President Donald Trump appeared to short-circuit Wednesday during a meeting with travel executives in the Oval Office.
“On 11 separate days, more than three million travelers flowed through the American flies, they, they, uh … American skies were loaded up with planes,” Trump, 80, said while seated at the Resolute Desk.
Trump: "On 11 separate days more than 3 million travelers flowed through the American flies they. They, uh, American skies were loaded up with planes." pic.twitter.com/Cag833amM0
It’s clear that Trump meant to say “American skies,” but that his brain got in the way. The meeting was ostensibly supposed to be a chance for the president to brag about high levels of tourism in the U.S. over the summer, but not only did Trump fumble his lines, Americans have actually spent a lot less money on vacations these past few months. Flights and road trips have also declined compared to last year. Foreign tourism into the U.S. has also dropped sharply since Trump resumed office.
Trump’s ongoing cognitive decline seems to be getting worse each day. He’s fallen asleep dozens of times throughout his second term as president, frequently slurred his speech, and last month seemed to forget how to spell the word “dumb” at a speech in Las Vegas with cameras rolling. Just last week, the president fell asleep during a health care announcement at the White House.
Meanwhile, Trump’s decisions are increasingly erratic, from abruptly signing an executive order to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” to his continued poor handling of the ill-advised war with Iran. Hours before his meeting Wednesday, Trump proposed renaming the Strait of Hormuz after himself. All of this clearly points to a man who is not well, yet has just over two more years of being president left.
President Donald Trump wants to rename the Strait of Hormuz, which the U.S. doesn’t control, after himself.
“Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT??? Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the president posted on Truth Social Wednesday morning.
The move wouldn’t have any support beyond his fans, and it is a terrible idea due to Iran currently being able to throttle maritime traffic through the crucial narrow waterway. Trump’s executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” last week was unpopular with Canadians and many Americans, although Google and Apple decided to bow to Trump’s demand by renaming the lake on their map services.
Trump has sought to rename everything from buildings to aircraft carriers after himself in his second term as president, and even has his sights on renaming New York’s Penn Station. Florida just renamed Palm Beach’s airport after him: it’s now officially the President Donald J. Trump International Airport, complete with the code DJT.
At a time when Trump claims to want a deal with Iran, changing the strait’s name would undoubtedly hurt the prospects for peace. It’s not likely to go over well with the other countries in the region, such as Oman and the United Arab Emirates. If Trump is serious, the move is sure to invite more comparisons between him and historical dictators who also sought to rename everything.
The Trump administration is dipping its toe back in reality television.
The Small Business Administration announced Tuesday that the agency’s Million Dollar Pitch Competition would be concluded with a “live finale event” in Washington D.C. on September 18.
Five small manufacturing companies from across the country are set to go head-to-head for cuts of a $1 million prize pool furnished by Clover Network Inc., a point-of-sale and payment-processing platform. Think Shark Tank but way more boring.
The program will be presided over by a panel of Trump sycophants and scam artists, including Nicki Minaj, the rapper-singer who took a hard-right turn when her vaccine skepticism hit the MAGA mainstream; Grant Cardone, a get-rich-quick influencer accused of misleading investors; and Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb, who currently leads a group of DOGE goons running federal websites. The event will be hosted by actor Dean Cain, once Superman, now fanboy for the president.
