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

Donald Trump
Wilson Belshaw


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.

 

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:

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

Some found the situation quite incredible:

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

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:

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

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