Donald Trump's mispronunciation during a rally in Iowa last night has sparked health fears. In a video widely shared online, the US President criticised and made claims about US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, falsely labelling him a "jihadist lunatic". He appears to make a meaningless sound mid-speech, with viewers claiming it is a sign of decline.
Uncontrolled noises on stage
Mr Trump told the rally: "If you don't want communists controlling the US Senate, which is between 'jaiiit' about the gentleman from a place called Michigan. He's in the jihadist. He's a jihadist!"
Pointing to the unrecognisable sound 'jaiiit', journalist and political commentator Laura Bassett wrote on X: "The uncontrolled noises are happening more often. It is wild to watch him mentally deteriorate on stage in real time."
"He seems afraid of what just happened," another claimed, pointing to his facial expression, while a third said "the deterioration is accelerating daily now". Another added: "I am old enough to remember that everyone went bat**** crazy when Biden did stuff like this."
Previous incident this week
A fourth viewer said: "Whenever he glitches like this, he is known to do this exact thing where he quickly cuts himself off and pivots as fast as possible. saw it quite a bit on the 2024 campaign trail."
It followed another incident that raised alarm bells this week, when Mr Trump bared his teeth at a reporter before calling him a "sick man" in an Oval Office clash.
The White House has repeatedly dismissed any claims about ill-health, countering that Mr Trump is the "sharpest" president in American history.
Focus on Michigan candidate
Yesterday's event appeared to be an escalation of his advances on the Michigan candidate, Mr El-Sayed, whom Mr Trump previously called a communist and a "man of hate".
More recently, he claimed the candidate was "100%" affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed has repeatedly disputed claims that he has any affiliation with the group, which seeks to instil Islamic principles in all facets of society.
"I was raised here in Michigan, went to the University of Michigan, rebuilt the health department in this city, led the health department in this county, and you want to ask me about what was happening in Egypt in the 1970s? Are you serious?" El-Sayed told NBC.
He claimed his republican opponent Mike Rogers' only strategy was to suggest you should "suspect people simply because they are different than you in how they pray". Mr Trump was in Sioux City to push for Republican Ashley Hinson, who is running for US Senate against Democrat Josh Turek.
