Donald Trump’s unusual claim during his Fourth of July speech that the US revolutionary army of 1775 “took over airports” from the British a full 128 years ahead of the Wright brothers’ first flight has spurred a slew of memes.
By late Thursday evening, #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories was trending on Twitter, mockingly inserting themes from the perils of modern air travel with anecdotes from the revolutionary war.
During his tribute to the army, the president said: “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 rockets’ red glare, it had nothing but victory.”
The statement prompted Twitter user Shawna to riff on the theme of lost luggage:
Dearest Martha, please find enclosed a tracking number for my lost luggage at Philadelphia. It shall arrive to Mount Vernon via carriage in 21-25 days. Also enclosed is a receipt for the cost of parking my horse at Dulles for the weekend. #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories
— Shawna 🇺🇸⚔️🇬🇧 (@shawna1776) July 5, 2019
Historian Seth Cotlar, who teaches US history at Willamette University, spun the tale of the airports into old English.
Put ye powder hornes and buckled shoes in ye olde bins. Poultices over 3 ounces must be left with the magistrate and can be retrieved at ye postmaster’s office upon return. Muskets and pipes are stryctly forbidden on board ye airecrafte. #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories
— Seth Cotlar (@SethCotlar) July 5, 2019
LionO*s_Jungle wondered if George Washington could board an aircraft with his horse as an emotional support animal.
Will my Emotional Support Animal require an extra seat? #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories pic.twitter.com/ihgZ6A0Rca
— LionO*s_Jungle (@jungle_os) July 5, 2019
Above an image of the famously tight-lipped George Washington, Twitter user Damian Ayers wrote: “When you find out your flight has been cancelled due to bad weather and you and the Continental Army have to spend time in Valley Forge.”
When you find out your flight has been cancelled due to bad weather and you and the Continental Army have to spend time in Valley Forge #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories pic.twitter.com/Ri5whf8A7r
— Damian Ayers (@Talented_Xth) July 5, 2019
Another imagined redcoats not so much as British soldiers of the 18th century and more as Virgin Atlantic cabin staff.
“The British are coming!
— FindingPuraVida (@FindingPura) July 5, 2019
The British are coming!
They’re on Virgin Atlantic flight 158!”#RevolutionaryWarAirportStories
Some uncovered new battles, such as the Battle of the Baggage Claim.
#RevolutionaryWarAirportStories
— Covfefe Jones- King Of Shade👑 (@King_Of_Shade) July 5, 2019
The Battle of Baggage Claim (1776)
Many Lives were lost. And Bags too. Some people are saying it was the worst massacre they had ever seen.
Art from @Acyn pic.twitter.com/ZuKfgy3ghd
And some imagined what modern security staff would have made of trying to search revolutionary war generals.
That look you give the TSA agents when they insist you remove your coat and sash. #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories pic.twitter.com/ts8HVicsN9
— Sarah West (@sarahwestdcca) July 5, 2019
Trump isn’t the only member of his family taken to task recently on Twitter.
First daughter Ivanka Trump’s contributions to a conversation were apparently ignored by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, British prime minister, Theresa May, Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and International Monetary Fund leader, Christine Lagarde, at the recent G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan.
The moment produced some world-class Twitter memes under the #UnwantedIvanka hashtag. They include Ivanka Trump being left out of the drama as Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet sink on the Titanic, being left out of the 1969 moon landing, and crossing Abbey Road with the Beatles.