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| President Donald Trump speaks during an Independence Day celebration in front of the Lincoln Memorial. July 4, 2019. Associated Press |
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Trump Says Troops ‘Took Over Airports’ During Revolutionary War, In Rainy Fourth Of July Speech
Rolling Stone
Thu Jul 4, 2019
Category: Politics
Area: Washington, DC (Hagerstown)
“The Continental Army… manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over airports, it did everything it had to do,” the president said.
Twenty-eight years after tanks were last in Washington, D.C., they returned for President Donald Trump’s ego parade, titled “A Salute to America.” Although, the tanks did not roll down the city’s streets as the president wanted. They instead flanked him as he gave a speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The speech largely avoided politics, focusing instead on the military.
But while recapping great military victories, Trump stumbled, failing to read the teleprompter accurately, he said that American troops in the Revolutionary War “took over airports,” not realizing, of course, that airports did not exist in the 1700s.
“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,” Trump said.
Then, he went off the rails and seemingly mixed up the Revolutionary War with the War of 1812. “Our Army manned the air, it rammed (?) the ramparts, it took over airports, it did everything it had to do. And at Fort McHenry, under the rockets’ red glare, had nothing but victory. When dawn came, the star-spangled banner waved defiant.”
In another moment, Trump re-upped his Mars promise, vowing to “plant the American flag on Mars,” adding, “It’s happening, team, it’s happening.”
Although “concerns ran deep” among White House staff that the event would not attract a large crowd, a respectable amount of people seemed to show up. And, of course, Trump bragged about it.
But no matter how many people were actually there, one thing we can count on is that Trump and his staff will inflate that number starting tomorrow.
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