Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley is receiving some backlash after a social media post linked Donald Trump's Christmas message to the 1988 film Die Hard.
The former president took to Truth Social on Monday, but instead of issuing a traditional holiday message, he chastised President Joe Biden, special counsel Jack Smith and U.S. intelligence agencies in connection with his 2020 election loss and various legal troubles.
His multiple posts about alleged government corruption at his expense were very different from his wife's holiday message on X (formerly Twitter). Melania Trump simply wished everyone a "Merry Christmas and a happy new year."
In one post, Trump wrote: "2024 WILL GO DOWN AS THE YEAR OF GREAT AND FULLY COORDINATED ILLEGAL ELECTION INTERFERENCE BY CROOKED JOE BIDEN, THE WORST AND MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, THE DOJ, FBI, A.G.'s, & D.A.'s THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, BUT DESPITE IT ALL, IN THE END, THERE WILL BE A BIG AND GLORIOUS VICTORY FOR THOSE BRAVE AND VALIANT PATRIOTS WHO WANT TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!"
On X, Turley compared Trump's remarks to the debate over whether Die Hard, the Bruce Willis hit film, is a Christmas movie.
"Trump's message of 'May They Rot in Hell...Merry Christmas' is to holiday greetings what Die Hard is to Christmas movies: a matter of considerable interpretation for those of us stuck in the Peace-on-Earth or even just Ho-Ho-Ho mindset," Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, wrote.
Asked about his comparison, notably his statement about "a matter of considerable interpretation," he told Newsweek that people with negative reactions are "just ignoring the obvious."
"The point was obviously that some of us do not see either as fitting with the Christmas theme," Turley said.
He issued an additional post about three hours later, saying: "There is a bizarre take from the usual quarters that somehow I was equivocating on the Trump holiday message. The point is that neither Die Hard nor wishing one's critics to rot in hell easily fit with how some of us view the holiday."
But not everyone is buying his argument.
"My god Jon, what is he blackmailing you WITH?" replied journalist and commentator Keith Olbermann. "It's clearly a doozy."
"Integrity. Ethics. Principles. What are they again?" wrote attorney Bradley Moss.
"I found it," said Meidas Touch co-founder Brett Meiselas. "The most humiliating post on this website.
"Free speech gives people the freedom to prove themselves to be fools," wrote retired Missouri State University President Mike Nietzel. "It's an opportunity Jonathan Turley rarely misses."
Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, who has said the former president was responsible for the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, and served on the House's January 6 committee, said Trump continues to show people who he is.
"I'm going to go out on a NOT limb here: this man is not a Christian. If you are a Christian who supports him, you don't understand your own religion, Kinzinger wrote on X on Monday. "Trump is weak, meager, smelly, victim-ey, belly-achey, but he ain't a Christian and he's not 'Gods man.'"
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
