President Donald Trump delivered an embarrassing speech at the annual National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Washington, slurring at times, leaning heavily on the podium, and even managing to find a way to bitterly complain once again about losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, prompting fresh concerns about his health and fitness for office.
Trump tried to sound like a gracious and kindly commander-in-chief on Thursday night, Dec. 4, but of course, he kept meandering off script as he attempted to read from the cue cards in his hand.
He was talking about the life of Jesus Christ and how his birth turned “human history from night into day” and how “his word and his example call us to love one another, to serve one another,” but he just couldn’t stick to his script.
“For 250 years, think of it, our country is 250 years is a big year. I’m so happy that our presidency was delayed. Otherwise, I’d be sitting home watching television, not being invited, I would be extremely upset,” Trump rambled nonsensically.
Then he launched into familiar territory, whining and falsely complaining that the 2020 election was “rigged,” something he’s done ad nauseam since Biden beat him, even after he won last year’s election.
“We have the World Cup and we have the Olympics coming up, all within this four-year period. See if they didn’t rig the election, I would have been sitting, can you imagine, I wouldn’t have any of them, and I probably wouldn’t have been invited. I would have been very upset by that,” Trump blathered on senselessly.
View on Threads
And first lady Melania Trump’s reaction said it all. She managed to stand there with a grin plastered on her face, but her fidgeting and constant looking away from Trump told the real story.
Social media zeroed in on her angst at having to stand there as he ranted about a “stolen” election, probably for the thousandth time.
“She is fidgety. She has to be that near him. Her skin must be crawling,” this social media poster remarked.
Another pointed out, “She looks bored out of her mind. Was anyone there??”
“Hand Melania her purse and escort the couple to the WALL!” yet another demanded.
“He’s slurring again. He’s reading from cue cards,” Threads user Carlsbad Buddy observed.
Another noted, “He’s so pathetic. Trump drops his false claim about a rigged election right into the middle of Christmas tree lighting ceremony.”
Trump fueled fresh speculation about what has appeared to be an ongoing physical and mental decline over the past few months by repeatedly falling asleep during his Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
At 79, Trump is the oldest person ever elected president. His persistent health issues in recent months have become more and more apparent.
He’s had swollen ankles from a chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis, pronounced bruising on his hands, and has delivered long, rambling, even nonsensical speeches.
He underwent an MRI in October at Walter Reed National Medical Center, his second in a six-month span.
But the President’s doctor insists he’s in “exceptional health” and that Trump’s body scans were “perfectly normal.”
Trump has also delivered long, rambling speeches where he’s slurred his words, mused to himself in the middle of it, or just totally wandered off the subject at hand, including an embarrassing address before world leaders at the United Nations, when he repeatedly complained about a broken teleprompter and malfunctioning escalator.
It turns out Trump’s own staff improperly handled the teleprompter, and a photographer with the White House entourage is thought to have flipped a switch on the escalator.
