President Donald Trump summoned reporters and television cameras for a press conference at the White House rose garden on Tuesday. Trump spent close to an hour on the podium and his disjointed speech has now led to rumors surrounding his ill-health.
During his speech, Trump appeared to be confused and drifted seemingly at random from one topic to another, often in the same sentence. Even for a president who has a reputation for diverging from the script, it was one the most rambling performances of his presidency.
It appeared as though Trump couldn't remember his own talking points as he talked about China, the coronavirus pandemic, the Paris climate change accord and launched attacks on Democratic opponent Joe Biden. Moreover, Trump looked like he was under the weather and sounded defeated, worn out and wobbly.
#TrumpIsNotWell Trends on Twitter
At times, it was hard to understand what he meant and became challenging for people to follow his train of thought. Trump's all-over-the-place Rose Garden speech led to the hashtag #Trumpisnotwell to trend on the micro-blogging platform with users claiming the president is not okay health-wise.
"What's wrong with president? He can't seem to stay on one topic for more than a minute," wrote one user.
"Trump drugged or something?," commented another. "He sounds like a senile old man standing in the middle of the Rose Garden like he got an extra 10 mins during a local town hall meeting....this is a disaster." Here are some of the posts:
Symptoms of Dementia
Some Twitter users pointed out that Trump is showing symptoms that are consistent with a Dementia diagnosis. These symptoms include memory loss, difficulty concentrating, being confused and struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word.
One user drew attention to Trump's forward-leaning stance, which is a sign of PSP or Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, often associated with frontal lobe dementia.
"Trump Rose Garden Splatter Today: This is a dementia symptom: repeating the same false, dangerous, & misleading bullshit when the world knows you have your facts totally wrong," wrote doctor John. M. Talmadge.
Some users also pointed out that Trump often misidentifies people, like Tim Cook as Tim "Apple" and Nick Saban as "Lou," because of the neurological disease.
