PBS made an classic Democrat programming choice to mark the 250th anniversary weekend: A half-hour “PBS News Special” on a famous populist rocker and songwriter turned blunt leftist political activist: “Bruce Springsteen: Finding America in Song.” Airing from the new Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University in his home state of New Jersey, the show featured a sit-down interview by PBS News Hour host Geoff Bennett with the 76-year-old “Boss” himself, with a little music history and a big dose of politics to mark our country’s 250th birthday. After a fawning tour of the museum, which hosts Springsteen archival material like handwritten lyrics along with a borrowed collection of musical Americana (including “Indigenous” and “Gender” exhibits), Bennett teed Springsteen up to warn viewers the country was in “a very dangerous moment” under President Trump. No challenging questions were offered, certainly nothing about left-wing hypocrisy regarding this artist-of-the-people’s sky-high concert ticket prices. They hyped his "critical patriotism," which seems to align neatly with Democrat partisanship. He wasn't a "critical patriot" when Biden came in. He starred in a media-celebrated Super Bowl commercial urging America to meet "in the middle" -- with Biden?  Geoff Bennett: For Springsteen, being connected to his times has often meant examining the tension between America’s ideals and its realities....from songs like "Youngstown," a lament for the hollowing out of industrial America, to "American Skin (41 Shots)," his meditation on the 1999 police killing of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed immigrant in New York City. [Springsteen concert clip]: “You can get killed just for living / In your American skin” Bennett: He’s also been one of the country’s most politically engaged musicians, lending his voice to Democratic candidates for decades, performing at campaign rallies and Get Out the Vote events. You said before that loving your country means telling the truth about it. How has that guided your work? Springsteen: Well, I believe in critical patriotism. I believe that’s the definition of a patriot, you know, that you love your country so much that you are willing to look at it clearly, recognize its faults, encourage it to be a better place, and believe that you carry in your heart the country that is waiting. Bennett: In recent years, the politics that long informed Springsteen’s work has become more explicit. In January, after federal immigration authorities in Minnesota killed two U.S. citizens, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, Springsteen responded with a song. Hint: It was no "Born to Run." Springsteen: So, in this case, I wrote a protest song ["Streets of Minneapolis"]. I thought, “Gee, maybe this is a little broad,” you know? But then I had my buddy Tom Morello, from Rage Against the Machine, and he says, "No, no, no," he says, Bruce, nuance is great, but, sometimes, you gotta kick ’em in the teeth." And so, that was a moment when you had to kick ’em in the teeth. Springsteen's lyricism was never subtle, but lines like “King Trump's private army from the DHS" are truly hamfisted. Bruce Springsteen talked to PBS on the nation's 250th birthday: "...we’re in a very dangerous moment, you know?...our democracy is threatened. The Constitution is threatened. We have an administration that...is a ship of fools,...a very, very, very dangerous time for America." pic.twitter.com/gFEM39cH5e — Clay Waters

On Friday, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered a blatantly anti-American speech from City Hall, supposedly to mark America's 250th Birthday, accusing America of being full of racism and bigotry, where "not all are created equal". You would think this would be newsworthy, but on Friday, the Big Three evening newscasts and PBS NewsHour, all passed on it, while Fox News shows expressed their outrage. On The Five, Dana Perino kicked off the segment, by calling the speech what it was, and playing a clip from it. PERINO: It was like a Socialist state of the union, did you see this? New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani giving an America 250 address this morning, as his influence within the Democratic party continues to grow. The Socialist Mayor spent much of his speech focusing on what he says are America's failures. MAMDANI CLIP: We see a city of contradictions within a nation of contradictions. We see the wealthiest country in the history of the world, one where children go to sleep hungry while the world's first trillionaire hungers for more. We see monopolies that dominate every industry and oligarchs who buy elections. We see mass agents terrorizing our streets, eating food cooked by our undocumented neighbors, before  spiriting them away in unmarked vans. After some short clips from Democrats, expressing concern over the party's move towards Socialism, Perino gave the floor to Jesse Watters. WATTERS: This speech did not live up to the hype. This guy built this thing up like this was the state of the union on July fourth. And he bombed. This thing was so boring. So tedious.... You could have been so much better. Because the guy is talented, he has a decent personality. But this thing did not deliver. I felt nothing. But at least when other politicians talk, I feel hate, I feel happiness. I felt emptiness inside. The panel spent a full 10 minutes, pointing out just how outrageous the speech was. Two hours later, it was Laura Ingraham's turn, on The Ingraham Angle, who focused on Mamdani's true history. INGRAHAM: Considering Zohran Mamdani was born in Uganda to Indian parents, emigrated here, became an American citizen, was from an upper-class family, went to the prestigious Bowdoin College, dabbled in rap music, did a stint in state government, then was elected mayor at 33 of the largest city of the United States, and yet he still thinks given all of that, that America at 250 is rigged against people like him, rigged by people with power and influence.  MAMDANI CLIP: America, in their view, is an arena of supremacy, where only a select few are allowed freedom. Where not all are created equal. America, if you ask them, becomes less the more people it welcomes. America, they will tell you, belongs only to those with the right accent or right shade of skin. The rest of us they insist should be grateful for merely being allowed to visit. INGRAHAM:  It's crazy.... But this is who New Yorkers voted for....Now, trust me, every year under Mamdani is going to get a little bit worse. Next, on Hannity, it's was Sean's turn. HANNITY: Sadly tonight, there is one bit of bad news. There is a stream of radicalism that in many ways is now threatening America's way of life...At the core of this corrosive political movement, is of course, I guess its leader, the Marxist Mayor of New York, who now has become a U.S. Citizen as of 2018. Despite choosing to live in America, climbing to the pinnacle of New York politics in such a short period of time, you have Zohran Marxist, you know, Commie Mamdani, he likes to criticize America. Hannity then played the clips played earlier by The Five and Laura Ingraham, and then weighed in with, "In order to create a more perfect union, it is imperative, it is critical, that you actually love the country. Unfortunately with the rise of this new radical Democratic Socialist movement led by people like Mamdani and AOC and Bernie Sanders and Pocahontas, and many others, they want to take this system and turn it upside down, and replace it with a system that is similar to the Soviet Union."  Fox is alarmed, and the liberals are pretending this didn't happen. Not only did the Network Newscasts pass, but as we have previously noted, Friday on CNN's News Central, they seemed to think this speech was a political plus.

Wow! The mostly peaceful pundit Jonathan Capehart entered the rhetorical octagon on the Fourth of July edition of MS NOW's The Weekend! “As descendants of slaves who built this country and, and from a community that marched in the streets and, and bled and fought for the right to vote and to make this country a more, a more perfect union, I defy anyone to tell me that I don't love this country. And I am not a part of this country. I will, I will fight anybody who tries to say that I am not American!” Whoa, Jonathan! Who knew the normally mild-mannered commentator had this in him?  Move over, Merle Haggard—we’ve got The Fightin’ Side of Jonathan! The setup made it even richer. Just moments earlier, colleague Eugene Daniels had criticized President Trump’s Mt. Rushmore speech, complaining that he has “an inability to not turn everything into a rally speech about fighting.” Et tu, Jonathan?

Jason Stanley, left-wing professor and author of How Fascism Works, fled to Canada to escape President Trump, yet somehow feels compelled to appear on TV to bash his abandoned home. He made another appearance on PBS on Amanpour & Co just in time to mark America’s 250th anniversary, in order to declare his previous home is a Nazi state under Trump and Republican control. Stanley is a frequent guest on the (formerly) tax-funded circuit of PBS and National Public Radio, and he brought his tired "fascist" gimmick to the program. Host Christiane Amanpour: Now, controversy continues to swell around President Trump's immigration agenda as he pushes through a series of sweeping changes from recent Supreme Court rulings terminating protected status for Haitians and Syrians to fast-tracking refugee status for white South Africans. Outrage has spread across the country…. Journalist Michel Martin welcomed back Stanley, chair of American Studies at the University of Toronto and frequent Amanpour guest, like a wise sage. Michel Martin, Contributor: We often consult with you because of your expertise in the subjects of authoritarianism, propaganda, how governments define who belongs in the United States. The Supreme Court term just ended and there were some very consequential decisions around immigration and also citizenship…. Jason Stanley, Author, How Fascism Works: Well, the court has to maintain some measure of legitimacy because they are so obviously a tool for authoritarian purposes…. Martin: ….But at the same time, the administration is moving to end protections for Haitians, it's created this expedited pathway for white Afrikaners from South Africa. And so, when you look at those two things together, what do you see? Stanley: Well, it's essentially the core of Nazi ideology, which is white replacement theory…..And then we are expelling those already in the country who are from Haiti, from Somalia, from Venezuela. And then the reason given for the lifting of TPS status in November 2025 was that it was in the national interest to remove Haitians from the United States. Why is it in the national interest? Because bringing in Haitians brings in criminal gangs. So, that there is the Nazi propaganda, the linking of targeted racial groups to crime…. Martin pushed back just a little, while framing common sense as devil’s advocate questions for Stanley to knock down. Martin: Let's just say for the sake of argument that somebody's listening to our conversation and says, you know what, that's a shame. That's a shame. But you know, temporary protected status is supposed to mean temporary. The fact is they should either find other pathways to regularize their status or they should go home. It was never meant to be this long. It's just a shame. But what does it have to do with me? What would you say to people who felt that way? Ex-pat lefty prof. Jason Stanley explains on PBS that encouraging the self-deportation of illegals is Nazism: "I first heard the concept of encouraging people to self-deport in the context of Nazi Germany....They wanted to treat people brutally to encourage them to self-deport." pic.twitter.com/DKUNUUyJ0r — Clay Waters

On Friday, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered a speech from City Hall, which was billed as "Marking America's 250th Birthday", but was actually a nearly 14 minute long trashing of America, as he accused "the powerful" of supremacy, claimed only a few are allowed freedom, said America is where "not all are created equal", trashed our treatment of immigrants and blasted ICE. But if you watched CNN's Erica Hill's coverage on CNN News Central, you were told the speech has some thinking about a Mamdani presidency. Hill introduced a clip from the speech, making sure to point out "He delivered that speech from the desk used by George Washington when he was President," as if he wouldn't make Washington roll over in his grave. She talked about it glowingly, noting, "He certainly touched on immigration, touched on what he sees as American exceptionalism, and perhaps his view for the future."  She then handed off to CNN Correspondent Gloria Pazmino, who again mentioned the desk, then played another clip from the speech, before actually raising the possibility of a future Mamdani run for the White House. MAMDANI CLIP: We see the wealthiest country in the history of the world, one where children go to sleep hungry while the world's first trillionaire hungers for more. We see monopolies that dominate every industry, and oligarchs who buy elections. We see masked agents terrorizing our streets, eating food cooked by our undocumented neighbors before spiriting them away in unmarked vans. PAZMINO: I think it does make some people wonder, is Mamdani thinking about the future, perhaps a presidential future? But as you know, as a non-natural born American citizen, he cannot run for the White House. And he's been asked the question if he would support a Constitutional Amendment to make that a possible reality. He told ABC News earlier this week that he believes the Constitution is just fine as it is. It's disturbing to think Mamdani's nasty cartoon of America actually appeals to CNN journalists. Two hours later Hill began another segment on Mamdani, with another, even more vile and  disturbing clip from his speech. MAMDANI CLIP: The powerful have always known their answer. America, in their view, is an arena of supremacy where only a select few are allowed freedom. Where not all are created equal. America, if you ask them, becomes less the more people it welcomes. America, they will tell you, belongs only to those with the right accent or the right shade of skin. The rest of us, they insist, should be grateful for merely being allowed to visit. Hill then welcomed Mamdani adviser Morris Katz, and instead of pressing him on the outrageous contents of that clip, asked him why the Mayor wanted to give the speech. His answer was full of irony. KATZ: What we see is there's no longer an excuse to turn people against each other. And that's so much of the rhetoric we see coming out of the Republican party today. And what the Mayor is showing is a different kind of politics, where instead of turning people on their neighbors, we take on bad landlords and we deliver for working people. Apparently, Hill didn't view Mamdani's description of "the powerful" as supremacists, racists and bigots, as divisive! This allowed Katz to claim that it's Republican rhetoric that is turning people against each other, with no follow-up question. Instead she seemed fascinated by what Mamdani had to say. HILL: Mayor Mamdani talked this morning, about American exceptionalism, and he talked about what he saw as an irony in it, saying, the story of America has so often been written by those who were told that they were anything but exceptional. Hill would soon set up Katz to claim that Republicans are not patriotic, but rather it's the Democrats that should claim the patriotism mantle.   HILL: There are Democrats who have lamented the fact that they feel the party has in some ways ceded patriotism to the GOP. Is this a moment that you see that offers an opportunity to take that back? Is this an attempt to do so, to reframe patriotism? KATZ: Yes, I think absolutely. I think we should also hold Republicans accountable for in no way being patriots. So patriotism isn't "love of country." Patriotism should be reframed as pushing a leftist agenda. Rather than challenge Katz, Hill moved on to who the leader of the Democrat party is now. Mamdani's speech was a vicious attack on America, as divisive as it was unpatriotic, yet Hill's segments featured praise for it, trashing of Republicans, and a possible Mamdani run for the presidency. This is CNN!