What fresh hell is this?

Seriously? President Trump has officially proclaimed January 20, 2017—the day of his inauguration—as the National Day of Patriotic Devotion. It’s in the Federal Register. I’ve got nothing against patriotism but this is exactly what we don’t need right now while all the brittle leftists are expecting to get rounded up for interment at any moment. Half the country is on high alert thinking that he’s a Russian puppet and Trump makes a proclamation that sounds like something a tin pot dictator would declare as part of a plan to root out disloyal subjects.

He couldn’t have named it something that sounded less totalitarian? Are we being punked?

Here is the text of the executive order as it appears in the Federal Register:

NATIONAL DAY OF PATRIOTIC DEVOTION

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– – – – – – –

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

A new national pride stirs the American soul and inspires

the American heart. We are one people, united by a common

destiny and a shared purpose. Freedom is the birthright of all Americans, and to preserve

that freedom we must maintain faith in our sacred values and

heritage. Our Constitution is written on parchment, but it lives in

the hearts of the American people. There is no freedom where the

people do not believe in it; no law where the people do not

follow it; and no peace where the people do not pray for it.

There are no greater people than the American citizenry,

and as long as we believe in ourselves, and our country, there

is nothing we cannot accomplish. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United

States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by

the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby

proclaim January 20, 2017, as National Day of Patriotic

Devotion, in order to strengthen our bonds to each other and to

our country — and to renew the duties of Government to the

people. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand

seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of

America the two hundred and forty-first.

That is totally normal. Right?

The order is receiving the sort of treatment on social media that people advising Trump should have expected.

A "National Day of Patriotic Devotion" totally sounds like something a free society would have: https://t.co/Yn3C8malXH pic.twitter.com/IEHfpYjaUC — Derek Willis (@derekwillis) January 23, 2017

Would it be cheap shot to note "National Day of Patriotic Devotion" might sound better in the original German or Russian?#AskingForAFriend — Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 23, 2017

This is not real. Is this real? Trump "proclaim January 20, 2017, as National Day of Patriotic

Devotion"https://t.co/7JwkTXhr2R — Mathias Poulsen (@mathiaspoulsen) January 23, 2017

I don't understand who's advising here. 'National Day of Patriotic Devotion' literally sounds like what a dictator would name coronation day — Zach Rosenberg (@ZachInFlight) January 23, 2017

An announcement like this would not be complete without a tweet from @DPRK_News.

Orange pelted poodle Donald Trump, in pitiable attempt to ape Juche Idea of General Kim Il-Sung, declares National Day of Patriotic Devotion pic.twitter.com/jQqzQU71iv — DPRK News Service (@DPRK_News) January 23, 2017

Forward!