Trump directs Americans to note ‘Loyalty Day’

WASHINGTON – “Loyalty Day” is Monday, according to President Donald Trump.

It’s a designation made by his predecessors for decades, but the nation’s 45th president is putting his own stamp on it as workers elsewhere in the U.S. call May 1 “May Day” and protest Trump’s immigration policies.

Trump recommending specific ways Americans should mark the day – by flying flags over government buildings and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. His proclamation also mentions Republicans’ priority of “limited government” and the nation’s determination to defeat the Islamic State group.

“The loyalty of our citizenry sends a clear signal to our allies and enemies that the United States will never yield from our way of life,” Trump wrote in a proclamation on Friday. “We are working to destroy ISIS, and to secure for all Americans the liberty terrorists seek to extinguish.”

“Loyalty Day” has been marked by presidents at least back to Dwight Eisenhower. It began as “Americanization Day” in response to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

Trump’s proclamation does differ in tone from his immediate predecessors’, who tended to stick to lofty statements on the ideals that bind Americans together.

Elsewhere in U.S. cities, workers and labor groups are marching on what they call, “May Day” in protest of Trump’s immigration policies.