• President Donald Trump during his Fourth of July speech praised the victories of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War.
  • At one point, however, Trump mistakenly claimed that American forces “seized airports” during the 18th-century conflict.
  • “Our Army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do,” he said in a mistake some ascribed to a problem with his teleprompter.
  • Trump’s speech mainly focused on the achievements of the US military and avoided the polarizing rhetoric some had feared.
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President Donald Trump used his Fourth of July speech on Thursday to praise the victories of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War – but made a major historical stumble, claiming that the 18th-century army “seized airports.”

Speaking as a heavy rainstorm battered the crowds gathered in Washington, Trump said: “In June of 1775, the Continental Congress created a unified army out of the revolutionary forces encamped around Boston and New York and named after the great George Washington, commander in chief.”

“The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware, and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown,” he added.

It was at this point when the president stumbled. “Our Army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do, and at Fort McHenry, under the rockets’ red glare, it had nothing but victory.

"And when dawn came, their star-spangled banner waved defiant."

It wasn't until 1903, more than a century later, that the Wright brothers made the first successful flight in an airplane. And that wasn't the only error.

The British siege of Fort McHenry, which inspired the composition of the "Star-Spangled Banner," occurred during the War of 1812, some 29 years after the end of the Revolutionary War.

On Twitter, some poked fun at the president's reference to 18th-century air travel.

Others speculated that the blunder was caused by a problem with Trump's teleprompter, with the president largely sticking to the script and avoiding the more freestyle nature of his campaign speeches.

The speech mainly focused on praise for America's armed forces and avoided the polarizing rhetoric of Trump's campaign rallies.

Ahead of the speech, Trump had been accused of politicizing the Fourth of July event. He was the first president in nearly seven decades to make a speech to Americans at the National Mall on Independence Day.