Congressman Cory Mills posted on social network X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate the US Navy on reaching its 248th anniversary ... and illustrated his tweet with an image of a Russian ship.
"Happy 248th Birthday to the US Navy! From the early days of the American Revolution to today, the Navy stands strong, defending our freedom and protecting our seas," Mills wrote, attaching a photo of the Russian battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy to the post.
Many users in the comments section of the post condemned the Republican Representative for Florida's 7th congressional district for such an oversight, prompting Mills to remove the photo from the post, leaving only the congratulatory text.
User Dave Brown noted that Mills was not the only one to blunder while congratulating the Navy on the anniversary of its foundation; Congressman David Trone (Democratic Representative of Maryland's 6th congressional district) attached pictures of Russian naval equipment to his message of goodwill, and the US Department of Homeland Security - Brown added - published a postcard showing a Canadian frigate.
In 1972 Admiral Elmo Zumwalt designated October 13 as the official founding date of the US Navy.