Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn seems to forget the Pledge of Allegiance

‘I want you to hear, not just listen, I want you to hear every single word of the Pledge of Allegiance,’ Flynn says before appearing to forget part of 31-word oath

Former President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, General Michael Flynn, appeared to forget the words to the Pledge of Allegiance during a rally in South Carolina for pro-Trump Lawyer Lin Wood.

General Flynn appeared in a video from the event attended by hundreds of people, including the group Bikers for Trump.

In the footage, Gen Flynn proclaims that he is going to lead the assembled crowd in saying the pledge and encourages people to take off their hats and put their hands on their hearts.

Gen Flynn said: “I want you to hear, not just listen, I want you to hear every single word of the Pledge of Allegiance. That is our pledge to each other, that is our pledge to this country.”

He starts off the pledge with the words: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,” then appears to start to say “indivisible” before trailing off halfway through.

The crowd picked up the slack and Gen Flynn joined back in towards the end, saying: “Under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

The full pledge is: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Gen Flynn lasted 22 days as Mr Trump’s national security adviser from Mr Trump’s inauguration in January 2017 to the general’s resignation in February 2017 after it was revealed he had lied about his contacts with the then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

He pleaded guilty in December 2017 of lying to the FBI about the conversations he had had with the ambassador. He subsequently withdrew his plea after accusing the Department of Justice of entrapment. He was pardoned by Mr Trump in November of last year.

The Sunday event where Gen Flynn spoke was a rally in support of Mr Wood’s campaign to become chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party.

The video was shared on Twitter by lawyer Ron Filipkowski, who tweeted: “Michael Flynn this afternoon was called up to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at Lin Wood’s rally AND HE FORGOT THE WORDS!!! What kind of ‘Patriot’ General doesn’t know the Pledge!”

As of Monday morning, the video had racked up 1.4 million views.

Gen Flynn was roundly mocked on Twitter, with Democratic lawyer and political commentator Chris Hahn writing: “Of course Mike Flynn doesn’t know the words to the Pledge of Allegiance. Most traitors to our republic have blocked them from their mind.”

Both Gen Flynn and Mr Wood have previously referenced the QAnon conspiracy theory, with The Independent reporting last year that Gen Flynn appeared to make a pledge to QAnon in a video from 4 July 2020.