Monday night’s presidential press briefing was a more dramatic one than usual. First, there was the moment when Donald J. Trump was abruptly yanked away by Secret Service agents after reports of a shooting outside the White House. The incident, involving Secret Service shooting an armed man, was quickly put under control, and the president soon returned, rattling off a number of surprising things. He didn’t mispronounce Thailand this time, but he did suggest that the “1917 pandemic” helped end World War II, which began in 1939.
“The closest thing is in 1917, they say, the great pandemic. It certainly was a terrible thing where they lost anywhere from 50 to 100 million people,” said the President of the United States. “Probably ended the second World War, all the soldiers were sick.”
Trump has regularly gotten the year wrong on the 1918 pandemic, but referring to the incorrect World War is a first. He, of course, meant World War I, which did end in November of 1918, half a year after that pandemic started. While some historians have argued that that outbreak affected the war, hitting Germany particularly hard, to claim that it was solely or even largely responsible for ending the global strife is, to put it lightly, up for debate.
The combination of the wrong pandemic year and the wrong war was quickly singled out.
The President says the “1917 pandemic” ended the Second World War pic.twitter.com/jSltuSYim2
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) August 10, 2020
Trump says the pandemic of 1918 which he says occurred in 1917 ended the Second World War, which ended in 1945.
— Philip Bump (@pbump) August 10, 2020
Trump says the Spanish Flu in 1917 “probably” ended the Second World War.
The Spanish Flu was in 1918 and WWII ended in 1945. It’s “probably” a good thing the Secret Service cut that press conference short. pic.twitter.com/sHQj2Uqov6
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) August 10, 2020
Checks notes…
Ah, yes… WWII ended in 1945, nearly three decades after the pandemic of 1917. pic.twitter.com/fDt66HnnNM
— VoteVets (@votevets) August 10, 2020
“The closest thing is, uh, in 1917, they say, uh, The Great- the Great Pandemic; & it certainly was a terrible thing where they lost anywhere from 50 to 100 million ppl; probably ended the Second World War, all the soldiers were sick.”
-The US President just spoke this sentence
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) August 10, 2020
Trump’s history: The 1917/18 pandemic “probably ended the Second World War.” Whut???? https://t.co/74YXB9NZGY
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) August 10, 2020
The conservative-run Project Lincoln, which has been releasing scores of anti-Trump ads, made sure to get in a dig.
By the way the 1918 flu pandemic started in 1918, not 1917.
World War 2 ended in 1945.
And for some reason it’s the Trump Campaign that’s trying to run on mental fitness.
— The Lincoln Project
(@ProjectLincoln) August 11, 2020
Some imagined other mis-remembered details floating in the president’s brain.
Obama fought WWII but was forced to concede defeat because of the pandemic of 1917 and since then the cupboards have been bare. They couldn’t even test for it because there weren’t any tests. All the while our soldiers didn’t have any bullets. No bullets. Could you imagine? No bu
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) August 11, 2020
Others worried about his brain.
How is this not an example of some sort of brain problem or dementia? He has repeatedly, on numerous occasions, claimed the Spanish flu was in 1917, not 1918. He must have been corrected dozens of times. He still says 1917. It’s not some sort of politically useful lie. Why do it? https://t.co/EEFifIJxjg
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 10, 2020
Richard Marx was horrified, too.
The genius MAGA crowd who worships and defends the guy who can’t pronounce “Yosemite” or “Thailand” and says the 1917 pandemic probably ended WW2 thinks Joe Biden is mentally compromised. https://t.co/xt2KY8l1kQ
— Richard Marx (@richardmarx) August 11, 2020
Alyssa Milano wanted to focus on the “1917 pandemic” bit.
And why does he keep saying it was the 1917 flu, ffs? Every time.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) August 10, 2020
Some imagined what perpetual Trump cheerleader Dinesh D’Souza, who repeatedly tried to defend the president’s “Thailand” gaffe, would say about this one.
Dinesh D’Souza: Yes, elitist provincials, laugh. Trump isn’t referencing the 1918 Spanish Flu but the 1917 Portuguese Grippe, which infected a young Hitler. After incubating 28 years, it suddenly became symptomatic in the bunker and he sneezed so violently it blew his brains out. https://t.co/syK9PSmpvw
— Frank Lesser (@sadmonsters) August 11, 2020
And some pointed out that the people who dwell on Joe Biden’s screw-ups never say anything about the president’s mistakes.
If anyone says anything about Joe Biden flubbing a line ever again, just post the clip of Trump saying the 1917 pandemic ended the Second World War over and over again.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) August 11, 2020
If anyone says anything about Joe Biden flubbing a line ever again, just post the clip of Trump saying the 1917 pandemic ended the Second World War over and over again.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) August 11, 2020