Donald Trump forgetting how to speak at microphones is already making him the Mitch McConnell of 2024

Despite the slew of court cases against him, Donald Trump remains America’s frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nominee.

It’s mind-boggling (for those of us with actual minds to boggle) that so many people continue to support the disgraced former president, but it’s also a fact. The man boasts a solid lead over his only remaining opponent and it increasingly appears that he will be the Republican nominee for president.

The terrifying potential of another Trump presidency is very real, and all the more unsettling when health concerns about the 77-year-old are taken into consideration. Even as Republicans work to blast Joe Biden’s physical health and mental capacity, with some even going so far as to claim that he’s no longer fit for office, Trump is stumbling over his words and even full-on slurring his statements.

The latter cropped up and sparked widespread concern following a mid-January rally in Rochester, New Hampshire. During yet another classic unhinged Trump rant, the former president was caught on tape seemingly slurring his words. In widely-circulating clips of the moment, Trump is heard saying, “You don’t have to be a total genius: Remain in Mexico until you’ve…,” before stumbling into incoherency.

The clip is confirmation, in the eyes of many, that Trump is no longer mentally capable of handling the pressures of the presidency. Many argued that he was unfit for the task the first time around, with Trump’s slurring only reinforcing the idea. It might not be enough to urge his supporters toward another candidate, but when Trump and his allies are blasting Biden’s mental acumen in one breath and slurring unintelligibly in the next, it starts to look pretty bad.

This follows fellow Republican Mitch McConnell’s difficult 2023, which saw the 81-year-old minority leader of the United States Senate frequently lose himself mid-interview. On numerous occasions throughout 2023, McConnell trailed off mid-sentence, staring into space and freezing up before being ushered away by his staff. Trump’s slurring is painting him in a similar light to those McConnell freeze-ups and prompting comparisons between the two elderly politicians.

Something as small as a little slur is far from enough to derail the bafflingly popular Trump, of course, but it’s certainly driving conversations online. The clip, paired with ongoing conversations about Trump’s ability to lead, prompted a fresh hashtag — #TrumpIsNotWell — to trend on Twitter X, where people piled onto the 77-year-old. Many people seem to be of the impression that the former president is suffering through the early stages of dementia, and they’re not shy about sharing those opinions online.

Regardless of whether that slurring is actually as concerning as it seems, it’s clear that Trump is less on his game than he was the last time around. He’s juggling his current run for president alongside a slew of court cases and it’s clearly taking a toll. None of it will be enough to dissuade his strongest supporters, of course, but the rest of us are taking notice.