Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Trump Can't Seem To Figure Out That The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic Didn't Happen In 1917

Trump Can't Seem To Figure Out That The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic Didn't Happen In 1917
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In addition to touting his own "stable" genius and spreading misinformation about the viral pathogen that ultimately led to the nation's mismanaged response to the widespread pandemic, President Donald Trump revealed himself to be not well-versed in all things history.


In many of his news conferences since the pandemic, Trump has repeatedly referred to the "1917" flu.

The problem is, the flu pandemic he was referring to caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus did not start until 1918.

In his latest mention of the "1917 flu," Trump lamented:

"We got hit by a plague like nobody's seen before outside of maybe 1917."

According to White House transcripts, this is about the 40th time the President referred to the 1917 flu that happened in 1918.

When addressing the challenges that lay ahead in combating the pandemic under his presidency, Trump commented:

"Nobody has trained for this, nobody has seen this, I would say, since 1917, which was the greatest of them all, the greatest of this type of battle. Probably the greatest of them all, right? 1917."

That was on April 4th.

In another speech, he said:

"You could probably go back to 1917, where it was a terrible period of time. You all know what happened in 1917."

And on yet another occasion:

"Tremendous death. It was just a terrible thing, the likes of which we haven't seen I guess if you go back over 100 years, 1917. And that was a terrible thing."

Twitter had their theories as to why the Commander-In-Chief keeps espousing this falsehood.


People are confused as to why his advisors have not enlightened him with the truth.



Is Sam Mendes, director of the war drama 1917, partly to blame?



Giphy


As far as correcting the President on factual matters goes, that horse has left the gate.

Trump also couldn't recall knowing anyone who died in the 1918 pandemic, also known as the Spanish Flu – which claimed the lives of an estimated 50,000,000 Americans in its first year – including his own grandfather.

On March 6, while touring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's headquarters in Atlanta, GA, Trump commented:

"When I was hearing the amount of people that died with the flu, I was shocked to hear it."

He continued:

"Over the last, long period of time when people have the flu, you have an average of 36,000 people dying."
"I've never heard those numbers, I would've been shocked. I would have said, 'Does anybody die of the flu?' I didn't know people died from the flu."

But according to Trump biographer Gwenda Blair, the President's grandfather, Friedrich Trump, died of influenza in 1918.

Blair also said in an interview with CNN that the President is "only looking forward."

"He has no rearview mirror and that means he learns little."

His frequent mention of a nonexistent pandemic is hardly surprising considering his track record of being historically challenged.

While speaking at a Black History Month event, Trump famously said that 19th century abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass – who died in 1895 – was:

"an example of somebody who's done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more."

Giphy

Seems about par for the course as this point.

More from People/donald-trump

Jesse Watters
Fox News

Jesse Watters Dragged After Adding Another Mind-Boggling Rule For 'Real Men'

Fox News host Jesse Watters, who is apparently an authority of what it means to be a manly man, gave jazz hands to make a point about how "real men" should or shouldn't wave.

The target of his ridicule was Tim Walz, the enthusiastic Democratic Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate who often greets the public by raising both hands in the air to wave.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of crowd at town hall and Rep. Mike Flood
@MorePerfectUS/X; KETV NewsWatch 7

GOP Rep. Goes Viral For His Response To Crowd Chanting 'Tax The Rich' At Town Hall

Nebraska Republican Representative Mike Flood was criticized following his incredulous response to a crowd that chanted "Tax the rich!" during a town hall meeting.

The Columbus High School auditorium hosted the town hall on Tuesday evening, drawing "nearly 380" attendees, according to local network KETV Omaha. The event was lively, with Flood facing both sharp criticism over Trump administration policies and some appreciation for showing up in person.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Awkward Typo In Elon Musk's Bizarre 'Education Department' Trump Meme Is A Total Self-Own

Billionaire Elon Musk was widely mocked after he celebrated President Donald Trump's executive order to begin to dismantle the Department of Education (DOE) by posting a meme of Trump at the department's grave, only for an awkward misspelling to get all the attention.

Polling indicates that eliminating the Education Department is largely unpopular, with 60% of registered voters opposing the move, according to a Quinnipiac University survey conducted March 6-10. Support stands at 33%, with opposition particularly strong among Democrats—98% oppose it, while just 1% support it.

Keep ReadingShow less
JB Pritzker; Donald Trump
Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Dem Governor Reveals Trump's Bonkers Demand In Exchange For Equipment During COVID

Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker revealed during a speech this week that he clashed with President Donald Trump during the first Trump administration after Trump promised necessary medical equipment during the COVID pandemic on the condition that Pritzker praise him publicly.

Five years ago, the United States was grappling with the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country had entered shutdowns that had severe economic consequences, leaving businesses and industries on the brink of collapse.

Keep ReadingShow less
Scrabble tiles spelling the word scam
Scam spelled with scrabbles on a wooden table

People Break Down How They Realized An Entire Industry Was A Total Scam

We unfortunately live in a world where scams are on the rise.

Thankfully, some of them are pretty easy to detect, such as an automated call from the IRS telling you a warrant is out for your arrest, or an email claiming to be from Amazon or the USPS asking for your credit card information, only to look closer and see the email address is a yahoo account.

Keep ReadingShow less