Using the USS North Carolina battleship as a backdrop, President Trump addressed a small crowd of a few hundred supporters for about 15 minutes to allegedly commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

“Nearly 11,000 North Carolina residents fought the enemy until their very last breath,” Trump said.  “You know what that means, right?  Right?”

Veering off script many times, asking the crowd “Do you know that?” or “We’re learning a lot today, aren’t we?” when he stated a historical fact, like North Carolina being the state where more than 2 million soldiers who fought in World War II were trained.

Trump declared that he designated Wilmington, North Carolina as America’s first “World War II Heritage City.”  Trump used the occasion to claim that Americans should not destroy the nation’s history, a not-so-subtle slam at the removal of statues and other honors for Confederate soldiers and leaders.

“American heroes did not defeat fascists overseas only to have their freedoms trampled by mobs here at home,” Trump said, apparently referring to the demonstrations against police violence and racial inequities in our justice system.

“We must teach our children that America is the land of heroes,” Trump said, bragging that he signed “an edict” to imprison for 10 years any person who destroys a monument, which Trump clarified includes statues.

“I’d like to say thanks to our law enforcement, because if it wasn’t for our law enforcement, we wouldn’t be here today very well,” said Trump incongruously.