The latest attempt to brand Trump a Nazi has two American artists rolling over in their graves.
On Thursday, a New York Post reporter tweeted that President Donald Trump played the song “Edelweiss” at the White House. The New York Times‘s White House correspondent, Maggie Haberman, suggested the song was a Nazi anthem, inspiring rightful backlash on Twitter. She seemed to stick with this false view, even after she was called out on it.
“‘Edelweiss’ was being played as we walked into the [White House],” Nikki Schwab, the Post reporter, tweeted.
“Edelweiss” was being played as we walked into the @WhiteHouse
— Nikki Schwab (@NikkiSchwab) April 18, 2019
Flabbergasted, Haberman responded, “Does…anyone at that White House understand the significance of that song?”
Does…anyone at that White House understand the significance of that song? https://t.co/IK9h8fOwNj
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 18, 2019
This tweet suggested that Trump was outing himself as pro-Nazi by playing the song at the White House.
When Ben Shapiro responded with a mocking tweet, Haberman doubled down, saying, “So you’re going with no, then.”
Twitter screenshot of Maggie Haberman’s response to Ben Shapiro.
As National Review‘s Alexandra DeSanctis noted, “Edelweiss” originated in The Sound of Music (1965), an American musical about the ravages of the Nazi rise to power in Austria. The song was a tribute to pre-Nazi Austria and a rebuke to the Nazis.
For anyone who hasn’t seen/doesn’t remember “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music (not this weird left-wing version where it’s a Nazi anthem (?)), here it is. They sing it twice in the film and it sort of needs to be seen in context, but beautiful anyway: https://t.co/5HXqxz4ZEp
— Alexandra DeSanctis (@xan_desanctis) April 18, 2019
Where did Haberman get the idea that the song supports Nazis? The answer may lie with Amazon’s hit show The Man in the High Castle. That show repurposed “Edelweiss” as a creepy lament — in an alternate universe where the Nazis win World War II and conquer a third of America.
For those of you who aren't fans of @HighCastleTV, the show is about an alternate United States if the Nazis won World War II. "Edelweiss" is the song in the opening credits and it's creepy AF. pic.twitter.com/21LJ7A9ez9
— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) April 18, 2019
Amazon’s recasting of the song was a brilliant artistic move, and it gives extra heft to the show’s opening credits. But it may have convinced viewers that “Edelweiss” is a pro-Nazi song, rather than an anti-Nazi one. Indeed, it is plausible that Haberman’s outrage at Trump playing the song is the result of Amazon’s show.
The Washington Examiner‘s Seth Mandel noted this connection.
They think Edelweiss is a Nazi anthem because it's on a TV show that has Nazis and they're also speed reading a super important report into presidential misconduct and you can absolutely trust their judgment and their depth and breadth of knowledge https://t.co/GbMUffHFU3
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) April 18, 2019
The Daily Wire’s Elisha Krauss said Rodgers and Hammerstein may be “rolling over in their graves.”
Has no one ever seen the Sound of Music?????? Edelweiss is like the Austrian's rallying cry AGAINST the Nazis… It's like the Von Trapp Family's anthem AGAINST the Nazis… Are Rodgers and Hammerstein rolling over in their graves??? pic.twitter.com/rWrtg4V48y
— Elisha (@ElishaKrauss) April 18, 2019
Naturally, Haberman is distracted by the Mueller report. Even so, she should have known better.
Watch “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMuTDdWXbNo
Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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