Trump appears to freeze for 30 seconds on stage during NRA speech

Donald Trump appeared to freeze for more than 30 seconds during a speech at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas.

The former president — whokept the crowd waiting for more than two hours from the scheduled time of his speech on Saturday — was praising the state of Texas before he suddenly fell silent at the lectern.

Supporters of President Joe Biden were quick to pounce on the moment given that Mr Trump, 77, frequently attacks the president, 81, for his age, claiming he is not mentally competent and is too old for office.

“The Texas spirit of proud independence was forged by cowboys and cattle hands, ranchers and rangers, oil workers, soldiers and brave, brave, brave, pioneers,” Mr Trump told the crowd of gun owners.

“Many came here with nothing but the boots or their feet, the clothes on their back, and the gun in their saddle. Together they helped make America into the single greatest nation in the history of the world.”

At that moment, Mr Trump suddenly froze as music played. At one point in the lengthy pause, the former president shook his head.

“But now we are a nation in decline,” Mr Trump then continued. “We are a failing nation. We are a nation that has the highest inflation in 58 years, where banks are collapsing, and interest rates are skyrocketing.”

The X account @BidensWins posted a clip of the moment, tweeting: “BREAKING: Donald Trump just glitched out and froze at his rally tonight. He is clearly unfit for office. Retweet so every American knows Trump is senile.”

Other social media commenters piled on, with one posting: “He pulled a Mitch?” in reference to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s two very public moments in which he froze in front of cameras.

Supporters of Mr