President Donald Trump criticized the growing “woke” culture in America at a political rally in Alabama on Saturday.
“You know what woke means. It means you’re a loser,” Trump said. “It’s true. Everything woke turns to shit. It’s true. Look at what’s happening.”
The former president played a clip of a speech delivered by actor George C. Scott from the movie Patton before beginning his rally, recalling the fighting spirit of America in World War II.
“Do you think that General Patton was woke? I don’t think so,” Trump said to the crowd, and added, “He was the exact opposite.”
Trump criticized the “wokeness” in the military, alluding to a growing number of generals focusing on “white rage” and critical race theory.
General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testifies on the department’s fiscal year 2022 budget request during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 23, 2021. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
“We’re getting tired of the woke generals that we have right?” he asked, pointing to the failure of the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
He criticized the military for moving troops out of Afghanistan before they moved out American civilians and for leaving $83 billion of military equipment behind.
Trump also recalled the violent protests during the Summer of 2020 and the growing leftist agenda protesting and tearing down statues of American heroes.
Workers prepare to take down the statue of former Confederate general Robert E. Lee, which stands over 100 feet tall, in Lee Circle in New Orleans on May 19, 2017. Hanceville Mayor Kenneth Nail wrote to New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, asking him and city leaders to consider donating Confederate monuments recently removed from their pedestals in New Orleans to his town so they could be displayed in Veterans Memorial Park in Hanceville, Ala. Landrieu’s office didn’t immediately respond Monday, June 19, to an emailed request for comment. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
“They want to get rid of our great heroes and heroines,” he said. “They want to get rid of our history. Our culture. We’re not going to do it.”
The former president also noted that the U.S. women’s soccer team failed to win the gold medal in the Summer Olympics after many on the team knelt during the National Anthem.
“Women’s soccer was supposed to easily win, but they went woke,” Trump said.
USA player Megan Rapinoe kneels before the start of the game against Australia during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Ibaraki Kashima Stadium on July 27, 2021. (Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports)
But he recalled that some of the women on the team stood during the anthem.
“I love those women that stood up and they saluted our flag,” he said.
Referring to U.S. Soccer player Megan Rapinoe, as the “one with the purple hair,” Trump claimed she did not play well.
“You can have her,” he said dismissively.