According to Reuters, journalists and livestream audiences noted that Trump frequently drifted from the script, improvising for long stretches. At several points, he appeared to acknowledge the detour himself. A routine address took an unexpected turn when President Donald Trump appeared to lose his rhythm mid-speech. His face read a flash of irritation before the moment stretched into something more difficult to ignore. As Trump tried to steady himself, the tension onstage only seemed to grow, giving critics fresh material to argue that these episodes are no longer isolated slips but part of a pattern playing out in real time. President Donald Trump has another meltdown on stage after a teleprompter issue that he failed to recover from. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images) ‘Man Can’t Read’: Trump Spent Months Complaining That the UN Teleprompter Was Rigged, But His Latest Speech Showed Something Else A clip from his Thursday, Feb. 5, address at the National Prayer Breakfast began in a steady, measured tone, focused on faith and leadership. The structure soon loosened, though, as pauses stretched and the message grew harder to follow. According to Reuters, journalists and livestream audiences noted that Trump frequently drifted from the script, improvising for long stretches. At several points, he appeared to acknowledge the detour himself. “I happened to be president during that, so think of it. So I’m, I’m, I’m the president, and I got these two things. And I said, you know what? I got the Olympics to come to the United States, and I got the World Cup to come to the United States, and I probably won’t even be invited to be there. And I was really angry,” Trump said. View on Threads Moments later, the father of five added, “And then they rigged the election,” a line that prompted laughter from parts of the audience. Trump continued, openly referencing his relationship with the script. “And then I said, I’m coming back. And I got the Olympics, and I got the World Cup, right? And at some point I’m going to get right back onto the teleprompter, and you’re going to say that was a wonderful speech on that momentous day in 1776,” he said. He later framed his off-script approach as a strength. “You know, this is so much easier. It takes real talent to do the other. The other is much more talent. That’s why we’re president, I think. But we have very important words to say, and this is such an important group. And we have plenty of time to say it, because when it comes to religion, I have all the time,” Trump stated. Trump then launched into his scheduled historical reflection, mentioning parts of the Constitution and the “that momentous day in 1776.” While the White House did not say there was any teleprompter malfunction — unlike in previous incidents, when technical issues were acknowledged — people still noticed this recent one during his rambling speech. “Who tf is in there applauding this walking, talking BRAIN DAMAGE,” said one person, pointing to the crowd who laughed at Trump’s remarks. Another noted, “He is seriously off his rocker!” “He makes everything about him “Mom look what I can do!” His vocabulary is on the level of a first grader. Ewww what is he even saying?” asked a third person. One inquisitive individual wrote, “Does his evil presence disrupt teleprompters? Are his minions deliberately sabotaging his equipment? Is it gross incompetence? Seems to happen an awful lot.” Trump’s tense relationship with teleprompters has played out repeatedly over the past year. In September, while addressing world leaders at the United Nations in New York, the teleprompter failed mid-speech, prompting Trump to later accuse the body of “triple sabotage,” including an escalator malfunction and audio problems. He revisited the incident for weeks, insisting the blank screen forced him to improvise. View this post on Instagram A post shared by C-SPAN (@cspan) The issue resurfaced in December during a televised White House address intended to highlight his first year back in office. Viewers instead focused on moments when Trump appeared to struggle to read prepared text, mispronounce words, and stumble over numbers, even though they were displayed on the screen. Even at his October “Legacy Dinner” at the White House, technical issues overshadowed prepared remarks when audio problems disrupted livestreams, once again drawing attention away from the speech itself and toward the mechanics meant to support it. For many viewers, Thursday’s speech felt less like an anomaly and more like confirmation: when Trump takes the stage, the teleprompter may be present — but it rarely gets the final word. ‘Seems to Happen an Awful Lot’: Trump Has Onstage Meltdown as Critics Say He’s ‘Off His Rocker’ ...read more read less