President Donald Trump’s attempt to relitigate the 2020 election fell flat Tuesday as he faced an awkward wall of silence from U.S. service members during a speech at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. The president, now in his second term, once again claimed he “won” the 2020 race, drawing no reaction at all from the assembled sailors aboard the USS George Washington.
“You know, we won the second election by a lot, so we had to just prove it by winning the third by too big to rig I called it. It was an amazing victory and thank goodness we won because we were in big trouble,” Trump told the troops, according to Irish Star. The remark, delivered with his trademark bravado, was met with total silence: no applause, no cheers, not even polite laughter.
The moment was captured on video and widely circulated online, showing sailors staring straight ahead as Trump paused, seemingly expecting an ovation that never came.
The exchange mirrored another painfully quiet appearance earlier this month at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, where Trump addressed about 800 senior military officers. There too, the crowd stayed still as he encouraged them to “go ahead and clap.” Observers noted that uniformed personnel often refrain from overt displays of support, but the optics were undeniably awkward for a president who thrives on adulation.
The silence came after a string of erratic public moments on Trump’s trip to Asia. Just days earlier, he went viral for a rambling explanation of “water and magnets” during a separate Navy address, promising to reinstate “steam catapults” on aircraft carriers and calling the Navy’s electromagnetic launch systems “too complicated.” Service members appeared confused, with some exchanging glances as the president spoke.
Beyond the awkward performance, Trump’s claim of a “second election victory” directly contradicts official findings. The Justice Department and multiple state audits found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Former Attorney General William Barr said flatly that “the department has not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome.” Nonetheless, Trump continues to insist he won, even as he touts his 2024 victory.
Adding to the tension, Trump’s comments came amid a prolonged government shutdown now in its 28th day. The White House has prioritized paying military personnel, law enforcement, and immigration agents, while thousands of other federal workers remain unpaid. Reports indicate the president accepted a $130 million donation from billionaire Timothy Mellon—an arrangement some legal experts have called “likely illegal” and reallocated roughly $8 billion in defense research funds to cover payroll for select agencies.
Trump’s allies defended the president’s approach, saying he has “always had deep respect for the military.” But the silence that met his remarks suggested something else entirely, a mix of discomfort and restraint from troops who chose not to indulge his falsehoods.
For a leader who measures success in applause lines and standing ovations, the quiet at Yokosuka may have been louder than any protest. It was a reminder that even among the ranks he loves to praise, not everyone is willing to clap for a lie that the President has never let down.
