President Donald Trump has been accused of having trouble when reading aloud, with many pointing to his speeches and social media rants as proof.
Whether in front of a crowd or a small group, the setting makes no difference when it comes to the 79-year-old grandfather who often gets tripped up over his own words.
During a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump acknowledged the United States capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, following a military operation in the South American nation on Jan. 3.
The early morning arrest made international headlines, as did Trump’s speech from Palm Beach but not for the reasons you would think. Trump outlined a post-Maduro vision for Venezuela that centered on U.S. oil companies stepping in, investing billions, rebuilding the country’s energy infrastructure, and turning a profit in the process.
He told reporters, “And we are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so. So, we were prepared to do a second wave if we needed to do so. We actually assumed that a second wave would be necessary. But now it’s probably not.”
“The first wave, if you’d like to call it that, the first attack was so successful, we probably don’t have to do a second, but we’re prepared to do a second wave. A much bigger wave, actually. This was pinpoint, but we have a much bigger wave that [we] probably won’t have to do,” Trump added.
Trump kept his eyes locked on the page as he lost his place and read the same line three times, stressing the same word each time, “second wave,” and when there was no pause, no correction, fans exploded online.
It left viewers wondering whether the oldest person ever inaugurated as president didn’t notice his mistake because he couldn’t read or had possibly diminished mental capacity.
“His consistent decline is stunning,” posted a Threads user in response to a clip of Trump’s meandering speech on Saturday. One reply on the platform read, “He reads like a second grader.”
Another poster on the social media app exclaimed, “WHAT??? You said that three times. Is it written three times or you just pretend you are reading but just again talking out your poppy diaper!!”
“He can’t even get through one sentence without repeating himself over and over. He’s lost his marbles,” declared a Trump detractor. Plus, someone speculated, “He has true cognitive decline; he cannot read. He cannot speak properly. He looks like he has dementia.”
Rumors that Trump inability or struggles to read have followed the real estate mogul for decades, particularly when a former “Saturday Night Live” cast member pushed that narrative during an interview.
“He doesn’t really know how to read, and he loves to improv,” comedian Pete Davidson stated about Trump while speaking with Opie Radio in 2016.
Davidson, 32, worked with Trump when he served as a guest host for “SNL” the previous year. He said, “During the table read, before he had to reach each line, and he’s the host, so he’s in everything, he would go, ‘Uh, I’m not going to say this. I think I’m gonna say this the way I would’ve said this. Is that OK?’”
Davidson’s recollection of Trump allegedly refusing to stay on script for his “SNL” appearance has resurfaced numerous times throughout the MAGA leader’s 10-year run as a driving force in American politics.
More recently, Trump fueled the gossip that he appears to have issues with using words correctly. In September 2025, the media personality-turned-politician getting tongue-tied trying to say the word “acetaminophen” (the generic name for Tylenol) went viral.
Even the use of a teleprompter could not help Trump get through an error-free speech in December 2025. At one point, he mispronounced the word “mayhem” as “mahim.” In the same address, he repeatedly struggled when saying the number “1,450,000.”
Trump’s constant gaffes, combined with his clearly swollen ankles and the unusual bruising on his hands, have caused serious concern about his mental and physical well-being. The latest triple-repeat moment in Mar-a-Lago will become yet another instance fault finders will point to as an example of his alleged deteriorating health.
For a public figure who has prided himself on being an effective communicator who won the White House in 2016 and 2024, Trump’s unintentional echo on the global stage damages his self-created reputation of being a persuasive speaker and shrewd political strategist.
