Trump’s green flag waving at IndyCar race becomes instant viral hit

President Donald Trump waved the green flag to start the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar race in Washington, D.C. Sunday — a brief, ceremonial moment that quickly swept social media. The gesture produced a familiar divide online: mockery from Trump’s critics, celebration by his supporters and a steady stream of memes from everyone in between.

The first-of-its-kind IndyCar race, part of the nation’s 250th-anniversary festivities, drew an estimated 140,000 spectators to the capital. Drivers tore around a 1.7-mile circuit, past the National Mall and other monuments, bringing an unusually high-octane form of pageantry to Washington. Before the race, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump took a lap around the course in the presidential limousine, known as the Beast, as onlookers gathered along the route.

The couple were then joined in a box by members of Trump’s family and political inner circle, including his sons Eric and Don Jr, and close aide Natalie Harp. Shortly before 1:20 p.m., Medal of Honor recipients Command Sgt. Paris Davis delivered the green flag to the president.

With the first lady looking on, Trump brandished the banner and quickly lifted it up and down. Whether it was the flag’s position, Trump’s rapid-fire motion or the smirk on his face, the moment immediately became one of the day’s most replayed clips. Some commenters fixated on the way the 80-year-old president held the flag, remarking that he had grabbed it from the wrong side.

Others mocked the wave itself. Another chimed in: “‘Wave’ is a stretch … more like spasmodic gesticulation.” The clip also became a vehicle for broader political criticism, touching on everything from Trump’s Washington renovation projects to his foreign policy. The pool was coated in a layer of “American flag blue” sealant before becoming covered in algae earlier this year.

Still others treated the green flag as an invitation for digital mischief. One user used it as a green screen, superimposing footage of Trump partying with Jeffrey Epstein at Mar-a-Lago in 1992. The video also found a non-political afterlife, as users repurposed it to joke about everyday annoyances.