WASHINGTON — President
Donald Trump read most of his
Independence Day speech from a prepared text, but stumbled on his history at one point: He talked about airports during the
American Revolution.
"Our Army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over airports," Trump said of the fighting force created by the Continental Congress in 1775.
There was no air travel in 18th Century America.
The full riff:
"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.
"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. And when dawn came, their star-spangled banner waved defiant."One other note: The battle at Fort McHenry that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner" took place during the War of 1812, not the American Revolution.