President Donald Trump went on an offensive tirade against one of his pereceived enemies again while speaking to U.S. troops on an aircraft carrier off the coast of Japan Tuesday, but his insults landed with a big thud instead of the boom he was hoping for.
Before thousands of service members aboard the USS George Washington, Trump worked himself into a boastful rhythm, railing about his supposed victories and taking repeated jabs at his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
Then, mid-speech, he dropped a bizarre accusation — claiming Biden once lied about being a pilot — a story Trump appeared to invent on the spot.
It was bad enough that Trump couldn’t stay on message without taking a swipe at a former president, but it was even worse that he did it in front of the U.S. military.
“Biden used to say he was a pilot. He was a pilot, he was a truck driver, whatever, whoever walked in. He wasn’t a pilot. He wasn’t much of a president either to be honest with you. That I can tell you. That we all know,” Trump denigratingly declared.
But Trump’s attempt at mockery during a serious moment, backfired.
“Biden never said he was a pilot. I believe it was George W Bush,” Threads user Cheryl Watson corrected.
George W. Bush served as a pilot in the Texas National Guard during the Vietnam War and avoiding combat. Former President George W. Bush’s father, former President George H.W. Bush, was a Navy bomber pilot during World War II and flew 58 combat missions during the war.
“What in the world is he talking about!?” another chimed in about Trump’s insults. In addition to fumbling his insult with the wrong president, Trump only put the spotlight on his own history.
“Trump always has to lie about Biden and bash him! What a draft dodging slug!” this Threads user declared.
Several viewers were disgusted at Trump’s lack of presidential decorum in front of the troops.
View on Threads
“Isn’t a “president” mocking another president in front of the military pretty f…. unpresidential?,” asked Amber on Threads. Another added, “Embarassingly unpresidential.”
“He’s the only Commander in Chief to bad mouth the previous Commander in Chief in an address to the troops. Mind boggling.” still another Threads user stated.
“Apparently President Biden is living rent-free in Trump’s brain,” Threads user Peggy Corcelli guessed. To that point, others called for Biden to take action.
“Ok, Time for President Biden to take some legal action. He never said he was a pilot. He never said he was a truck driver. These lies are damaging! AND IN FRONT OF OUR MILITARY, NO LESS! I mean — doesn’t trump sue anyone and everyone who lies about HIM?? Time for Joe Biden to lawyer up,” declared another furious viewer.
As it turns out, someone did play at being a pilot and it wasn’t Biden. “Also, friendly reminder, Biden never posted AI images of him as a pilot, or dropping actual shit onto Americans. I mean it would really make you a terrible potus to do something like that,” said another commentor.
But Biden did falsely declare during his presidency that he was previously a truck driver and he stated other inaccuracies about his résumé, but he never claimed to have been a pilot, according to CNN.
Trump basically made that up while trying to mock Biden for something Trump himself fabricated. And this isn’t the first time, either. He falsely claimed the same thing about Biden during the 2024 presidential campaign.
The Biden remark wasn’t the only false thing Trump said in his speech to thousands of sailors.
He falsely claimed as he’s been doing for weeks now that the costs of food and energy “are way down.”
“Inflation back home, we had the worst inflation in the history of our country,” Trump contended.
“Energy costs are down. You know, energy costs are way down. Gasoline prices are way down. Grocery prices are way down. We have a little problem with beef. We’re going to get that down very quickly, but the prices are way down,” he continued to insist.
Why he keeps lying about this is a true headscratcher because all anyone has to do is go to a grocery store or look at their energy bills.
Trump also repeated his false claims that, “No president that we know has ever ended any war.” It’s unclear what the “we know” means, as U.S. presidents have been part of ending conflicts around the world for decades, going back to Theodore Roosevelt and his role in mediating the end of the Russia-Japan War in 1905.
