Donald Trump may need a bit more work to master umbrellas use and etiquette, as a viral video showed.
Trump was seen boarding Air Force One on Saturday holding an oversized umbrella to keep out of the driving Washington, D.C., rain. But as he reached the top of the stairs leading to the plane, Trump gave a half-hearted attempt to close the umbrella before finally giving up and simply leaving it blowing at the top of the platform.
The black umbrella flopped around for a few minutes, and a longer version of the video shows someone else follow up the stairs to board Air Force One. Instead of picking up the umbrella or closing it for the president, the person simply walks around it and boards the plane.
This is not the first time that Donald Trump has been slammed for improper umbrella etiquette. Earlier this month, video showed he and Melania Trump preparing to leave to survey disaster zones in the wake of Hurricane Michael. As they headed toward the aircraft, Donald took a detour to some television cameras to make remarks about the couple’s recent television appearance.
As Vanity Fair noted, Trump seemed to forget about his wife as he bragged to the cameras, keeping the umbrella only to himself. The interaction only got more awkward from there, the report noted.
“Melania, seemingly far less interested in more camera time, weaved in the background throughout the brief appearance; her husband was holding a large umbrella, which he never attempted to share with her. As the couple walked to board the helicopter, Melania tried to hold her husband’s hand—not always her favorite move —only to discover he was holding a variation on the MAGA hat reading ‘USA’; she settled for interlocking arms. And people say love is dead.”
You can’t stand under his umbrella…but you can stand under hers: ? https://t.co/WwYpOxRQi7
— BET (@BET) October 17, 2018
The latest episode where Donald Trump failed to close his umbrella quickly became a viral moment, with the video spreading across the internet and earning plenty of mockery for Trump. Some wondered whether he ever learned how to properly close an umbrella, or if he had grown used to having someone do it for him.
Others thought it was a perfect encapsulation of Trump’s carelessness, not bothering to take an extra second or two to make sure the umbrella was properly closed and just throwing it onto the ground instead.
Unbelievable — Trump doesn’t know how to close an umbrella, so inside of closing it and bringing it aboard Air Force One with him, he just dropped it outside the plane. pic.twitter.com/G5AtmPaRvz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 27, 2018
There is no word on the fate of the umbrella Donald Trump left at the top of the steps outside Air Force One.