‘OMG’: Trump Gasps for Air, Chokes on His Own Words On Live Tv, While the Cameras Catch His Chest Rising and Falling as He Fights to Finish
Donald Trump stood at a podium, the center of attention, with no one else uttering a word, but people struggled to make sense of his speech.
The president, 80, had all eyes on him, commanding onlookers to listen intently as he delivered remarks during the July 1 opening of The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota.
The context of his words strained the ears of those who grew increasingly confused by his rambling.
Unlike his White House press meetings, Trump did not have oversized notes printed on sheets of paper in front of him.
Instead, advisors challenged him to follow the comments that staffers prepared and projected on a nearby screen.
The afternoon was sunny and breezy with temperatures reaching a high of about 73 degrees. Trump wore his signature blue suit, a white collared dress shirt, a red tie, and a white “USA” ball cap.
He rested his arms on the podium, his hands gripping its edges, and his head repeatedly tilted left and then right, his eyes squinting to read the teleprompter.
He started strong, boasting about the Badlands and his inaugural flight on board the new Air Force One plane, and then finally shifted his focus to the man of the hour — the 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt.
Her voice grew shaky, at times labored; his words began to meld into his deep breaths as cameras capture his chest rising and falling with every labored breath.
A viewer on X tweeted, “Alzheimer’s was to blame. It’s like his mind is struggling to remember to breathe and babble on at the same time,” they continued.
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A second user added, “He’s got a death grip on that podium. Going to need oxygen soon too. So sad.” Two more people heckled the businessman by stating, “May he needs the words in big sharpie letters” and “Reading is hard. Comprehension harder.”
His stumbling over words grew undeniable when he shared news of a generous grant for the presidential library.
“I’m pleased to announce that through the National Endowment for the Humanities, we will be awarding the library $750,000 to support the opening [inaudible gibberish] through the first year. So they’re getting a nice check. Getting a nice check,” said Trump.
Critics eagerly harped on his slurred speech. On X, a user asked what everyone wanted to know, “What’s a “jiiibit”?”
One person asked, “Is he having a stroke?” Another person suggested, “That baby was trying to say Exhibit,” prompting a heckling response that read, “Is that where we find covefe?”
In 2017, Trump tweeted and deleted, “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.” It is presumed “covfefe” was meant to read “coverage.” It was unknown at the time that he would return to office in 2025 and repeatedly display cognitive struggles and an inability to pronounce simple words.
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His bragging about acing multiple cognitive tests, MRIs, and physicals in the past 18 months fuels lingering rumors about his health.
Two more reactions read, “He can’t form a coherent sentence” and “He sounds like s–t. And his left arm has a major twitch about halfway through this clip #Dementia.”
Last September, Trump sparked a viral moment when he tripped over the word “acetaminophen.” His attempts included sounding out “Ah-se-der” and “Ascenem – enophin.”
Just four months ago, he was tripped up by the word “undisputed” during a White House press conference.
At one point, hecklers theorized Trump’s teeth were to blame. That guess resurfaced when someone wrote, “He’s doing that weird thing with his dentures.”
He underwent his third dental appointment, according to the White House, in May — and yet, his persistent slurring continues.