News
As part of an effort to learn about how the opioid crisis is affecting various groups — specifically infants — Donald Trump and his wife recently joined Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on a trip to Columbus, Ohio. While there, the president and first lady participated in an arts-and-crafts activity at Nationwide Children's Hospital — and Trump seemed to color an American flag wrong during a photo-op with the kids, causing Twitter users to crack up.
In a photo posted to Twitter by Azar, Trump seemed to have colored in a blue stripe where there isn't supposed to be one. That isn't what Azar meant to draw attention to, of course; his tweet intended to focus on HHS' efforts to mitigate the opioid epidemic.
"The opioid crisis is one of our top priorities at HHS, with a drumbeat of action on the full range of efforts where we can assist local communities," Azar tweeted on Friday. "Today, I joined @POTUS & @FLOTUS in Ohio to learn how states and communities are responding to the challenge of opioid addiction."
But one Twitter user quickly noticed that Trump was filling in one of the stripes on the American flag with a blue marker, prompting a number of jokes from Twitter users.
"That Is All"
Some Twitter users simply pointed out that Trump had colored in his flag incorrectly, including this Twitter user who initially drew attention to the president's mistake by zooming in on the out-of-place blue stripe.
"Trump Should Know This"
Other Twitter users suggested that Trump's coloring error was hypocritical, especially because he continues to be heavily critical of NFL players who kneel during the National Anthem — which, in his opinion, is disrespecting the American flag. Singer-songwriter Holly Figueroa O'Reilly — who made headlines when Trump blocked her on Twitter earlier this year — argued that Trump should know that the American flag consists of red and white stripes, "considering the fit he throws when someone kneels at a football game."
"Major Kindergarten Side-Eye"
This Twitter user pointed out that Trump seemed to be receiving some "major kindergarten side-eye" from one of the children at the hospital after coloring in the blue stripe.
"A Guilty Student"
But Trump might not have even noticed the side-eye, because according to this Twitter user, he may have been too busy trying to see how the kids around him had colored in their flags.
"A Freudian Slip"
Although many Twitter users believed that Trump had simply messed up while coloring the American flag, others suggested that the blue stripe was intentional — that the president was actually trying to create a Russian flag, not an American one. However, the blue stripe in the Russian flag falls above the red one, so it would still be a mistake.
"Our Flag Is Way Too Complicated"
Of course, some Twitter users decided to point out that Trump was simply coloring with children and that it didn't matter too much if he made a mistake.
"What Has He Done?!"
For many Twitter users, however, Trump's flag gaffe may not have been too serious but was nonetheless worth dramatizing, and they certainly found creative ways to do so.
