It is not unusual for presidents to go to Arlington National Cemetery on Remembrance Day and lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
But a symbol posted on Facebook on May 31 and shared nearly 500 times claims former President Donald Trump spent Memorial Day 2020, his last as president, playing golf.
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The message two photographs from appearance to appearance: on the left, one of Trump coming in his golf cart and on the right, one of Preaspectnt Joe Biden bowing his head next to a wreath.
“What makes the difference,” the caption says of the images.
USA TODAY has reached out to him for comment.
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This isn’t the first time this statement has given the impression online. In 2020, opinion columnist Tim O’Brien tweeted two juxtaposed photos: on the left, Biden, then the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, and his wife placing a wreath at a Delaware Veterans Park, and right, Trump playing golf. The caption read, “Different approaches to Memorial Day. “
But Trump didn’t make It Memorial Day 2020 on a golf course.
Trump went to play golf on May 23, 2020, the Saturday before Memorial Day, this is his first circular since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The photo shared on social media taken that day at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, Trump also returned to the golf club on Sunday, May 24.
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But on Remembrance Day, May 25, the official White House presidential calendar showed that Trump was scheduled to stop at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, on Remembrance Day.
In fact, Trump laid a wreath at the unknown soldier’s grave and then went to Fort McHenry, where he delivered a speech, USA TODAY reported. C-SPAN video footage also shows that he spoke at Fort McHenry and attended the crown-laying rite. in Arlington.
No Memorial Day of 2020 makes reference to Trump’s golf course.
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On this year’s memorial day, Biden went to the grave of the unknown soldier and laid a wreath. The photo used in the Facebook post taken there via the Associated Press.
Biden’s other activities around Memorial Day included a May 28 at Langley-Eustis Joint Base in Virginia to thank the troops and on May 30 he attended a service at Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware.
We’re comparing the claim that Trump spent 2020 Memorial Day playing golf, in our investigation. Trump spent time at his golf resort in Virginia this weekend, but on Remembrance Day he attended ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and Fort McHenry National Monument. On Remembrance Day 2020, Trump visited the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, as shown to Biden in the 2021 photo in the post.
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