Despite social commentary mocking Donald Trump for apparently calling his wife "Mercedes" in a speech, it appears the Republican was referring to another member of his team.
During the former president's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) speech on Saturday, Trump spoke about his wife, Melania Trump, and then said the name "Mercedes."
"Well look, my wife, our great first lady, she was great... people love her," he said.
"Oh look at that, wow. Mercedes, that's pretty good!"
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump arrive for an event at his Mar-a-Lago home on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. The former president was criticized on social media... Former U.S. President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump arrive for an event at his Mar-a-Lago home on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. The former president was criticized on social media for appearing to call his wife another name during his CPAC speech. More Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In response, people clipped the speech on X, formerly Twitter, and accused the Republican of "cognitive decline."
Conservative political consultant and Trump critic Rick Wilson said: "If Biden called Jill Biden 'Janice' we'd see 50 articles and sixteen NYT op-eds about his age."
Luke Beasley, a political commentator, wrote: "Donald Trump called his wife, Melania, 'Mercedes' in a speech and I haven't seen a word from the media.
"Donald Trump is in cognitive decline—why won't the media cover it?"
Donald Trump called his wife, Melania, "Mercedes” in a speech and I haven’t seen a word from the media.
Donald Trump is in cognitive decline - why won’t the media cover it?pic.twitter.com/D3wi5aVrAL — Luke Beasley (@lukepbeasley) February 25, 2024
However, it appears Trump was actually addressing Mercedes Schlapp, his former White House director of strategic communications.
Schlapp posted an article about the apparent mistake and called it "fake news at its finest."
Fake News at its finest 😂 pic.twitter.com/41D0o10Fds — Mercedes Schlapp (@mercedesschlapp) February 25, 2024
Political commentator Keith Olbermann said: "Trump spews out astonishing evidence of his dementia, brain trauma, and possible substance abuse on an hourly basis. There is NO reason to add to this list easily disproven nonsense. He did NOT call his wife 'Mercedes' at CPAC.
"He's unmistakably referring to Mercedes Schlapp."
Trump spews out astonishing evidence of his dementia, brain trauma, and possible substance abuse on an hourly basis. There is NO reason to add to this list easily disproven nonsense. He did NOT call his wife "Mercedes" at CPAC.
He's unmistakably referring to Mercedes Schlapp🤦🏼♂️ https://t.co/oqWF7DgJkF — Keith Olbermann⌚️ (@KeithOlbermann) February 25, 2024
A representative for Trump told Newsweek: "The crazy leftists on X continue to suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome and that's why they lie about everything."
Meanwhile, Trump also referenced Schlapp at another point during his speech, saying he would blame her and the rest of his team if he performed poorly in the South Carolina GOP primaries.
President Trump says he's going to blame me for bringing him to @CPAC if he doesn't do well at South Carolina. LOL 🤣
I assure you, Mr. President. You have nothing to worry about in The Palmetto State! pic.twitter.com/YOtgTX3hnv — Mercedes Schlapp (@mercedesschlapp) February 24, 2024
That evening, Trump went on to win the state with 59.8 percent of the vote, according to The Associated Press. Nikki Haley, the state's former governor who is also a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, garnered 39.5 percent of the vote share.
While in this instance it appears Trump did not make an error, he has been dogged by gaffes including slurring his words during campaign speeches, seemingly suggesting that former President Barack Obama is currently in office and appearing to confuse Haley with former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. This has led to critics accusing the 77-year-old of being too old to run for president and rumors about his cognitive decline.
Trump, has boasted about having "aced" cognitive tests on more than one occasion and has frequently defended his mental acuity in recent months. He has also claimed that he is being "sarcastic" by repeatedly confusing Obama with President Joe Biden.
For his part, Biden has also been criticized for making a series of gaffes including confusing current French President Emmanuel Macron with François Mitterrand earlier this month. Mitterrand died in 1996 after he was president from 1981 to 1995.
A Monmouth University poll of 737 registered voters in October 2023 found 48 percent of people think Trump is too old to run again, including a third of Republicans. The figure was 76 percent for Biden.