Donald Trump Complains About Being Called 'Cognitively Impaired'

Donald Trump complained at a rally that he's portrayed by the media as being "cognitively impaired" if he says "one word slightly out."

At a rally in Philadelphia on June 22, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee compared his press coverage with that of President Joe Biden, who he said could "fall off the stage" without receiving a similar treatment from the media.

In March, Trump, 78, secured enough delegates to be his party's presumptive nominee following a string of primary victories, likely setting up a rematch of the bitter 2020 contest against Biden, 81. Biden's and Trump's ages and their propensity for making gaffes have sparked concern about their mental agility and ability to serve a second four-year term.

Trump said at the rally, referring to the media: "If I blow it up here, though, they—actually, they take a perfect, brilliant, beautiful statement that I make. I go for two hours without teleprompters, and if I say one word slightly out they say, 'He's cognitively impaired.'

"Whereas Biden can run into walls. He can fall off the stage. He can fall up the stairs. He falls up."

Newsweek contacted representatives of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign for comment by email outside usual business hours.

Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Temple University in Philadelphia on June 22. During his speech, Trump complained he is portrayed as being "cognitively impaired" by the media. Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Temple University in Philadelphia on June 22. During his speech, Trump complained he is portrayed as being "cognitively impaired" by the media. Chris Szagola/AP

Both Biden and Trump have been widely criticized for making a series of perceived gaffes over the past few months. In an interview with Time magazine released earlier in June, Biden appeared to confuse Russian President Vladimir Putin with Chinese President Xi Jinping and said the population of Africa would hit 1 billion "in the next several years," though it already stands at more than 1.4 billion.

In February, Kevin O'Connor, the president's physician, wrote Biden's annual health summary, in which he described Biden as "a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency."

During a rally in Phoenix earlier this month, Trump said, "What they're doing here in Texas." His spokesperson later told Newsweek, "President Trump was obviously saying 'here' as in Arizona and then mentions Texas as well."

During his Philadelphia rally, Trump focused on crime, rejecting recently released FBI statistics that showed a 15 percent fall in violent crime in the first three months of 2024 versus the same period in 2023.

"But the FBI crime statistics Biden is pushing are fake. They're fake, just like everything else in this administration," Trump said. "Now, he's even saying that all his mishaps were fake. They say the fake news covered him in a fake manner. That's a lot of fake. That's a lot of fake news back there."

"Few communities have suffered more under the Biden regime than Philadelphia. Under Crooked Joe, the City of Brotherly Love is being ravaged by bloodshed and crime," he added.

"Retail theft in Philly—I spend so much time here—is up 135 percent since I left office. The convenience stores are closing down left and right. The pharmacies have to lock up the soap," Trump continued, adding, "You can't buy toothpaste. You can't buy a toothbrush. You want a toothbrush, it takes you 45 minutes."