Donald Trump’s ill-fated attempt to show off his manners compared to other world leaders was dripping in hypocrisy.
The president, 80, shared an edited video montage on Truth Social on Monday featuring French President Emmanuel Macron, King Charles, and former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden seemingly committing faux pas while saluting or paying respect to service members.
One clip shows Macron appearing to unknowingly walk past a French service member who has fainted or collapsed.
Another shows King Charles making a halfhearted attempt to care for a collapsed British service member before sidestepping away, which several British outlets reported was misleadingly edited. In the full video, the British monarch tried to catch the fainting man, and remained nearby as he received medical attention.
Biden is also shown checking his watch after saluting servicemen, while Obama is depicted with a coffee in hand, giving a feeble salute to a soldier while descending the steps of Air Force One. The Daily Beast did not independently verify the video’s validity.
Then, a montage of Trump saluting and shaking service members’ hands is shown. However, the video excludes a few vital clips of the president, including one that was filmed hours before Trump made his post.
That same day, footage of the 80-year-old president’s cockpit tirade shows him speaking and gesticulating aggressively at the helicopter pilots after touching down at Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey around 4:30 p.m. Monday. He had flown in from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.
It is not clear from the video what exactly upset the president. The footage shows him making a series of firm and dismissive gestures while speaking to the pilots, including waving his hand and jabbing his finger.
He then disembarked, wearing a MAGA hat and his trademark blue suit, before appearing to ignore the Marines saluting him by the aircraft as he ambled across the tarmac. He gave a brief wave to a gaggle of nearby reporters and then boarded Air Force One for the transfer to Joint Base Andrews and the White House. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions regarding the incident.
Online critics also quickly pointed out that Trump is not renowned for his manners. Several commenters on X pointed to the president’s choice to wear a trucker hat available on his merchandise website while attending the dignified transfer of six U.S. service members killed in his war with Iran in March.
While the dignified transfer is not a funeral, it is also a common custom in the United States to remove a hat as a sign of respect. Trump’s hat remained firmly on his head throughout the ceremony.
