'Yikes': Critics pounce on Trump's multiple verbal 'misfires' at Wisconsin rally
Donald Trump has in the past ridiculed President Joe Biden for misspeaking, but on Saturday the former president became the one who was subject to mockery after making numerous verbal slip-ups at his Wisconsin rally.
Trump over the weekend spoke at a rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, where he at one point suggested that people in their 80s are too old to be able to be held accountable for documents they have signed. Trump is 78, and running for a four-year presidential term.
But it wasn't Trump's claim about age and its potential effects that caught the attention of most of his critics.
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Instead, political observers flagged Trump's numerous "misfires" at the event.
In one instance, the ex-president was talking about Boeing when he said, "Leon's going to send up a rocket. He looks forward to it; that's all he thinks about is things like that." Trump was of course referring to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has endorsed Trump.
Former prosecutor Christopher Alberto said, "Trump's gaffe calling Elon Musk 'Leon' Musk isn’t just a simple slip-up—it’s a glaring sign of his worsening cognitive decline."
"These frequent errors aren't minor; they highlight a serious, irreversible issue," Alberto added. "His mental decline makes him unfit to serve as president."
The New York Independent also picked up on the error on Saturday, saying, "WTF??? Donald Trump calls Elon Musk.... wait for it.... LEON???? He really is cognitively impaired."
After that slip, Trump was speaking about education when he failed to execute the word "eliminate," saying instead, "Ultimately, will li--- [garbled], and you know what we're doing here."
He added, "I say it all the time, I'm dying to get back to do this. We will ultimately eliminate the federal Department of Education."
Art Candee, a Chicago artist and Trump critic, responded with a laughing emoji and the words, "He couldn't say 'eliminate.'"
Former Lincoln Project veterans affairs adviser Fred Wellman, an ex-Republican and current Democratic campaign consultant, simply replied with, "Yikes."
After that, Trump referred to Wisconsin GOP Chairman Brian Schimming simply as "Briar."
Writer Armand Hamouth said, "Make up your mind is it Briar or Brian."
Popular Trump critic Spiro’s Ghost called it a "Trump misfire."
Trump also mispronounced the name of the Keystone XL pipeline, calling it the "Keystown," and also appeared to mispronounce the word "tampon" when insulting Harris' running mate. Social media users noted that Trump mistakenly said "tampom" when calling Tim Walz "Tampon Tim."
In response to the latter slip-up, animal advocate Patricia Yamane said, "And the rubes chuckled in childish glee."