President Donald Trump delivered a double fist pump as he walked away from Air Force One on Tuesday, en route to a 9/11 memorial ceremony at the Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania — and while a number of critics immediately attacked the move as “disrespectful,” one National Guardsman told The Daily Caller that everything was not exactly as it seemed.

“The POTUS landed at our Johnstown flight facility, a military installation owned by the Reserves and the National Guard,” he said, “and, well, prior to his arrival, we were allowed to gather in this designated area to greet him prior to his boarding a helicopter and flying to the Flight 93 memorial service.”

The service member, who asked to remain anonymous, told TheDC that the double fist pump was a greeting to the gathered crowd, which included a number of members of the military and their families and supporters.

“As he approached us soldiers, marines, and airmen, many were shouting and waving at him. That is when he did the ‘double fist pump’ — he was genuinely happy to say hello and shake hands, and you could tell he was proud to be greeted by ‘his’ military members.”

But after the president left and the crowd dispersed, photos of that double fist pump began circulating on social media.

Watch Trump Do a Double Fist Pump As He Arrives at Solemn 9/11 Memorial https://t.co/FgXXNQ5pHc pic.twitter.com/KnZPnvfp56 — Mediaite (@Mediaite) September 11, 2018

While on his way to the memorial service, the mentally deteriorating sociopathic president bizarrely tweeted, “17 years since September 11th!” https://t.co/mdSpF1Y703 #25thAmendment #911anniversary — Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) September 11, 2018

Donald Trump first marked the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with an angry morning tweet about Russia and Hillary Clinton. Now he’s seen fist bumping on his way to the field in Shanksville, PA, where 40 people died after a terror attack was thwarted. https://t.co/QkCgVoNf88 — Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta) September 11, 2018

Trump gave a double fist pump at a 9/11 memorial explaining why he wasn’t invited to McCain’s funeral. — Alan Spencer (@MrAlanSpencer) September 11, 2018

That’s when the National Guardsman knew he had to say something, telling TheDC:

I am telling you this because not even an hour later, the press was criticizing him for doing that on hallowed ground, and he should have been more respectful of the heroes of Flight 93. Well, I got to see FIRSThand how biased the liberal media is towards him. They took a photo completely twisted it around to make him look bad, and it was nowhere near the truth. And our past president has the nerve to also criticize the POTUS for shunning the media. I wonder why he does. So, that is the truth of what really happened, not the story the media produced or the haters of our president.

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