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Trump Appears To Know Only The Most Basic Lyrics Of Classic American Patriotic Song

Well, at least he didn’t do his YMCA dance.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump attended a Veterans Day event at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, and appeared to only know a handful of lyrics to “God Bless America,” according to footage shot by C-SPAN.

The president stood silently or quietly nodded along to the song throughout most of the performance.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance salute during a ceremony at Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery to mark Veterans Day on Nov. 11, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance salute during a ceremony at Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery to mark Veterans Day on Nov. 11, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia.

Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images

Nearly a minute into Irving Berlin’s classic, which was originally written in 1918 and begins with an introduction that is not as well-known, Trump and Vice President JD Vance both chimed in for the first line of the chorus, singing, “God Bless America.”

But then Trump quickly stopped singing. Later on, he managed to sing “God Bless America, my home sweet home.”

Vance seemed much more familiar with the lyrics in footage from the event, below.

Trump also seemed to struggle with the lyrics to “God Bless America” during an event at the White House in June 2018. During that more abbreviated rendition, Trump at least seemed to mouth the lyric “land that I love” and know the bit about “prairies” as well.