When a 16-year-old lifeguard was caught on camera saving the life of a 10-year-old boy in rough California waves, Donald Trump took immediate notice. He called for both boys to take a trip to the White House so he could commend the teen, Ryder Williams, and meet the 10-year-old, Nathaniel Rai.
The video that went viral shortly after Williams ran into the water to save Rai had a happy ending, as Williams was able to save Rai and not get pulled under the waves himself. He also eventually had the help of another lifeguard on duty, his partner, who was not immediately named publicly. But in the clip from Williams and Rai’s meeting with Trump at the White House, the president admits that he might not have been as heroic as Williams, and it makes for a bit of an uncomfy laugh all around.
Donald Trump invited the 16-year-old lifeguard hero and the boy he saved to the White House.
Trump visited with both of the boys in the Oval Office, where he spoke to them about the incident and shared his own thoughts on what happened. He also had State Park Peace Officers there to ask them questions about Williams pursuing a lifelong career as a lifeguard after his act of heroism.
After Williams saved Rai, he shared a video response on social media to explain exactly what happened.
“I look up and I see a young boy get swept off his feet on a low point on the beach,” he explains in the video. “I start running up the beach as we get pulled out. The challenges for this rescue was that it was so close in, fins were ineffective. I’m seeing waves on the outside, as I grab the child, he goes limp, so I’m thinking about if he’s unconscious or not.”
In the end, both Williams and Rai got out of the water safely and they were both unharmed. But Trump immediately crowned Williams a hero. He wrote on Truth Social ahead of the Oval office meeting that he planned to bring Williams to the White House to give him a High Civilian Honor.
Trump had a strange comment for the little boy who almost drowned.
While the sentiment behind Trump having Williams and Rai at the White House was well and good, it’s what Trump said to the boys during the meeting, with the press present, that got people talking afterward. Trump joked that he probably wouldn’t have saved Rai if he were in Williams’ position, and he told Rai that the boy was “lucky” that he wasn’t in charge of the beach that day.
“I don’t know if I’d do it,” Trump said. Then, he added to Williams, “I wouldn’t, probably.” After he got the appropriate amount of laughs from the rest of the people in attendance, Trump told 10-year-old Rai, “You’re lucky I wasn’t on service that day. I don’t know.”
People had lots of jokes about what Trump said.
After Trump made the comments about his inability to be as brave as 16-year-old Williams, users on Reddit blasted him and poked fun at him for what they see as obvious reasons Trump would be unable to handle saving the life of a drowning boy. With the White House’s comments off on the YouTube video of the Oval office meeting, clearly, Trump’s critics had to make fun of him somewhere.
“Even if he wanted to, he physically wouldn’t be able to anyway,” one user commented on the Reddit post.
In response to that, someone else wrote, “He’s starting to discolor and bloat like a beached whale that washed up almost a week ago.”
Another person joked, “His diaper would drag him under immediately.”
And, someone added, “I guess Trump’s dementia has progressed to the point where he’s forgotten to lie.”
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