Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) fired back at a meme on Sunday with what he thought was a clever comeback.
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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:
America is 250 years old.
This pub is 1,466 years old. pic.twitter.com/IRA7knOxXy
— No Context Brits (@NoContextBrits) July 4, 2026
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:
This is embarrassing from DeSantis. Britain stood alone, defending the free world, while we were on the sidelines, crippled by isolationism. And that’s after Britain took the most horrific casualties confronting Imperial Germany in World War I. https://t.co/GC1xJYukXb
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— David French (@DavidAFrench) July 5, 2026
Governor DeSantis is a history graduate from the great university @Yale – did he miss class the day they covered the Second World War? https://t.co/KiOOcTHN6X
— Iain Martin (@iainmartin1) July 5, 2026
Really? Your lot didn’t show up to help until 1942, when we’d already repelled German efforts to invade in 1940. Maybe you should stick to the local politics of your own Florida backyard. You’re clearly out of your depth on historic and geopolitical matters. https://t.co/mvVsVgrW7C
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) July 5, 2026
The USA had a significant role in defeating Nazi Germany. But the credit for defending Britain belongs to the British. Realistically Germany never had a real chance of a successful invasion https://t.co/ZDDyjuqKHq
— Jake Sharpe (@JakeSharpeBBC) July 5, 2026
Bad form for a governor and aspiring president to dump on the British, who quite bravely fought back against German attacks before we had joined the war. https://t.co/aAhuYmDklz
— Gregg Nunziata (@greggnunziata) July 5, 2026
Meatball Ron knows nothing about history shocker https://t.co/75gmkeFy9w
— Madeline Grant (@Madz_Grant) July 5, 2026
Idiot. By the time the US entered the war Germany had given up on invading Britain and were stuck outside Moscow. Thanks for Lend Lease though even though your 1940 equivalents opposed even that https://t.co/Euikxw8QpH
— David Aaronovitch (@DAaronovitch) July 6, 2026
Not exactly: Germany had a much smaller navy, no aircraft carriers, few heavy bombers, an army that was principally horse drawn, its air force though splendid was led by a drug addict etc. Yet Americans keep saying this. I wonder why? https://t.co/ihBHP9hsjC
— Nicholas O’Shaughnessy (@NicholasOShaug1) July 5, 2026
What language are you posting in? https://t.co/zCnx72PlG8
— Benedict Spence (@BenedictSpence) July 5, 2026
How fucking stupid is this fucking clown? 😂😂😂 https://t.co/hyqdbngPw3
— Tarquin 🇺🇦 (@Tarquin_Helmet) July 5, 2026
If it weren’t for Britain, the Commonwealth, and the Soviets, the US would be run by a German autocrat.
Oh wait… https://t.co/UXZj1nZboD pic.twitter.com/6MUdnFQzWW
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— James Christian Parsons (@Dred_Tory) July 6, 2026
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