U.S. Space Force Senior Enlisted Advisor Roger Towberman, with President Donald Trump, presents the Space Force Flag on May 15, 2020. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
'Obvious Our President Is Beyond Incompetent': Chorus of Ridicule After Trump Brags of New 'Super-Duper Missile'
"An actual quote by the sitting president of the United States."
President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon said the U.S. military is developing a "super duper missile" that can go 17 times faster than any existing rocket, earning him ridicule from critics.
"We have, I call it, the super duper missile," said Trump. "And I heard the other night--17 times faster than what they have right now, when you take the fastest missile we have right now."
Trump made the remarks at a press conference unveiling the official Space Force flag in the Oval Office.
"This is a very special moment, because this is the presentation of the Space Force flag," said the president. "So we've worked very hard on this, and it's so important from a defensive standpoint, from an offensive standpoint, from every standpoint there is."
Breaking Defense reporter Paul McLeary said on Twitter that he had not yet received confirmation from sources at the Pentagon indicating any knowledge of what the president was talking about.
Reporters at Friday's White House briefing asked Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany for clarification, but McEnany--in what Vox's Aaron Rupar described as "basically an SNL skit"--punted, referring back to the president's comments.
Nick Schifrin, PBS Newshour's foreign affairs correspondent, suggested the president may have been referring to the AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile, which was approved for purchase by the Air Force in February.
Critics on social media roundly mocked the president's terminology.
"It is obvious our president is beyond incompetent," tweeted California political activist Eric Garcia, "but how do the people who work for him not bust out laughing at his ridiculous statements."
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President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon said the U.S. military is developing a "super duper missile" that can go 17 times faster than any existing rocket, earning him ridicule from critics.
"We have, I call it, the super duper missile," said Trump. "And I heard the other night--17 times faster than what they have right now, when you take the fastest missile we have right now."
Trump made the remarks at a press conference unveiling the official Space Force flag in the Oval Office.
"This is a very special moment, because this is the presentation of the Space Force flag," said the president. "So we've worked very hard on this, and it's so important from a defensive standpoint, from an offensive standpoint, from every standpoint there is."
Breaking Defense reporter Paul McLeary said on Twitter that he had not yet received confirmation from sources at the Pentagon indicating any knowledge of what the president was talking about.
Reporters at Friday's White House briefing asked Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany for clarification, but McEnany--in what Vox's Aaron Rupar described as "basically an SNL skit"--punted, referring back to the president's comments.
Nick Schifrin, PBS Newshour's foreign affairs correspondent, suggested the president may have been referring to the AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile, which was approved for purchase by the Air Force in February.
Critics on social media roundly mocked the president's terminology.
"It is obvious our president is beyond incompetent," tweeted California political activist Eric Garcia, "but how do the people who work for him not bust out laughing at his ridiculous statements."
President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon said the U.S. military is developing a "super duper missile" that can go 17 times faster than any existing rocket, earning him ridicule from critics.
"We have, I call it, the super duper missile," said Trump. "And I heard the other night--17 times faster than what they have right now, when you take the fastest missile we have right now."
Trump made the remarks at a press conference unveiling the official Space Force flag in the Oval Office.
"This is a very special moment, because this is the presentation of the Space Force flag," said the president. "So we've worked very hard on this, and it's so important from a defensive standpoint, from an offensive standpoint, from every standpoint there is."
Breaking Defense reporter Paul McLeary said on Twitter that he had not yet received confirmation from sources at the Pentagon indicating any knowledge of what the president was talking about.
Reporters at Friday's White House briefing asked Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany for clarification, but McEnany--in what Vox's Aaron Rupar described as "basically an SNL skit"--punted, referring back to the president's comments.
Nick Schifrin, PBS Newshour's foreign affairs correspondent, suggested the president may have been referring to the AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile, which was approved for purchase by the Air Force in February.
Critics on social media roundly mocked the president's terminology.
"It is obvious our president is beyond incompetent," tweeted California political activist Eric Garcia, "but how do the people who work for him not bust out laughing at his ridiculous statements."