There’s a rule about who salutes during the national anthem and who places a hand over their heart instead, and Trump landed on the wrong side of it.
The moment came at the closing ceremony of the Patriot Games, a three-day youth competition at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, where one boy and one girl from each state, plus several territories and tribal nations, competed for a $125,000 scholarship prize. Communications advisor Margo Martin posted footage of it on her Instagram Story, showing Trump on stage saluting through the national anthem while the young athletes behind him kept their hands over their hearts, just as they’d been taught.
The distinction isn’t a matter of opinion, either, since federal flag code spells it out directly.
Title 36, Section 301 of the U.S. Code reserves the military salute for individuals actually in uniform, with everyone else expected to place a hand over the heart instead. Trump has never served in the military, which made Thursday’s gesture the second time this year he’s chosen the version meant for service members, having done the same thing at the World Cup final back in July.
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X picked up on the contradiction almost as fast as the anthem ended.
Why is he saluting during the National Anthem?
The U.S. president is a civilian leader rather than a member of the armed forces, traditional protocol dictates placing a hand over the heart rather than rendering a military salute.
So, dumBfuck, is saluting himself.
— TheMouthyOne (@mouthy_the) August 11, 2026
Why is he saluting? He wasn’t in the military.
— sammy (@Sammih09) August 11, 2026
While the internet was busy dissecting Trump’s hand position, one of the competitors had already been thinking about a very different problem: what competing at an event hosted by Trump might mean for the kids taking part.
Seventeen-year-old Jonah Beauregard, who represented Massachusetts, told the Boston Globe he’d expected criticism the moment he found out he was competing. “Because it’s Trump. He’s the one that made it. I feel like he’s definitely a person that people don’t like,” he said.
What surprised him wasn’t criticism of Trump himself, but seeing some of it land on the competitors too, kids who had spent the week on dodgeball courts and running tracks rather than thinking about anthem etiquette.
The organization behind the games appeared keen to keep the spotlight on those athletes instead of the controversy surrounding their host. Freedom 250 spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez described the event’s purpose without mentioning Trump by name: “The 2026 Patriot Games is about more than competition, they’re about the grit, character, and optimism that have carried America for over 250 years,” she said.
“These young athletes represent the very best of who we are and the promise of what’s still to come.”
Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno took a different route, putting Trump at the center of his own post on X. He wrote that it had been “an honor to be with President Trump today in Geneva, Ohio for the 2026 Patriot Games.”
It was an honor to be with President Trump today in Geneva, Ohio for the 2026 Patriot Games! These athletes are truly represent the best of America: merit, perseverance, integrity, patriotism, and an unwavering belief in God! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/fUsAA09xl7
— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) August 12, 2026
Featured image via X screengrab
