Former United States president Donald Trump lashed out at President Joe Biden following a controversial moment during his speech at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meeting in Dallas over the weekend. Trump, 77, appeared to freeze for over 30 seconds during his address, sparking a wave of criticism from Biden's supporters.
As Trump encouraged Texans to vote in November’s presidential election, he suddenly fell silent. This pause led to Biden’s campaign team calling Trump “feeble” on social media platform X, questioning the former president’s mental competency.
Social media buzzed with conjecture following Donald Trump’s prolonged silence during his speech at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual gathering in Texas on Saturday. The former president encouraged gun owners to cast their votes in November, emphasising that the Second Amendment was at stake after the NRA officially endorsed him, according to The Daily Mail.
During his speech on Saturday, Trump praised Texans and their Wild West heritage, addressing what he claimed was a “record crowd” of “enthusiastic patriots.” His silence followed a tribute to the Texan spirit, stating, “The Texas spirit of proud independence was forged by cowboys and cattle hands, ranchers and rangers, oil workers, soldiers and brave, brave, brave, pioneers.” He concluded, “Many came here with nothing but the boots or their feet, the clothes on their back, and the gun in their saddle. Together they helped make America into the single greatest nation in the history of the world,” as quoted by the Independent.
It was at this juncture that Trump ceased speaking and did not resume for more than 30 seconds, seemingly without reason. Music played in the background, and at one point, he shook his head. He then restarted his speech, saying: "But now we are a nation in decline. 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."
The moment was widely shared on social media, with an account under the name @BidensWins posting the clip on X, formerly Twitter. The post prompted others to speculate about what had caused Trump to stop speaking. The @BidensWins account commented, "Trump glitched out and froze. He is clearly unfit for office. Retweet so every American knows Trump is senile."
'Biden Freezes All The Time': Donald Trump Dismisses Incident As 'Fake Story'
Trump, however, dismissed the claims as a fabrication by Biden’s campaign. On Truth Social, he stated, “The Biden Campaign… put out a Fake Story that I ‘froze’ for 30 seconds, going into the ‘Musical Interlude’ section, when in actuality, the 30 to 60 second period of silence is standard in every one of my Speeches where we use the Music”, as quoted by Independent.
ALSO READ | Who Was Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian President Killed In Helicopter Crash
The former president turned the situation around to attack Biden, who has frequently faced criticism regarding his memory and mental fitness. “The reason they came up with this Disinformation is that Biden freezes all the time, can’t put two sentences together, and can rarely find his way off the stage without help. Donald Trump doesn’t freeze!,” he added.
Additionally, his grasp on the podium, which wobbled on stage, drew further attacks from Biden’s team, suggesting he leaned on it “too hard.” Trump retorted that the podium was faulty and boasted about his own physical prowess. “As far as the podium, I actually stopped it from falling due to good reflexes and strength, two elements which Joe Biden does not possess,” he asserted on Truth Social.