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AIPROPX ReportThe Independent · 56m ago
Trump’s green flag waving at IndyCar race becomes instant viral hit
The gesture triggered mockery from Trump’s critics, celebration by his supporters and a steady stream of memes from everyone in between
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President Donald Trump waved the green flag to start the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar race in Washington, D.C. Sunday — a brief, ceremonial moment that quickly swept social media.
The gesture produced a familiar divide online: mockery from Trump’s critics, celebration by his supporters and a steady stream of memes from everyone in between.
The first-of-its-kind IndyCar race, part of the nation’s 250th-anniversary festivities , drew an estimated 140,000 spectators to the capital. Drivers tore around a 1.7-mile circuit, past the National Mall and other monuments, bringing an unusually high-octane form of pageantry to Washington.
Before the race, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump took a lap around the course in the presidential limousine, known as the Beast, as onlookers gathered along the route. The couple were then joined in a box by members of Trump’s family and political inner circle, including his sons Eric and Don Jr, and close aide Natalie Harp.
Shortly before 1:20 p.m., Medal of Honor recipients Command Sgt. Maj. Matt Williams and Col. Paris Davis delivered the green flag to the president. With the first lady looking on, Trump brandished the banner and quickly lifted it up and down.
Whether it was the flag’s position, Trump’s rapid-fire motion or the smirk on his face, the moment immediately became one of the day’s most replayed clips.
Some commenters fixated on the way the 80-year-old president held the flag, remarking that he had grabbed it from the wrong side.
“Lmao they had to tell Donald Trump to hold the green flag the right way,” one X user wrote , sharing a clip that appeared to show Melania Trump and Medal of Honor recipient Matt Williams directing the president to reposition it.
Others mocked the wave itself. “This has to be the most [embarrassing] way to wave a flag [I have] ever seen in my life,” the account Call to Activism wrote . Another chimed in : “‘Wave’ is a stretch … more like spasmodic gesticulation.”
The clip also became a vehicle for broader political criticism, touching on everything from Trump’s Washington renovation projects to his foreign policy. “Considering he lost the war with Iran, it probably should be white,” one X user quipped , referring to the conflict that has now dragged on for nearly five months with no apparent end in sight.
“Trump waves an ‘American flag blue’ color flag to start the IndyCar race in DC today,” another user joked , an apparent reference to the president’s renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The pool was coated in a layer of “American flag blue” sealant before becoming covered in algae earlier this year .
Still others treated the green flag as an invitation for digital mischief. One user used it as a green screen , superimposing footage of Trump partying with Jeffrey Epstein at Mar-a-Lago in 1992.
The video also found a non-political afterlife, as users repurposed it to joke about everyday annoyances. “Wiggling my mouse every two minutes to appear active on Teams while hungover on the couch,” one user captioned the clip .
The White House also reposted the clip , where it quickly surpassed one million views. “When someone says Trust in Trump,” the account wrote in the caption.
The post prompted some commenters to accuse the White House of cropping Natalie Harp out of the frame .
Harp, the president’s 35-year-old aide who was seated behind Melania Trump, has drawn scrutiny for what critics have characterized as an unusual level of devotion to the president.
Not all of the online reaction was hostile, however.
“Biden would have licked that flag,” wrote one user. “I’ll take Trump’s awkward wave, thanks.”
Another Trump supporter added : “Oh my god who gives a damn how he waves a flag. You democrats are grasping at straws trying to find stuff about him.”
Still a third user chimed in : “I’m not a fan of Trump, but this race on DC streets is cool.”
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