Donald Trump responds to claims he ‘froze’ during rally

Donald Trump has rejected claims he “froze” during a rally.

The former president spoke at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Dallas on Saturday and remained silent for about 30 seconds, leading critics and supporters of Joe Biden’s campaign to claim he “had a problem and froze”.

But writing on his social media platform Truth Social early Monday, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said he stopped speaking to listen to music, calling it a “standard” part of his speeches.

The context

Social media users, including the group Biden’s Wins, said Trump “froze” after remaining silent for an extended period of time after praising the state of Texas.

“The spirit of proud Texas independence was forged by brave, courageous cowboys and ranchers, ranchers and rangers, oil workers, soldiers and pioneers,” Trump said.

“Many came here with nothing but boots or their feet, the clothes on their backs, and a gun on their saddle. Together they helped make America the greatest nation in the history of the world .”

He then fell silent while the music played before continuing his speech. “But now we are a nation in decline,” Trump said afterward. “We are a bankrupt nation. We are a nation with the highest inflation in 58 years, where banks are collapsing and interest rates are skyrocketing.”

BREAKING: Donald Trump broke down and froze during his rally tonight. He is clearly unfit for office. Retweet so all Americans know Trump is senile. pic.twitter.com/QTa5qKNy8H

– Biden Wins (@BidensWins) May 19, 2024

What we know

But in response, Trump accused Biden’s campaign of “disinformation” and said it was the Democrat who “freezes up all the time.”

He wrote:

“My speech in Dallas this weekend at the NRA’s “Endorsement of President Donald J. Trump” was attended by a record crowd of very enthusiastic patriots. The Biden campaign, however, published a false story that I “frozen” for 30 seconds, when entering the “Musical Interlude” section, when in reality, the 30-60 second period of silence is the norm in every one of my speeches where we use music. Find out the reason. why they came up with this! The misinformation is that Biden freezes all the time, can’t put two sentences together, and can rarely walk off stage without help. It’s a story of. MADE UP Biden campaign, broadcast in a dying Journal that I have never heard of, and all the journalists know it, including the large group that was there….”

Views

Harry Sisson, a Democratic content creator, wrote that Trump “just froze for a good 30 seconds. This guy is clearly unfit to serve. He rapidly declined mentally, and it’s very clear. He needs to drop out of the race as soon as possible !”

And after?

As the presidential campaign continues, attacks on individual politicians are likely to intensify.

News week contacted a Trump representative via email outside of business hours for comment on this story.

Updated 5/20/24, 3:38 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and context.