President Donald Trump sparked a firestorm of reactions on Wednesday after he announced in a tweet that he has instructed the U.S. Navy to "shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats" that "harass" U.S. ships. Politico reports that the president's tweet comes amid rising tensions Washington and Tehran and just a week after the Navy said that 11 Iranian vessels had conducted "dangerous and harassing" approaches of U.S. ships in the international waters.
While the president's tweet drew a strong response from the Iranian armed forces, with a spokesman suggesting that "Americans should put all their efforts toward saving those members of their forces who are infected with coronavirus," social media had a field day. Despite the threat of continued rising tensions, many couldn't help but point out the subtle suggestion in the tweet that Iranian ships fly rather than traverse through water. Keep scrolling to see how social media reacted to the president's word choice.