Melania And Donald Trump Slammed For Appearing Not To Know The Words To The Pledge of Allegiance
Melania and Donald Trump made an appearance in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Friday morning to commemorate the 9/11 attacks. While there, the proceedings opened with the pledge of Allegiance, but critics were quick to note Trump appeared to trip over a large portion of the statement, while FLOTUS declined to recite the pledge at all.
In a video of the event posted to Twitter, the first lady, dressed in a black belted trench coat, stood with her hand on the left side of her chest as is traditional. But as the pledge was read, she made no attempt to recite the words. Instead, she stood silently as she listened.
Next to her, the president stood in a dark blue suit with his hand similarly positioned. He listened as the pledge began, but missed the first few words and made a face that some critics said revealed confusion as he appeared to search for the right phrase. He jumped in after a beat but trailed off again toward the middle where the term “under God” began, missing much of the rest of the paragraph.
President Trump recites the Pledge of Allegiance at this morning's 9/11 commemoration in Shanksville, PA. pic.twitter.com/KZPWjai9ye
— The Recount (@therecount) September 11, 2020
“Trump doesn’t seem to know the words to the Pledge of Allegiance,” noted Vox journalist Aaron Rupar.
Critics pointed out they believed had Barack Obama or any other person on the left failed to recite the pledge accurately, particularly if they left out the phrase “under God,” they would have faced backlash from the news on the right.
“Excuse me, but Trump wasn’t reciting the pledge. He was standing there with a pained look on his face, squinting at the teleprompter to give him some kind of clue as to what he should be doing. He was shifting back and forth like a drug addict looking for a fix the whole time,” added another social media user.
“For all the faux outrage about standing for the anthem, he should at least know the pledge and make his wife learn it,” said Bari A. Williams.
Trump has been fiercely critical of professional athletes who choose to take a knee during the National Anthem to protest police brutality and racism.
It’s not the first controversy the president has faced surrounding the Pledge of Allegiance. Trump recently made headlines after he claimed Democrats removed the term “under God” when they recited it at the Democratic National Convention. As The Inquisitr previously reported, fact-checkers found this claim to be false.
