President Trump struggled to get through the last few seconds of his speech announcing a new Jerusalem policy on Wednesday, leaving some viewers distracted by his delivery.
At the end of the speech (video below), the president appeared to slur some of his words, particularly during the sentence “God bless the United States.”
The moment caught the attention of some viewers, including Twitter users, who speculated about the cause of Trump’s momentary vocal mishap. Some suggested that the instance of dry mouth could have been caused by drug use or a medical emergency — which the White House flatly denied.
“His throat was dry. There’s nothing to it,” White House spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times, denying that the slurring could be attributed to a health concern.
For others, the moment was reminiscent of the conspiracy theories surrounding Hillary Clinton’s health, encouraged by Trump and others, during last year’s presidential campaign.
In the Wednesday speech from the White House, the president formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing nearly 70 years of U.S. foreign policy. He also announced plans to relocate the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
https://twitter.com/GuardianRover/status/938480870863790081
I'm…disturbed. https://t.co/BJWNshMsif
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) December 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/938481899508457472
Trump just slurred his way through a speech so incoherent, debate rages if his dentures fell out, he was high on cocaine, or he had a minor stroke.
For real.
— Patrick S. Tomlinson (@stealthygeek) December 6, 2017
Trump really struggling at the end of this speech (dry mouth?), slurs "God bless the United States" pic.twitter.com/aKtrmEUUqx
— David Mack (@davidmackau) December 6, 2017
What’s going on with Trump’s slurring in his speech?
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) December 6, 2017
Why is Trump slurring his speech?
— Mia Farrow 🏳️🌈 🌻🇺🇸💙 (@MiaFarrow) December 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/Zac_Petkanas/status/938473217580249088
https://twitter.com/bobbyfinger/status/938474358619729927