Trump effort to attack Biden backfires as sinister DC military photo turns out to be from his own presidency

‘If you need 10,000 armed soldiers to protect your inauguration from the people then you probably weren’t elected by the people,’ says the meme’s caption

Former President Donald Trump reposted a meme of the DC National Guard stationed outside of the Lincoln Memorial in an effort to slam President Joe Biden—but as it turns out, that photo was taken during his own administration.

“If you need 10,000 armed soldiers to protect your inauguration from the people then you probably weren’t elected by the people,” the Truth Social meme says, suggesting that Mr Biden lost the election that brought him to power.

Mr Trump “re-Truthed” a post by @Godloving, who wrote on Wednesday, “From the campaign to the election, vote certification, inauguration, and administration...it all screams FRAUDULENT ELECTION!! Everybody knows it, no one does anything about it! There is only one leader with the courage and plan to fix this and it’s President Trump!! In fact, there is no other leader, anywhere!!”

Despite pairing the emphatic words with the haunting photo in an attempt to blast Mr Biden, the image was actually captured in 2020 amid protests after George Floyd was killed by police.

The photo went viral at the time because of the striking contrast depicted in the scene. The Lincoln Memorial was built to honour a president who famously issued the Emancipation Proclamation; the site was also where Martin Luther King Jr delivered his “I have a Dream” speech.

Having troops dressed in military gear perched resolutely on the landmark’s steps evokes a different feeling entirely.

The re-post from Mr Trump comes shortly after he was indicted—both federally and in the state of Georgia—for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Even after numerous legal efforts failed to prove any evidence of election fraud, the 2024 GOP frontrunner still continues to maintain that the election was “rigged.”

Meme “re-Truthed” by Donald Trump, suggesting Mr Biden didn’t win the election, even though the photo was taken during the Trump administration (Truth Social)

Following the Georgia indictment, which was brought on Monday evening, the former president wrote on Truth Social: “Can you believe it? This failed District Attorney from Atlanta, Fani Willis…is charging me with 2020 Presidential Election Interference. No, Fani, the only Election Interference was done by those that Rigged and Stole the Election. Those are the ones you should be going after, not the innocent people that are fighting for Election Integrity!”

He faces 13 felony counts in Georgia, including racketeering, conspiracy to impersonate a public officer, two counts of conspiracy to commit forgery, two counts of conspiracy to make false statements under oath, two counts of conspiracy to file false documents, two counts of solicitation of a public officer, filing false documents, conspiracy to solicit false statements, and making false statements.

He is joined by 18 others who were indicted, including Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, Kenneth Chesebro, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, and Sidney Powell.