President Donald Trump’s final pitch to the American people ahead of the midterm elections has come with some strange moments.
Trump, 80, began traveling across the country to back up Republican candidates running for state and federal offices. His rallies produce viral clips.
At each location, the MAGA leader stands in front of dwindling crowds, gives a rambling speech and typically overshadows the GOP candidates with his bizarre antics.
Trump headed to South Carolina to campaign for Sen. Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham’s sister, who is seeking election to the Senate seat her late brother held.
The president also had plenty to say about two longtime political frenemies.
‘What’s Wrong?’: Trump Shows Up Beet-Red and Slurring His Words on Live TV — But It’s the Man Beside Him Staring That Has Fans Zooming In
‘MF is Either High or Drunk’: Trump Lashes Out After Crowd Doesn’t Respond the Way He Wanted — Then Gets So Worked Up He Can’t Get His Words Out
“He’s great. He’s great,” Trump said about current South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster at a campaign rally in Pendleton. “You know, he was a lieutenant governor.”
Trump’s mid-speech praise of McMaster, 79, took an unexpected turn when he appeared to take a subtle jab at former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
“And I’d say 90% of the reason I took the governor…,” Trump said, apparently referring to Haley, 54, without saying the name of his first-term Cabinet member.
Instead of mentioning Haley directly, he made a weird audible noise that left viewers confused and repulsed.
Attendees standing on stage behind the president began dropping their heads, almost as if to hold back laughter or hide their shame from hearing the sounds coming out of Trump’s mouth.
Social media users also expressed perplexity over Trump’s appearance, wondering, “WTF was that?!?”
“Was that a belch?” another poster asked. More questions about whether Trump burped flooded in. Yet someone insisted, “People. It’s not a burp. I don’t know WTF that was, but not a belch.” Another person sarcastically asked, “Did the pig just oink? Yuck.”
Trump’s verbal hiccup caught many people’s attention, including one bystander whose reaction went viral.
A Threads user exclaimed, “I lost it when they zoomed into the guy’s face!”
“That dude’s back there thinking, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’” joked a poster. Similarly, one person wrote, “Y’all look at that kid in the green behind fatso… That face says it all.”
Even though some observers questioned if Trump released gas from his stomach, history suggests he could have been mockingly gagging at the thought of saying Haley’s name.
McMaster faced off against Haley for the South Carolina governorship 16 years ago. Their paths would continue to cross throughout the Trump era of American politics.
Haley won the 2010 Republican South Carolina gubernatorial nomination.
McMaster finished third. After working in the Ports Authority under Haley, McMaster later became the state’s lieutenant governor.
When Haley resigned as governor in 2017 to become Trump’s United Nations ambassador, McMaster succeeded her as governor.
Friction between Haley and Trump dates back to the 2016 presidential campaign. Haley angered the former reality television host by endorsing Marco Rubio in that year’s Republican primary.
Haley was also among the GOP politicians who broke from MAGA following the January 6th Capitol attacks. However, she later sided with Trump by endorsing him at the 2026 Republican National Convention.
That RNC support was still not enough ring-kissing for Trump to select Haley for a return to Washington, DC, in his second term. The often revenge-minded president snubbed her for a spot in his Cabinet.
Trump has called Haley “brain dead” and repeatedly used mispronunciations and misspellings of her birth name, Nimarata Nikki Randhawa, on multiple occasions. Critics accused him of invoking racial and ethnic stereotypes through the remarks.
