President Donald Trump distracted the audience at a news conference on Wednesday when he slurred his speech just before leaving the podium.
The president was wrapping up his comments on Dec. 6, when audiences caught him slurring the words, “God bless you, God bless Israel, God bless the Palestinians, and God bless the United States.” The last word was almost incoherent, with all the consonant sounds running together.
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Conspiracy theorists speculated on Twitter why the president sounded so off.
Some speculated that he had a dental accessory like a retainer or dentures coming loose in his mouth. Others suggested that his mouth had simply gone dry after his long speech. Still other wondered whether the president wasn’t suffering from side effects caused by a pharmaceutical.
Finally, as always, there were those who took the lisp as a sign that the president’s mental health is suffering due to old age.
The White House said it was just a case of dry mouth.
In a video of the news conference, you can hear the last couple of sentences going downhill as the president speaks them. His words run together, and the consonant sounds begin to blend — his -s’s and -t’s sounding like the same sliding syllables over and over again. At some points, he almost sounds like he’s resisting a yawn, like is mouth is hanging open against his will.
The slip-up came at an inopportune time for the president, who was announcing that he was the first U.S. President in 70 years to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He announced plans to move the U.S. Israeli embassy to the city.
