the venue. Trump worked the crowd as only he can. And the media distorted the rally as only the media can.

A controversy erupted as soon as the event began. First Lady Melania Trump had the audacity to recite the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning of the rally. Agitated atheists accused the first lady of forcing her religion on everyone and violating the so-called “separation of church and state.” (Tell me, atheists, where is that phrase found in the Constitution?)

No one was forced to attend or even watch the rally. But the Left is aggressively secular and anti-religion, ironically except for one religion — radical Islam, which is at war with Western Civilization. Sadly, that is why part of the Left embraces Islam — it sees it as a partner in the same fight.

Trump & Sweden

Of course, another controversy emerged from Saturday’s event. While talking about the dangers of radical Islam in Europe, President Trump cited Sweden, which has a Muslim refugee crime problem, in addition to a list of terror attacks in other European countries. The media immediately tried to distort the president’s remarks by suggesting that Trump said there had been a terrorist attack in Sweden.

When the prime minister of Sweden asked for a clarification about what Trump meant, the White House said the president was referring to a refugee crime wave, but the prime minister downplayed the problem, saying, “We have opportunities, we have challenges, we’re working (on) them every day. But I think also we must all take responsibility for using facts correctly.”

Monday night a massive riot broke out in a largely immigrant, heavily Muslim suburb of Stockholm. An Australian news crew was attacked in the same area last year.

Maybe the prime minister of Sweden and feckless media should worry less about Donald Trump’s syntax and start worrying about the threat from radical Islam.

Trump Denounces Anti-Semitism

Eleven Jewish community centers in eleven states were shut down Monday after yet another wave of bomb threats were called in. This marks the fourth time this year that Jewish community centers have been targeted for such vile harassment. More than 50 centers in 27 states have been terrorized by these calls in recent weeks.

While the calls have been hoaxes, they reveal a disturbing level of anti-Semitism. Moreover, they are extraordinarily disruptive to the centers, the local communities and the people who rely on the services they provide. In addition, more than 100 tombstones were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in Missouri over the weekend.

Tuesday morning, President Trump toured the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Accompanying the president on the tour were Dr. Ben Carson and Alveda King, niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. After the tour, President Trump denounced the bomb threats against Jewish community centers and vowed to fight intolerance in America. The president said:

“This tour was a meaningful reminder of why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms. The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are a painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil… We’re going to bring this country together. We have a divided country that’s been divided for many, many years, but we’re going to bring it together.”

Other Headlines

Sadly, another police officer paid with his life because of our failed criminal justice system. Officer Keith Boyer of the Whittier, California, Police Department was shot and killed Monday during a shootout with a recently released gang member. A second officer was injured in the attack. Whittier Police Chief Jeff Piper blamed liberal California laws for Officer Boyer’s death.

I have admired the willingness of Milo Yiannopoulos to go onto university campuses and expose left-wing intolerance. Unfortunately, during a recently revealed online interview, he appeared to justify adult male sexual relationships with teenage boys.

When news of these comments broke, Yiannopoulos was disinvited from speaking at a major conservative conference and his book deal was cancelled. (Ironically, if Milo was publicly arguing for such relationships most university progressives would celebrate his alternative lifestyle.) Tuesday morning, Yiannopoulos also resigned as an editor of Breitbart Tech.

I realize we live a culture with “evolving standards of decency,” but sexual relations with minor children must never be normalized. While Yiannopoulos has apologized for his comments, he should not be welcome in a conservative movement which understands that only a virtuous people can remain free.

A new poll shows just how out of touch the Democrat leadership and the far-left activist fringe have become. Nearly three-quarters of voters (73%) expect Democrats to work WITH President Trump, not against him. According to The Hill, “only 27 percent said Democrats should resist Trump’s every move.” Even a majority of self-identified Democrats (52%) say they should work with Trump whenever possible.

While the country was marking Washington’s Birthday, historical sites in Washington, DC, including the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial, were defaced. I think it is a safe bet that whoever did this isn’t someone who believes we should make America great again. Given what our universities are teaching about our founding fathers, that they were slavers and oppressors, I am surprised this isn’t a daily occurrence.