Trump appears frozen for 30 seconds on stage during NRA speech

Donald Trump appeared frozen for more than 30 seconds during a speech at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas.

The former president — who kept the crowd waiting for more than two hours past his scheduled speech time Saturday — was praising the state of Texas before suddenly falling silent to the audience.

Supporters of President Joe Biden were quick to seize the opportunity given that Mr Trump, 77, frequently attacks the president, 81, because of his age, saying he is not mentally competent and that he is too old to hold office.

“The spirit of proud Texas independence was forged by courageous, courageous, courageous cowboys and ranchers, ranchers and rangers, oil workers, soldiers and pioneers,” Mr. Trump told the crowd of gun owners.

“Many came here with nothing but their boots or their feet, the clothes on their backs and the rifle on their saddle. Together, they helped make America the greatest nation in world history.

At that point, Mr. Trump suddenly froze as the music played. At one point during this long pause, the former president shook his head.

“But now we are a nation in decline,” Mr. Trump then continued. “We are a bankrupt nation. We are a country with the highest inflation in 58 years, where banks are collapsing and interest rates are skyrocketing.

X account @BidensWins posted a clip of the moment, tweeting: “BREAKING: Donald Trump just broke down and froze at his rally tonight. He is clearly unfit for office. Retweet so all Americans know Trump is senile.

Other commenters on social media piled in, with one message: “Did he pull a Mitch? in reference to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s two very public moments in which he froze in front of the cameras.

Mr Trump’s supporters angrily jumped to defend him, saying he was simply “listening” at the time.

Some said they thought the teleprompter had broken and he was shaking his head in frustration, while others suggested he was pausing for effect or to listen to the music that was coming on as he played. he was nearing the end of his speech.

In another part of his speech at the NRA convention, Mr. Trump stopped to swat a fly that was buzzing around him.

This episode of apparent freezing marks the second time in as many days that the Biden campaign has seized on Mr. Trump’s on-stage antics to suggest he is unfit for office.

The Democratic president’s team also criticized the former president, calling him “weak” for a moment during a speech Saturday at the annual Lincoln-Reagan dinner in Minnesota, during which he leaned too hard on the desk and “almost fell”.

Video of the event shared by Biden-Harris HQ on X showed Mr Trump grabbing the lectern during his remarks on stage, after nearly knocking it over.

“A weak Trump almost falls on stage after leaning too hard on his podium, then launching into an angry speech calling his event organizers ‘shitty,'” the caption read.

The video shows the former president stepping to the side as the lectern moves beneath him. He then launches into a tirade about the setup of the scene.

“You know this is the worst platform, who set up this scene?” » he joked, to loud laughter from the crowd. “This damn place is falling apart. »

“I notice it continues to lean to the left,” Mr. Trump also joked, “Like too many other things!”