America did not greet Donald Trump a happy birthday with one voice on June 14. Instead, what it saw reaffirmed the deep political chasm created by Trump and his policies of divisiveness and exclusion.
Republicans, as expected, celebrated Trump's 74th birthday in various ways. The GOP in Great Falls, Montana, organized a car parade where participants decorated their vehicles with birthday banners and U.S. flags to celebrate Trump's birthday," which is also on the same day as Flag Day. Pro-Trump events also took place in other parts of the stoutly red state.
Florida held some of the most boisterous Trump birthday events. Hundreds of Trump fans in their boats floated down canals in flotillas -- which they called "Trumptillas," to mark Trump's birthday. The fleets set sail from major marinas in the state. Most boats flew American flags while some had Trump's "MAGA" (Make America Great Again) slogan emblazoned on their hulls.
In Jacksonville, some 1,000 boats sailed in the Trumptillas. Trumptillas also set sail from Tampa, Pensacola, Sarasota and the Keys off the state's southern tip. Most of these events were organized with the help of Trump Team 2020 Florida, Trump's re-election team in a state he narrowly won in 2016.
As for Trump himself, he spent Sunday playing golf at his own Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey despite new protests over the shooting death of African-American Rayshard Brooks by a white policeman in Atlanta on June 12.
Protestors belonging to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement greeted Trump's birthday with widespread rallies condemning his racism and inaction on police brutality and systemic racism. The George Floyd protests entered their 19th day Sunday and shows signs of getting its second legs due to the Rayshard Lewis killing.
Protests took place in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and St. Paul. In Washington, protesters trampled on a mock birthday cake for Trump and brought along baby-Trump balloons as a birthday present.
On Saturday, some 100 demonstrators gathered at Trump's Bedminster golf club to protest the death of George Floyd. Trump's round of golf Sunday means he's now spent 94 days at the tees in Bedminster during his presidency. Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, however, is Trump's favorite golfing spot. He's spent 133 days here playing golf since becoming president in 2017.
On Sunday in Washington D.C., thousands massed at the Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House. The plaza turned into a church Sunday morning with thousands of people praying, protesting, kneeling and dancing after marching from the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Sunday's event was the first big public event organized by black clergy, and one of the largest faith-based events during the ongoing protests.
