Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) fired back at a meme on Sunday with what he thought was a clever comeback.
But he got one key detail wrong, and his critics were quick to correct the record.
An X account called No Context Brits ― which posts memes, jokes and snark ― marked America’s 250th birthday by pointing to a pub in Britain that’s far, far older:
That seemed to get under DeSantis’ skin.
“And if it wasn’t for America the insignia on the pub would be written in German,” he wrote in response as he shared the original post.
But as critics were quick to point out, the United Kingdom repelled Germany’s assault during the Battle of Britain in 1940. It was the Nazis’ first major defeat of World War II ― and the U.K. pulled it off with no help from the United States, which didn’t enter the war until more than a year later.
DeSantis, who has a history degree from Yale University, got hit with an awkward community note correcting the record ― as well as plenty of responses pointing out his flub: