If it weren’t for the fact that Donald Trump is actually in charge of the United States government, his ignorance might actually be entertaining. In the pouring rain, from which he was protected but rally attendees and parade marchers were not, Trump gave a speech about the Revolutionary War that was so unrelated to actual fact as to be almost hilarious.
President Trump: "The Continental Army suffered a bitter winner at Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown. Our Army manned the air, it ran the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do." pic.twitter.com/KQIGDUWDG3
— The Hill (@thehill) July 5, 2019
During the part of his speech in which he discussed the Revolutionary War, Trump claimed that the Continental Army “took over the airports.” While Trump surprisingly stuck to his script and didn’t turn the event into a rally for his 2020 presidential campaign, which everyone was expecting, whomever wrote his script is either an absolute idiot or was trolling Trump pretty hard. The fact that Trump didn’t correct the story is even more proof that he doesn’t understand history, either.
TIME magazine quotes Trump as having said:
‘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. 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 rocket’s red glare it had nothing but victory.’
Trump says US troops 'took over airports' in war almost 100 years before planes were invented pic.twitter.com/XR7MrbrYST
— The Independent (@Independent) July 5, 2019
Trump actually mentioned the Wright brothers in his speech – Orville and Wilbur Wright, who achieved the first airplane flight – he didn’t seem to understand that a plane invented in 1903 wouldn’t have been stored at an airport in 1776. Air combat wasn’t a part of any United States war until the 20th century.
‘Of course, as many viewers noted, airports––and military airplanes––are a 20th century invention. The first powered flight of an airplane was officially attributed to the Wright brothers, who accomplished their feat in 1903. Trump also praised the Wright brothers earlier in his Independence Day speech.’
#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
Considering that Trump promoted his very expensive Fourth of July “Salute to America” as a way to honor the military, one would think he’d want to get their history right. However, he also missed the factual error in relating the National Anthem to the Revolutionary War when it was actually written about the War of 1812, not 1776.
‘Other observant listeners picked up on a second historical error in the speech. Trump’s reference to Fort McHenry and “rockets’ red glare”––the Battle of Baltimore at which the words to the “Star-Spangled Banner” were written––took place during the War of 1812, not the Revolutionary War.’
Correcting President Trump :
1 – The Continental Army was not named after Washington.
2 – General Cornwallis was not from Yorktown he was from britain.
3 – There were no Airports or planes in "Revolutionary War" or The War of 1812.
4 – WW2 wasn't a century after WW1 only 21 yrs. pic.twitter.com/uOe7TcfZnV— Jmantime (@jmantime) July 5, 2019
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
