On November 11, Donald Trump attended the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, commemorating Veterans Day.Following a 25-minute speech in which he defended the Iran War and promoted his triumphal arch, Trump, 80, smiled and pumped his fists in the air as Vice President JD Vance and veterans stood around him on the stage applauding.Sharing a 10-second clip of Trump’s controversial fist pump, political journalist and content creator Aaron Rupar mocked the POTUS and wrote on X:“Very normal fist pumping, sir.”After a few seconds of pumping his fist, Donald Trump left the stage as chants of “USA, USA” could be heard. JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also accompanied the President to the event.Exploring Donald Trump’s history of fist pumpsIn October 2020, Donald Trump left the Walter Reed Medical Center, three days after he was admitted with COVID-19. During his exit from the hospital, he held his right fist up and shook it a few times in the air.Before that, during his first term, he was seen pumping his fists during various arrivals and departures, across the United States and overseas. The gesture was mostly seen at the start or end of a speech or during rallies. Trump was also once seen pumping his fist in a Christmas message. Another time, he did a double-fisted pump on his way to a 9/11 commemoration.Over the last decade, Donald Trump has been seen using the fist pump while calling for “total allegiance” to the nation or chanting the slogans “America First” or “Make America Great Again.”On July 3, 2020, he posed with his fist up in front of Mount Rushmore, before denouncing “far-left fascism.” Days before that, Trump retweeted a video of a MAGA supporter in Florida fist-pumping and chanting the slogan “White power.” Back then, the White House claimed the POTUS was impressed by the supporter’s “tremendous enthusiasm.”According to Mother Jones, one of the earlier recorded fist pumps of Trump is from the inauguration of the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City in 1990. He was seen posing next to a giant magic lamp and marking another real estate feat.One of Donald Trump’s most famous fist pumps can be traced back to July 13, 2024. He was at a presidential campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show Grounds in Pennsylvania when 20-year-old Thomas Crooks made an attempt on his life.Trump, who was a former President at the time, survived the assassination attempt but was wounded in his upper right ear. Videos of the incident later showed that he held his fist in the air as Secret Service agents tried to escort him away from the stage.The gunman fired multiple rounds, wounding Trump and killing a member of the crowd called Corey Comperatore. Another man, James Copenhaver, was severely injured, but survived the incident. Copenhaver died in September 2026 at age 76. Crooks was fatally shot by the Counter Sniper team of the U.S. Secret Service moments after the incident.An image captured by photojournalist Evan Vucci for The Associated Press showed Donald Trump clasping his bloodied ears, pumping his fist, and yelling, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” as Secret Service tried to shield him. The picture later became a symbol for the MAGA movement.