On Monday, MSNBC’s Morning Joe invited Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois to discuss her troubles with the U.S. Army’s 250th-anniversary parade that also fell on President Trump’s birthday on Saturday. Duckworth did not hold back her aggressive thoughts on Trump and referred to him as a “tinpot dictator wannabe."
But about four minutes later, when MSNBC host Jonathan Lemire asked about the murder of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, she said "We should be working to bring down the level of rhetoric, the level of targeting of one another."
Lemire started with this Democrat-friendly spin: "The vast, vast majority of these ‘No Kings’ protests were very peaceful and the crowds were huge. White House officials tell me that they, the crowd at the military parade, not what they had hoped, certainly smaller than expected. What are your thoughts as a veteran about that spectacle we saw this weekend about the military, the army being honored for 250th birthday, but also falling on President Trump's birthday."
Yeah, this was not about the army's 250th birthday. You wanted to celebrate the army's 250th birthday and spend $60 million. You could have spent it on tuition for our troops. Funding for military families. You could feed all the homeless veterans in this country. So, if you truly wanted to celebrate the army's 250th birthday, then spend the money the correct way, not with a parade for a tinpot dictator wannabe, which is what Donald Trump is. I felt that it was obscene to have done that at a time when we're trying to cut funding for V.A. when we're firing people from their jobs in federal government. And frankly, we're the greatest military in the face of the Earth. We don't need a parade to prove it.
Duckworth acknowledged that the US has the best of the best for the military, but dismissed that it should be celebrated, or is this claim motivated by who is sitting as the current president? On the other hand, Trump voiced in his speech for the parade that “Every other country celebrates their victories. It’s about time America did, too. That’s what we are doing tonight.” The left-wing media celebrates those who negatively talk about Trump, even at a patriotic event such as the 250th anniversary of the Army.
Ironically, Duckworth added later when asked about the political murders in Minnesota that "I represent everybody in the state of Illinois. We should be working to bring down the level of rhetoric, the level of targeting of one another. And that starts with every one of us that's elected. But it also starts at the White House."
Did Duckworth forget that four minutes earlier she called Trump a “tinpot dictator wannabe?” This classic example feeds into the left-wing biases the media has for elected officials who oppose their agenda.
When asked about the conflicts between Iran and Israel in the interview, Duckworth disapprovingly mentioned Trump’s administration with the U.S. military:
And this is where if we had someone who was competent in the White House, somebody who’s competent in the Department of Defense, somebody who’s competent at actually negotiating deals, we could probably, I would have more confidence.
What Senator Duckworth missed this weekend is that President Trump hosted a military parade to honor the U.S. Army’s anniversary along with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attending. The Trump administration proves to be competent by first respecting the U.S. military and what they are doing for our country. The liberal media cannot stand when the Trump administration organizes a patriotic event because they despise everything they do.
Click here for transcript:
MSNBC’s Morning Joe
6/16/25
9:28 a.m. Eastern
JONATHAN LEMIRE: NBC's Ryan nobles with that report. Joining us now, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. She's a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees and is also an Iraq war veteran and recipient of the Purple Heart. Senator, thank you so much for being here this morning. The vast, vast majority of these ‘No Kings’ protests were very peaceful and the crowds were huge. White House officials tell me that they, the crowd at the military parade, not what they had hoped, certainly smaller than than expected. What are your thoughts as a veteran about that spectacle we saw this weekend about the military, the army being honored for 250th birthday, but also falling on President Trump's birthday.
TAMMY DUCKWORTH: Yeah, this was not about the army's 50th birthday. You wanted to celebrate the army's 250th birthday and spend $60 million dollars. You could have spent it on tuition for our troops. Funding for military families. You could feed all the homeless veterans in this country. So, if you truly wanted to celebrate the army's 250th birthday, then spend the money the correct way, not with a parade for a tinpot dictator wannabe, which is what Donald Trump is. I felt that it was obscene to have done that at a time when we're trying to cut funding for V.A, when we're firing people from their jobs in federal government. And frankly, we're the greatest military in the face of the Earth. We don't need a parade to prove it.
LEMIRE: And others pointed out the juxtaposition of the parade with ongoing conflicts around the globe. And let's turn to the Middle East. You, of course, served in Iraq. What is your assessment of what you've seen so far in this? Is the Israel's attack on Iran. Iran has hit back a little bit. We've seen some of their their rockets landed. Do you support what you're seeing here from prime minister Netanyahu in this attack?
DUCKWORTH: Well, let's start off by the fact that Israel, I support Israel's right to defend herself. Israel is in a very, very scary neighborhood, and Israel is our only true real ally in the Middle East. That said, we got here because Donald Trump pulled us out of the Iran nuclear deal, allowed Iran to continue to work towards refining more uranium, grow their nuclear program. So it's not surprising that Israel would hit back. That said, we need to urge both sides to work towards peace. We do not need the Middle East to flare up into another full blown conflict. I think that Iran probably underestimated what was going to happen. It seems like Israel has decapitated much of their leadership, especially when it comes to the nuclear development program. But, you know, Donald Trump is supposed to be a deal maker, right? And yet he couldn't bring both sides to the table and prevent this from happening.
LEMIRE: Yeah, he's still pushing for those talks. Want to get your opinion on what we talked about last segment with former General McCaffrey, ex-CIA analyst, about the idea that the US would have to assist with a B-52 and these bunker busting bombs if they if Israel was to really go after the deepest Iranian nuclear facility. Do you think would you be in favor of that move?
DUCKWORTH: I have to see what the conditions are. I don't usually commit to a vote beforehand. I would like to see what it is. I have always supported packages to help Israel, especially those defensive packages. I worry about getting the United States embroiled in yet another Middle East conflict that can last 10-20 years. Look at what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan. But I stand by our ally Israel, because they are the true allies that we have. They provide us with intelligence. They have been there for the United States. I happen to think Netanyahu is a war criminal. I don't trust him. And this is where if we had somebody who was competent in the White House, somebody who's competent in the Department of Defense, somebody who's competent at actually negotiating deals, we could probably, I would have more confidence. But right now, you know, I don't have a lot of trust in the White House and its ability to actually bring this to a resolution.
LEMIRE: Let's quickly hit a couple of matters here at home over the weekend. Last night, President Trump on truth social doubled down on ICE raids we saw in Los Angeles. He says he wants to expand that to a variety of blue cities. Name checking one in your home state, Chicago.
DUCKWORTH: Yeah. Well, because he's using these for his political expediency, right? He's doing this. He's ginning up the unrest. He is separating American born children from their families. He, you know, I'm all for deporting violent criminals. Let's deport the felons. Let's report the violent crime, deport the violent criminals. But that's not what he's doing. He's actually doing political theater in order to come up with a pretext in which he can send in the National Guard so he can send in the United States Marines. You know, we had just had to evacuate our embassy in Iraq. That's where the Marines should be protecting Americans abroad. They shouldn't be on the streets of our country turning their weapons on fellow Americans. It is completely un-American. But this is all Donald Trump's doing.
LEMIRE: And, Senator, in our final 30 seconds here, we obviously, this terrible incident in Minnesota, two state lawmakers shot, one killed. Just your concerns about the rise in political violence that we're seeing across the country.
DUCKWORTH: It's not acceptable. The rise in political violence is not acceptable. When I was elected, some people voted for me. Some people did not vote for me. But I represent everybody in the state of Illinois. We should be working to bring down the level of rhetoric, the level of targeting of one another. And that starts with every one of us that's elected. But it also starts at the White House. The president can't go out there and make the statements he is. Some of my colleagues are making some pretty questionable statements on social media that has no place in, in American politics or anywhere in America.
LEMIRE: Senator, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. Senator, thank you so much for being with us this morning.
