Trump thinks planes predate the USA, and people are losing it

Donald Trump is not known for his firm grasp of history. His latest speech makes it seem like the same could be said of his grasp of reality. Because President Trump – the alleged leader of the free world – thinks that the war of independence involved planes.

During his July 4th speech, President Donald Trump says American forces “took over the airports” during the US War of Independence in the late 18th century.

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Planes were not used in warfare until the 20th century. pic.twitter.com/pxhYVdfGz4

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) July 5, 2019

High flyer

Trump said:

In June of 1775, the Continental Congress created a unified army out of the revolutionary forces encamped around Boston and New York and named after the great George Washington, commander-in-chief.

The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware, and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown.

He continued:

Our army manned the air; it rammed the ramparts; it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do.

And at Fort McHenry, under the rockets’ red glare, it had nothing but victory. And when dawn came, their Star-Spangled Banner waved defiant.

People had some things to say about this.

Wut?

Some people pointed out the knowledge age Trump is currently flying below:

Watching Trump’s speech, my son turns to me and said “did he say airports? Does he think they had airports in the 1700s?” My son is 11! #TrumpParadeFail

— Heather Mount (@mountmusic) July 5, 2019

My sincerest apologies to my former 8th grade US History students for my failure to teach you about the Continental Army's takeover of airports during the Revolutionary War. #TrumpParade https://t.co/s1bnWMmAUY

— Mae S. Chaplin (@MaeSChaplin) July 5, 2019

Others pointed out how Trump manages to create ‘wins’ from nothing:

Trump speech condensed: “Under the gallant leadership of 9-star General Donnie BoneSpurs, the Revolutionary Army of 1812 never lost a single airport!”

— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) July 5, 2019

Some found the situation quite incredible:

#Trump claims that the Army in the Revolutionary War took over the airports (100+ years before planes were invented), wow… damn they were good pic.twitter.com/l2BRhDN6Pe

— Edward Silha (@Edzila) July 5, 2019

Scientist Brian Cox wondered if Trump had the same issue as a popular movie character who read out everything in front of him:

What’s so bizarre about this is he’s obviously at least trying to read from autocue. Which presumably means someone wrote this for a laugh – Ron Burgundy anyone? https://t.co/G88XipZNDK

— Brian Cox (@ProfBrianCox) July 5, 2019

But what’s the real truth? Thankfully, we had the Guardian on hand to fact check if airports existed over a hundred years before planes did:

Fact check: there were no airports in 1775. https://t.co/v8j0gPMswI

— The Guardian (@guardian) July 5, 2019

Jokes aside, the Guardian did also identify another problem with Trump’s speech. As it pointed out:

astute listeners picked out, the battle of Fort McHenry occurred during the war of 1812, and not the American revolutionary war which took place several decades earlier.

Straight shooter

Some of his supporters claim Trump has a ‘plain, everyday’ speaking style. You might disagree with that overall point, but he’s certainly leant in on the ‘plane’ part.

Although this would be embarrassing for most other presidents, a man who’s running his own concentration camps probably doesn’t have much capacity for shame.

Featured image via Wikimedia – Michael Vadon