Whether it is a day to celebrate the birth of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or all presidents past and present, Presidents Day is a holiday created to inspire patriotic passions that express a love of country. During the Great Depression, it was the portrait of Washington that graced many a newspaper covers to reassure the nation that while it may be down, it was not out.

Fast forward to 2017 and protesters still sore about their embarrassing presidential loss in November have hijacked the holiday to protest President Trump. Chanting the mantra, "Not My President," these protesters are staging mock funerals and anti-Trump demonstrations to remind the nation that they don't like Trump.

It is one thing to protest the policies of a president holding an opposing ideology, but it is another to actively undermine his presidency after a lawful, constitutional election. This is why such protests cross the line.

But can we really blame those wallowing in the streets? Are they not part of a culture that has long confused lawful protest with petulance?

If we look at the protests during the inauguration, then in Berkeley, and now on Presidents Day, we do not see Selma — we see selfishness. Looting, destruction of private property, and disregard for our legal system is now viewed as a proper Trump protest. Rather than engage the debate, protesters behave like a two-year-old that wants the game played his way or nobody plays.

Hillary Clinton and her progressive policies were defeated. She lost and, by extension, progressives lost. Many simply cannot accept defeat.

Rather than regroup and figure out a way to make their policies more acceptable to the nation, progressives have opted to teach a lesson to the Silent Majority that bested them. The lesson? If we don't get our way, we will try to make your life a living hell, even if we act a fool doing it.

Why should progressives go quietly into the night? Why self-reflect when you have a political climate that encourages such behavior?

Some in the media have made it their mission to trounce Trump at every turn. They parse his words with a fine-tooth comb, pounce when they think he's made a misstep, and, when we find out the media did not look before it made a leap, it fails to issue a proper apology. The incident with Sweden over the weekend is just another example added to a growing list.

Then there are our elected lawmakers. There is the childish behavior of Democrats who ditched the inauguration or have called for Trump's impeachment without any evidence of "high crimes." And there are the Republicans who are feeding an anti-American frenzy.

Speaking of the Mike Flynn incident, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said, "I think that the Flynn issue obviously is something that shows that in many respects this administration is in disarray and they've got a lot of work to do." McCain added, "The president, I think, makes statements [and] on other occasions contradicts himself. So we've learned to watch what the president does as opposed to what he says."

McCain's comments were not made on the Senate floor, nor were they made on "Meet the Press." Instead, McCain made such comments to the Munich Security Conference in Europe. In other words, McCain told foreign dignitaries that the White House was a mess, comments that potentially embolden enemies.

So when the anti-Trump crowd shouts "Not My President!" we have to say that statement is accurate. No American, whether a rioter in the street or a senator on Capitol Hill, should act like they are acting.

Joseph Murray (@realJoeMurray) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. Previously, he was a campaign official for Pat Buchanan. He is the author of "Odd Man Out" and is administrator of the LGBTrump Facebook page.

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