Ah, Yes, Speakers Still Need Research, the Continuing Case of Donald Trump

Donald Trump at JB Andrews

Speaking at Joint Base Andrews, near Washington DC, President Donald Trump gave an otherwise fine talk on the 70th anniversary of the United States Air Force – during which he seemed to mix up the Air Force with the Navy at least twice. Yes, lest we forget, research is good, and it will reduce the number of such mistakes. Let us remember that the Air Force, Navy, Army, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps all operate various types of combat aircraft, and they are all quite proud to do so. Inter-service rivalries aren't as intense as they used to be, but, well, . . .

First, Mr. Trump said that the audience was "better looking than Tom Cruise, and we know they can fight better, and we know they can fly better." This led to applause. Well, of course. Anyone who's watched Top Gun knows that Tom Cruise's character was a Navy fighter pilot –  not Air Force. Did Mr. Trump mean to say that Air Force pilots are better than Navy pilots? I don't think so. I think he just got confused. The Twitterverse lit up about Mr. Trump's contribution to the Navy-Air Force rivalry. Not a pretty sight.

Second, giving a list of his favorite aircraft from his base tour, Mr. Trump mentioned the "F-15, the F-16, the F-18, I don't know which one I liked the most." Oops. The F/A-18 is, once again, a Navy jet. This was the 70th anniversary of the Air Force, not the Navy. Since Andrews is now a joint Air Force-Navy base, there may have been an F/A-18 on the tarmac.

Well, it's not a big deal. Mr. Trump was trying to adapt to his audience, and mostly did well. But, although we all make mistakes, we'll make fewer mistakes if we do our homework. I imagine that the Air Force will forgive their CIC. This time.