Trump unveils two of the nation's oldest flags at America 250: 'These are the real deal'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump displayed two of the oldest surviving American flags during the America 250 celebration on the National Mall on Friday, July 4, calling them symbols of the nation's founding struggle and declaring that the country's spirit of resistance remains as strong today as it was when the British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781.

Standing before a crowd of thousands who had returned to the Mall after severe storms forced a temporary evacuation hours earlier, Trump unveiled the historic flags to cheers.

Trump displays 1777 Saratoga flag and 1781 Yorktown flag

"We are honored to have here tonight in the heart of our nation's capital, one of the very first American flags ever to exist," the Republican leader said. 

The first flag Trump presented dates to 1777, bearing the 13 stars and 13 stripes representing the original states that declared independence on July 4, 1776.

The flag flew at the Battle of Saratoga in upstate New York, widely considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War, where American forces secured a decisive victory over British General John Burgoyne in October of that year.

"Dating back to 1777, it bears the 13 stars and 13 stripes of the 13 states that declared independence on the 4th of July. This was the flag that flew victorious at Saratoga," Trump said.

The second flag on display dates to 1781 and flew at the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia, the final major military campaign of the Revolutionary War, where British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington, effectively ending the conflict.

"These were the stars and stripes that flew triumphant when the British waved the white flag of surrender at Yorktown," Trump said. "That was a big surrender. Nobody thought that was possible. They were the greatest power of the world and they surrendered. And that was the beginning."

The 80-year-old underscored the significance of both artifacts for the crowd. "These are the real deal," he said. "These are real flags. These are flags that have seen a lot."

Trump says entire world has been on notice since Yorktown

Drawing a direct line between the events of 1781 and the present day, Trump used the flags to deliver one of the evening's most pointed declarations.

"Ever since, the entire world has been on notice that Americans will never let anyone take our freedom away," he said.

Trump also paid tribute to the thousands of supporters who had braved the storm and returned to the Mall in the rain to witness the historic celebration. "You're very special people and we have a very special country," he told the crowd.

He later displayed other special flags, including one that covered President Abraham Lincoln's casket, a flag presented to Presdient Theodore Roosevelt when he returned from Cuba and from the USS Arizona that sank in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, at the start of World War II.

“It’s a symbol of American defiance,” Trump said.

The flags were displayed as part of a broader evening that included tributes from World War II veterans, military flyovers and a fireworks display over the National Mall, marking what the Trump administration has billed as one of the most significant national celebrations in American history.