President Donald Trump on Friday contrasted NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong, who planted the United States flag on the moon, to current-day NFL protesters who kneel during the national anthem.
The president’s comments came during a Friday evening campaign rally at Warren County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, Ohio. Armstrong, who was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, was mentioned along with the Wright brothers as having hailed from the state.
“Ohio is the state that gave us the Wright brothers,” Trump said. “It gave us Neil Armstrong. He’s the man that planted the flag – think of that – on the face of the moon. There was no kneeling, there was no nothing, there was no games, boom.”
WATCH:
Boom. pic.twitter.com/16ldNs1hwK
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) October 13, 2018
Trump repeated the “Boom” as he imitated Armstrong planting the flag.
The movie “First Man,” which opened Friday, drew controversy for its decision not to show Armstrong actually planting the American flag.
“I think this was widely regarded in the end as a human achievement [and] that’s how we chose to view it,” star Ryan Gosling said in describing the decision. “I also think Neil was extremely humble, as were many of these astronauts, and time and time again he deferred the focus from himself to the 400,000 people who made the mission possible. He was reminding everyone that he was just the tip of the iceberg – and that’s not just to be humble, that’s also true. So I don’t think that Neil viewed himself as an American hero. From my interviews with his family and people that knew him, it was quite the opposite. And we wanted the film to reflect Neil.” (RELATED: Laura Ingraham Trashes Decision To Omit American Flag From First Man Scene)