Dan Rather rips Trump in July 4 message: 'I refuse to let Donald Trump have the flag...as his own

Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather has been letting his left-leaning feathers fly of late on Facebook, where he's followed by more than 2.75 million users who seem to revere and adore his every word.

Not surprisingly, among Rather's favorite targets in his frequent posts is President Donald Trump — and Rather has never made a secret of his disdain for the commander in chief.

And in his Wednesday post marking the Fourth of July, Rather took direct aim at Trump and other members of his administration, predicting that they "will wrap themselves in the Stars and Stripes as they try to undermine the very values that have preserved our tenuous republic."

'I refuse to let Donald Trump have the flag of the United States as his own.'

Then he let the president have it: "I refuse to let Donald Trump have the flag of the United States as his own. I refuse to have the Pledge of Allegiance to that flag, which for me harkens [sic] to boyhood civics lessons, and U.S. citizenship ceremonies, and the camaraderie for our military, sullied by the jingoism and divisions of our present national leaders. I refuse to have the Star Spangled Banner used as a cudgel against principled speech. I refuse to let the best of this nation be debased and weaponized against truth and justice. I refuse to bow to cynicism."

More from Rather's post:

July 4 celebrates a check on tyranny. It celebrates victory against great odds. It celebrates people who demanded to be counted and heard. But it also recognizes that the goal of a "more perfect union" must remain as a North Star by which we chart our course. The first July 4 did not bring freedom to all, not by a long shot. Our path to progress has always been rocky and uneven. It has required new leadership and inspiration with every generation. This also must be celebrated.

My eyes begin to mist when I think about this nation and what it means to me. I do not apologize for this emotion. It is in me. I have seen the sacrifice done under the umbrella of freedom — from distant beachheads and fox holes, to staring down the dogs and water hoses in civil rights marches, to the quiet heroism of Americans helping their fellow citizens.

This is my America, and it is yours. This is my flag, and it is yours. This is my July 4, and it is yours as well. Let us not forget that, or let them take it away.

What else has Rather said about Trump?

Rather has beaten his anti-Trump drum for quite some time:

• Rather called Trump a “threat to our democracy” after the president banned media from a press briefing.
• He referred to Trump as "hunted" amid the Russia investigation last year.
• After Rather likened the alleged Trump-Russia collusion to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, conservative pundit Charles Krauthammer called it a "deranged analogy."
• Just prior to Trump's inauguration, Rather lectured "President Asterisk" on Facebook, noting he used the term to warn Trump to change his ways or potentially walk the same path as disgraced former President Richard Nixon.

What has Rather been up to?

Speaking of disgraced, Rather stepped down from his venerable perch at CBS News after his 2004 report on President George W. Bush’s national guard service used documents that weren’t verified as authentic.

But in January, Rather launched a weekly news show with the left-wing “Young Turks” network. He told CNN he was motivated by Trump’s “attacks” on the media: “I feel strongly that when you have a president who is continually, relentlessly damning the press, individuals by name, individual institutions and calling the press the enemy of the people — listen, this has to be resisted.”