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Radio host Charlamagne tha God slammed flag-burners Tuesday, arguing they “don’t give a damn about America.”
After months of protesters burning American flags at various anti-Israel and anti-ICE demonstrations, President Donald Trump announced on Monday in an executive order that he was directing the attorney general to prosecute violations of laws involving flag desecration and to pursue litigation that would clarify the scope of the First Amendment as it relates to flag desecration.
Charlamagne, a self-described Democrat, questioned the motives of protesters who burn the flag.
“I understand it’s free speech, but it’s just, like, I always wondered why would you want to do that if you are an American, if you’re a patriot, you know?” the radio host asked. “I mean, if you consider yourself a patriot, like, why would you want to burn the American flag?”
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“You want the country to actually be better, and you want the country to, you know — that flag symbolizes what that country stands for. You want that country to actually stand up for that flag and to stand up for the creed that it puts out there. That’s what you actually want, right?” he asked.
“I don’t know, it just reminds me of like when people, you know, burn the jerseys of their favorite players like just because you’re mad,” he said, “But you still love the team.”
When one listener called in, arguing that a ban on flag burning is a violation of constitutionally guaranteed free speech, the radio host turned the question around and asked why protesters would burn the flag of the very country they depend upon for freedom.
“I agree, but what I was saying is, I understand free speech, of course, I’m all for free speech,” Charlamagne said. “But it’s just wild to burn the flag, but then use the Constitution to say you can burn the flag. Because burning the flag means you don’t give a damn about America. So if you don’t give a damn about America, you shouldn’t care about the Constitution, either!”
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The caller pressed his objection further. “For the president to tell me that I can’t do something in this country means he is a dictator,” the caller said. “Otherwise, the Constitution doesn’t matter.”
“I’m not agreeing with what the president is doing,” Charlamagne said. “I’m just simply saying, ‘Let’s look at all sides of it,’ because the American flag represents a symbol of freedom, and we want this country to uphold that freedom that it promises. So, it’s just weird to burn the flag, but then still point to the Constitution, democracy, and freedom, and say, ‘That’s what we want.’”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said, “President Trump will not allow the American Flag – a special symbol of our country’s greatness – to be used as a tool to incite violence and riots that jeopardize the safety of everyday Americans. President Trump will always protect the First Amendment, while simultaneously implementing commonsense, tough-on-crime policies to prevent violence and chaos.”
The Supreme Court ruled in the 1989 case Texas v. Johnson that burning the American flag is a form of symbolic speech that is protected by the First Amendment. Trump’s executive order, which directs the attorney general to “pursue litigation to clarify the scope of the First Amendment exceptions” in the realm of flag burning, signals there will likely be upcoming litigation challenging the 1989 ruling.
The executive order includes the argument that the Supreme Court has “never held that American flag desecration conducted in a manner that is likely to incite imminent lawless action or that an action amounting to ‘fighting words’ is constitutionally protected.”
Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick has contributed from this report.
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