President Donald Trump has sparked fresh health concerns after appearing to slur his words during a White House speech at an event that was celebrating him as the “Undisputed Champion of Coal.”
Trump’s delivery briefly became unintelligible during the speech for some seconds.
Although the White House has frequently defended the president's health, claiming he is still fit and capable, social media usersclaim the most recent event is part of a larger trend of odd public appearances and inconsistent excuses that have fueled discussion about his suitability for office.
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“Undithpuut champion of coal”
Video clips of Trump's speech show him beginning a sentence before becoming incoherent for several seconds. In the short stretch, Trump mumbled and appeared to lose his train of thought momentarily.
Trump reads "Undisputed Champion of Coal" and falters. At the White House, he said, “And I'm proud to officially name the undithpuut...” He then paused for a second and continued, “When did this come out, Mr Speaker?”
{{/usCountry}}Trump reads "Undisputed Champion of Coal" and falters. At the White House, he said, “And I'm proud to officially name the undithpuut...” He then paused for a second and continued, “When did this come out, Mr Speaker?”
{{/usCountry}}He received the Washington Coal Club's 'Undisputed Champion of Coal' award during the ceremony in recognition of his work to reduce federal greenhouse gas regulations.
He said, “The undisputed champion of beautiful, clean coal. We have to proceed always -- I don't use the word coal, you know, it needs a PR job because it has had a bad reputation for a while.”
He further praised his own initiatives and added, “It has to be preceded by beautiful, clean coal, OK? We're cleaning it up very good.”
Read more: Trump appears to fall asleep during meeting, sparks 'fitness' concerns
Social media reacts
This is not the first time Trump has sparked rumors around his alleged deteriorating health with his slurred speech at events. It was especially challenging to follow his long address at last month's World Economic Forum in Davos earlier in January.
Additionally, there have been times when he looked to nod off in public or stumbled when speaking to the media. Trump showed significant bewilderment throughout the Davos speech, at one point confusing Iceland with Greenland.
Speculation around his health has been ongoing since the President took office, and social media users are not far from guessing.
A page on X named @KremlinTrolls claimed that, “Trump hasn't been golfing since January 18th. Because he is unable, due to his failing health.”
Another X user posted a Getty image and caption from Saul Loeb talking about his infamous hand condition during an event on February 12 and wrote, “Trump's black hand was looking extra gnarly and swollen today.”
However, none of these claims has been verified independently by HT.com.