President Donald Trump has been saying a lot of interesting things lately. And although making hyperbolic comments and strange “jokes” is really nothing out of the ordinary for him, people have noticed that he’s made more mistakes during his speeches lately amid concerns about potential cognitive decline. During the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey on Wednesday, July 8, the 80-year-old president asserted that he’s been president three times now.
People couldn’t quite tell whether he was suggesting that the 2020 election was “rigged” in the way he has many times before, or whether he truly forgot how many times he’s been president (or perhaps both).
During a press conference, Trump claimed that he’s always right.
His critics obviously disagree. And they also think that what he said next proved that he’s definitely not always right, because he said he won the election in 2020 and was president three times.
“I predicted everything,” Trump said. “I’ve been right about everything. And I have been for a long time. That’s how I got to be president three times. That’s how I won three elections. I did very well in the second one, won it. It was a rigged election. But I’ve been right.”
People have actually been counting how many times Trump has claimed that the election was “rigged” over the past several months, and it’s over 100. That part of what he said likely sounds very familiar to everyone at this point—but claiming to have actually been president three times is not.
When he said he’s been president three times, he might have meant to say that he won three elections.
Still, people weren’t so sure. While that definitely could be the case, people also wondered whether Trump was actually confused. On X, some people speculated that dementia could help explain this particular blunder. After all, it’s not the only thing he’s said recently that has raised questions. Because, sure, sometimes he makes weird jokes. But during several recent instances in which he said something odd or outright incorrect, he did not appear to be joking.
One person on X pointed to how he seemed to confuse U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler with rapper Nicki Minaj. “Trump is so afflicted w Alzheimers he now believes Nikki Minaj is in his cabinet,” a critic wrote on X.
And someone else mentioned how Trump recently claimed that he’s the most popular person on “Tic Tac” (meaning TikTok). “Always right?” they questioned. “Like being No. 1 on Tic Tac?”
Other commenters said “angry grandpa” is “getting worse by the day.” One person questioned, “Does he genuinely believe he’s been president 3 times??”
What bothered people more is the way no one corrected him.
Regardless of the reason Trump makes claims like this, no one seems to be stopping him or even challenging him. A lot of people online were disgusted to see that Marco Rubio stood behind Trump as he claimed he’s been president three times, and yet he didn’t say a word.
“This should concern everyone,” one commenter wrote. “If Biden had rambled on like this, the Republicans would have been screeching, ‘impeach!’ Instead they stand behind Trump literally and figuratively.”
“Notice how not one of the men behind him even flinches when he said he’s been president three times,” someone else commented.
It’s actually quite difficult for people to understand. “How, How do these IDIOTS stand behind him day after day and not speak up to CORRECT him???” another person questioned.
