In Dallas, Texas, during a speech at the National Rifle Association’s annual conference, Donald Trump seemed to pause for more than thirty seconds.
The former president, who held the audience waiting for over two hours past the time he was supposed to speak on Saturday, was complimenting the state of Texas when he abruptly stopped speaking at the podium.
Given that Mr. Trump, 77, regularly criticizes the president, 81, for his age, arguing he is not mentally competent and is too old for office, supporters of President Joe Biden were ready to seize the opportunity.
Mr. Trump addressed the gathering of gun owners, saying, “The Texas spirit of proud independence was forged by cowboys and cattle hands, ranchers and rangers, oil workers, soldiers and brave, brave, brave, pioneers.”
“Many arrived here carrying only the rifle in their saddle, the cloths on their back, and their boots or feet. Collectively, they contributed to the United States of America being the greatest country in world history.
At that moment, Mr Trump suddenly froze as music played. At one point in the lengthy pause, the former president shook his head.
“But now we are a nation in decline,” Mr Trump then continued. “We are a failing nation. We are a nation that has the highest inflation in 58 years, where banks are collapsing, and interest rates are skyrocketing.”
A video of the incident was tweeted by the X account @BidensWins, along with the caption, “BREAKING: Donald Trump just glitched out and froze at his rally tonight.” It’s obvious he is unsuitable to be in office. Retweet to ensure that everyone in America is aware of Trump’s aging
Social media users flocked to the post, with one person asking, “He pulled a Mitch?” in reference to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s two highly visible instances of frozing in front of the camera.
Angrily, Mr. Trump’s supporters jumped to his defense, saying he was just “listening” at the moment.
Some speculated that he was pausing for effect or the music that plays when his speeches come to a conclusion, while others said they thought the teleprompter had malfunctioned and he was shaking his head angrily.
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During an additional segment of his address at the NRA convention, Mr. Trump paused to swat at a fly that was hovering around him.
The Biden campaign has used Mr. Trump’s onstage antics to indicate that he is unfit for government twice in as many days, most recently during the apparent freezing incident.
The former president was also criticized by the Democratic presidential team for appearing briefly to be “weak” during a speech at the Lincoln-Reagan Annual Dinner in Minnesota on Saturday, when he leaned too much on the lectern and “nearly fell down.”
Video from the event, which Biden-Harris HQ posted on X, showed Mr. Trump almost tipping over the lectern before seizing it for his remarks.
The caption says, “A feeble Trump nearly trips and falls on stage after he leans too much on his podium and then goes on an angry rant calling his event workers ‘crappy.'”
The former president can be seen in the footage lurching to one side as the podium moves under him. Then he goes on a rant over how the stage is set up.He joked, “You know this is the worst platform, who put this stage up?” to much applause from the assembly. “It’s falling apart, fricking place.”
Mr. Trump said in jest, “I notice it keeps tilting to the left. Like too many other things!”