Trump Returns Looking Defeated — Then Fans Zoom In On the Background and the White House Scrambles to Explain
President Donald Trump’s weekend trip to Florida ended with an embarrassing image of the embattled politician going viral.
On Nov. 16, Trump, 79, ended his 14th visit to his Mar-a-Lago residence during his second term. The Republican leader traveled to the Palm Beach resort amid the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal dominating mainstream media and internet discourse.
Getty Images photographer Mandel Ngan captured a dejected-looking Trump arriving back at the White House in Washington, D.C., at night after his mini-vacation to Florida. However, an unexpected sight in the background of the photo captured the attention of social media users.
An American flag, still attached to a flagpole, could be seen lying behind Trump as he walked away from the Marine One helicopter. Video of the moment showed the New York-raised politician waving to reporters as the scrum yelled questions at him.
While Trump ignored the on-site journalists wanting to know his thoughts on the so-called Epstein Files, people on the internet could not avoid focusing on the downed flag that they claimed represented the state of the country under Trump 2.0.
“In an image taken on November 16, Trump is pictured returning to the White House after having spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida,” read a Threads post shared by comedian Loni Love.
The ex-host of the now-canceled “The Real” daytime talk show resumed, “As the president walks on the lawn, behind him, the American flag is lying on the ground. Even the flag is tired.”
“That flag is all of us,” one fellow Trump detractor replied on Threads to Love’s post. Likewise, someone jokingly added, “It said, ‘I’m not flying for you!’”
A third person compared the awkward White House image to a classic movie ending, writing, “The photo of the flag on the ground reminds me of the scene in ‘Planet of the Apes’ of the Statue of Liberty nearly buried.”
Over on X, someone wondered if the flag on the ground was a supernatural warning by asking, “Is this an omen?” Another account on the platform declared, “The epitome of Trump in the [White House]. An American Horror Story.”
“Symbolizes the current state of the White House,” read a kindred tweet. Trump’s White House staff caught heat too when one individual on X pointed out, “If anyone there cared about the flag, they’d have fixed it by now.”
According to the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization, the rules of flag etiquette maintain that the American flag should never touch the ground. The official website of the American Legion, another veterans-based association, also emphasized that the American flag should never touch anything beneath it, including the ground, the floor, or water.
Reports of the unsettling flag situation quickly made the rounds online, causing the official White House Rapid Response account on X to release a statement.
“FAKE NEWS (as usual). The beautiful American Flag that was installed by President Trump never touched the ground. It was lowered into a special container out of an abundance of caution during the Marine One landing due to high winds,” Trump’s team insisted.
That explanation still does not satisfy additional flag etiquette requirements such as not storing the flag where it can get dirty or the custom of only displaying the flag from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open.
The fallen flag is the latest controversy to emerge in the second Trump administration. Over the past 10 months since his inauguration in January, the 47th president has faced widespread backlash over his polarizing policy decisions and concerns about his seemingly declining health.
Trump’s constant word salad gaffes continue to feed the online mob looking to find out the truth about his mental and physical fitness. The White House’s acknowledgment that the most powerful person on the planet recently got an MRI without offering an explanation why he needed to have the medical imaging exam done has fueled speculation as well.
Additionally, Trump embracing adding flashy gold ornaments to the Oval Office and hosting “Great Gatsby”-themed parties at Mar-a-Lago, as many Americans deal with financial hardships, has also made the president a target for far-reaching ridicule and disgust.
With the scrutiny on his presidency at a fever pitch and longtime allies like Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene revolting against his party, Trump is in the middle of a media firestorm that has left him appearing crestfallen in pictures similar to the fallen flag at the White House.
