Trump makes series of worrying blunders at weekend rally

Mike Bedigan
·3-min read

Donald Trump made a series of blunders at a rally in Michigan over the weekend, as questions continue to swirl about his mental capacity.

At one point the presidential hopeful reminded voters of the “very important date” of the Michigan state primary – and proceeded to get it wrong.

It comes ahead of the South Carolina primary on 24 February, which is followed by the Michigan primary on 27 February. Mr Trump and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley are the only two significant Republican candidates who remain in the race.

Addressing voters on Saturday, Mr Trump said: “We need you to get out and vote to set the stage for November.

“Go vote – November 27th. Remember this, that’s a date that is very important.”

Later he admitted that during “my whole life” he had not known what the word “indictment” meant, though he now faces a plethora. Mr Trump also appeared to fumble his stance on electric vehicles.

Ms Haley, UN ambassador under Mr Trump, has questioned how the 77-year-old former president’s mental state will affect his ability to carry out his role should he return to the White House.

During a campaign rally in New Hampshire back in January, Mr Trump repeatedly confused Ms Haley with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

At the event, he falsely stated that his rival for the Republican presidential nomination had been in charge of Capitol security in Washington, DC, on 6 January 2021, rather than Ms Pelosi – who was actually also not in charge of Capitol security that day.

The former president later tried to claim he had not erred at all with his remarks, but had knowingly mixed-up the two so as to underline his contempt for both women. He went on to complain about the subsequent adverse press coverage he received by observing bitterly: “It’s very hard to be sarcastic.”

He continued: “When I interpose – I’m not a Nikki fan and I’m not a Pelosi fan. When I purposely interpose names, they say he didn’t know Pelosi from Nikki.”

Mr Trump’s increasingly regular slip-ups are somewhat ironic, given his repeated attacks on Joe Biden, whom he has derided as too old to run for president again at 81, even though Mr Trump himself is only four years younger.

Mr Biden has a decades long history of verbal gaffes, though his mistakes earned new attention following a special counsel report that decided the president shouldn’t face criminal charges for his handling of classified documents.

The report, from Robert Hur, described Mr Biden as an old man with trouble remembering dates, even the date his son Beau died. The president angrily disputed the claim while some of his supporters have sought to characterise elements of Mr Hur’s report as a politically-motivated attack.

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