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Former President Donald Trump was widely mocked after defending a 35-second mid-speech pause during a Texas event hosted by the National Rifle Association (NRA).
After keeping the crowd waiting for over two hours, Trump finally took the stage, leaving the audience in suspense as he stared into space and shook his head while music played.
Before he paused, he said:
“The Texas spirit of proud independence was forged by cowboys and cattle hands, ranchers and rangers, oil workers, soldiers and brave, brave, brave, pioneers."
“Many came here with nothing but the boots or their feet, the clothes on their back, and the gun in their saddle. Together they helped make America into the single greatest nation in the history of the world.”
Then things got awkward.
Trump later took to Truth Social to criticize President Joe Biden's campaign, accusing them of “[putting] out a fake story” about his moment of hesitation on stage.
He said:
"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, put out a Fake Story that I “froze” for 30 seconds, going into the “Musical Interlude” section, when in actuality, the 30 to 60 second period of silence is standard in every one of my Speeches where we use the Music. Check out any of my Speeches!"
"The reason they came up with this Disinformation is that Biden freezes all the time, can’t put two sentences together, and can rarely find his way off the stage without help. Donald Trump doesn’t freeze!"
"It is a MADE UP Biden Campaign story, put out in a dying Newspaper that I never heard of, and every Reporter knows it, including the large group that was there…."
You can see his post below.
But no one was buying it.
Trump's strange mid-speech pause isn't the first time a Republican has sparked conversation for something similar.
Last year, politicians on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze twice in the span of a month.
In July 2023, McConnell froze at a news conference on Capitol Hill, going silent for 19 seconds. He was led away by staff members but later told reporters that he was "fine."
However, the following month McConnell froze again while surrounded by reporters in Covington, Kentucky, stopping for more than 30 seconds after members of the press inquired whether he would run for re-election.
In February, McConnell announced that he would officially step down from his leadership position by January 2025 but vowed to finish the remainder of his Senate term, which ends in January 2027.