Not since the 1980s have Americans had a president with such reverence for the country and its military service members.
Small wonder, therefore, that President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump chose a high-energy, patriotic callback to that spectacular decade.
According to the New York Post’s entertainment news-focused Page Six, the president and first lady attended the U.S. Navy’s 250th anniversary celebration on Sunday at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia, where Melania Tump set the tone for the event by donning a brown leather bomber jacket, white collared shirt, and blue jeans — an outfit made popular by the 1986 hit film “Top Gun,” starring Tom Cruise as U.S. Navy Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
Indeed, most anyone old enough to remember that film would have instantly recognized the first lady’s outfit as similar to the one worn by Mitchell’s love interest, Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood, played by Kelly McGillis.
The elegant Melania Trump, of course, attracted plenty of attention on the social media platform X.
“Our First Lady Melania Trump @FLOTUS looking gorgeous, as usual, at the 250th Navy celebration!” one X user wrote. A video and three still photos of the first lady accompanied the post.
Our First Lady Melania Trump @FLOTUS ???? looking gorgeous, as usual, at the 250th Navy celebration! ❤️???????? pic.twitter.com/7XaeSHclNA
— ⚜️???????? Queen Katerina ????????⚜️ (@QueenDarbyy) October 5, 2025
Meanwhile, after speaking for several minutes, the first lady introduced her husband.
First lady Melania Trump introduces President Trump at the Navy’s 250 year anniversary celebration. pic.twitter.com/8WkEp5HaxD
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 5, 2025
Not to be outdone, the president had the “Top Gun” theme playing upon his arrival.
NO WAY
Trump is playing the Top Gun theme as he arrives to Navy 250 @RealAmVoice pic.twitter.com/ymcC9I24PU
— Jack Poso ???????? (@JackPosobiec) October 5, 2025
Then, just as he began speaking — “God bless the United States Navy” — the president treated the sailors and others in attendance to a Navy jet flyover, at which point the crowd erupted in chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
“Well, that was good timing, wasn’t it?” the president quipped. “We had to get that right.”
BREAKING: Navy jets time flyover at the EXACT moment Trump starts speaking
Crowd cheers USA! USA! USA! pic.twitter.com/3TxAHJtjj4
— Jack Poso ???????? (@JackPosobiec) October 5, 2025
When he finished speaking, the president broke into his signature “Y.M.C.A.” dance, made popular at his legendary campaign rallies.
The Navy loves the Trump Dance.
Listen to that crowd. ????????
pic.twitter.com/EWTYe0zgk2— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 5, 2025
79 years old and still got it! pic.twitter.com/Jciv6WRDUi
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) October 5, 2025
What a striking contrast between the current first family and some of their predecessors.
Who could forget, for instance, when former first lady Michelle Obama revealed how she really felt about the United States?
During a February 2008 campaign rally for her husband, then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, Michelle told rally goers that “for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country — and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change,” per ABC News.
On the other hand, any honest person who watches how President Trump interacts with military service members must conclude that the current president loves both his country and the people who defend it.
In fact, according to USA Today, the president on Sunday pledged “across-the-board” pay raises for service members.
As for Sunday’s Hollywood-related theme, something about “Top Gun” felt appropriate on multiple levels.
First of all, one could easily imagine then-President Ronald Reagan embracing that film and its soundtrack as the 1980s anthem. Reagan, of course, presided over a decade marked by prosperity, patriotism, and a return to peace through strength.
Secondly, in 2022 Cruise made a long-awaited and much-ballyhooed (deservedly so) sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.“
In short, it is as if the first installment of the “Top Gun” franchise appeared during an age of exuberance, when the vast majority of Americans felt like celebrating their country, then the second installment came along just in time to let us know that we would soon have leaders eager to celebrate our country again.
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