Trump suspected of not knowing the US National Anthem
President Trump was accused of not knowing the words to the US National Anthem while attending a national football game.
USA TodayTrump attended the National Football League Championship Game between Alabama and Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta last night.
Officials cordoned off the stadium an hour before the president arrived, leaving thousands of fans stranded in the rain. Mr Trump entered the stadium to cheers and boos from the crowd about seven minutes before kickoff.
During the flag-raising ceremony, the American national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, was performed by the Zac Brown Group. The US President stood among the troops, placed his right hand on his chest and sang along. He mouthed the words smoothly at the beginning of the song but then became confused.
Video footage of the moment shows him uttering something, stopping his song, and stuttering. He appears to glance at the camera pointed directly at him and pats his chest, but remains silent. He returns to singing later and looks off into the distance.
When everyone finished the song and started clapping, Mr. Trump smiled and returned to his seat.
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President Trump at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta last night. Photo:Rex |
The 71-year-old president has once again become the subject of discussion and inspiration for memes on Twitter, with many people mocking him for not knowing the US national anthem.
"Does Trump know The Star-Spangled Banner? When the camera is pointed at him, he just opens his mouth and stares blankly into the distance," one person commented.
"Where's Obama? Trump doesn't even know the words to The Star-Spangled Banner," another wrote.
Internet users also questioned whether Trump's forgetting the lyrics to the national anthem was due to his dementia. "I don't think President Trump not knowing the lyrics is a sign that he is unpatriotic. I think it's a sign that he is sick," another commented.
"Trump can't remember the words to the National Anthem, how sad. Dementia is no joke," one person shared the same opinion.
Doubts about Trump's health have long been raised, and were reinforced by the recent release of "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" by journalist Michael Wolff, who described him as temperamental and suffering from mental health problems. However, last week, the White House denied these rumors, describing the book as "full of lies and fabrications."
