Trump Fully Loses His Grip on Reality in Wild, Rambling Speech
Donald Trump appeared incredibly out of it during a campaign event with Hispanic voters in Doral, Florida, on Tuesday. Trump was joined onstage by U.S. Senator Rick Scott, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, and Doral Mayor Christi Farga—only he couldn’t seem to locate Farga, who was sitting just to his left. “Where’s Christi? Is she around? Christi? Christi?” Trump asked, looking wildly around for the woman seated next to him. “Right here,” Farga said gently. “Oh, Christi! Christi, ohhhh my Christi!” Trump said, sighing, as audience members laughed and whooped at his gaffe. Farga had also greeted Trump when he came onstage nearly 40 minutes after the opening speakers had concluded. A tired and confused Donald Trump repeatedly asks where Doral Mayor Christi Fraga is. She's sitting right next to him. pic.twitter.com/F9EdEy42a4— American Bridge 21st Century (@American_Bridge) October 22, 2024As Trump spoke, he seemed to become untethered from reality, as he clumsily discussed energy policy, claiming that environmentalists actually hate solar energy.“A solar field the other day that looked like it took up half the desert. I’d never saw anything like it. It’s all steel and glass and wires and … it looks like hell,” Trump said. “And you see rabbits, they get caught in it, and every—you know for the environmentalists, it’s just terrible.“And what it does to your desert areas, or the areas that you’re putting it in, it’s just crazy,” he continued, adding that he thinks solar panels are OK if they’re on rooftops. Trump said he preferred “stuff right under the ground” such as natural gas. The former president has repeatedly said that if he’s elected, he hopes to expand natural gas mining, called hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking, in the United States to create energy independence, increase America’s energy exports, and boost the economy. Trump in Doral on solar energy: "It's all steel and glass and wires. It looks like hell. And you see rabbits get caught in it ... it's just terrible." pic.twitter.com/jC8Vfju70h— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 22, 2024Of course, that would involve cutting key regulations on liquefied natural gas, a highly volatile substance that when mishandled or stored can cause deadly explosions. Not to mention the dangers of fracking itself, which has resulted in reserves of potable groundwater becoming poisoned with chemicals, sometimes so severely that it can become flammable. Not only is Trump’s plan for energy independence dangerous, it’s literally a pipe dream. The former president claimed in a speech Monday that he achieved energy independence during his administration and that it was undone by President Joe Biden. That is completely false; the U.S. hasn’t been energy independent for more than 75 years. Kamala Harris, who once said she would ban fracking, has since walked back her position. Trump continues to insist that Harris opposes it. While neither candidate opposes fracking, the people actually living on the shale Trump intends to drill into, who remember when fracking first contaminated their water, sure do. Trump previously held a rally in Doral, Florida, in July, where he gave a rambling speech that ricocheted from the death penalty and crying mothers to crappy airports and complaints that no one eats bacon anymore. At the time, it was a terrifying, incoherent tirade. Three months later, it would be considered run of the mill for the Republican presidential nominee. Trump doesn’t get better; we all just seem to get used to it.
Donald Trump appeared incredibly out of it during a campaign event with Hispanic voters in Doral, Florida, on Tuesday.
Trump was joined onstage by U.S. Senator Rick Scott, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, and Doral Mayor Christi Farga—only he couldn’t seem to locate Farga, who was sitting just to his left.
“Where’s Christi? Is she around? Christi? Christi?” Trump asked, looking wildly around for the woman seated next to him.
“Right here,” Farga said gently.
“Oh, Christi! Christi, ohhhh my Christi!” Trump said, sighing, as audience members laughed and whooped at his gaffe. Farga had also greeted Trump when he came onstage nearly 40 minutes after the opening speakers had concluded.
A tired and confused Donald Trump repeatedly asks where Doral Mayor Christi Fraga is. She's sitting right next to him. pic.twitter.com/F9EdEy42a4— American Bridge 21st Century (@American_Bridge) October 22, 2024
As Trump spoke, he seemed to become untethered from reality, as he clumsily discussed energy policy, claiming that environmentalists actually hate solar energy.
“A solar field the other day that looked like it took up half the desert. I’d never saw anything like it. It’s all steel and glass and wires and … it looks like hell,” Trump said. “And you see rabbits, they get caught in it, and every—you know for the environmentalists, it’s just terrible.
“And what it does to your desert areas, or the areas that you’re putting it in, it’s just crazy,” he continued, adding that he thinks solar panels are OK if they’re on rooftops.
Trump said he preferred “stuff right under the ground” such as natural gas. The former president has repeatedly said that if he’s elected, he hopes to expand natural gas mining, called hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking, in the United States to create energy independence, increase America’s energy exports, and boost the economy.
Trump in Doral on solar energy: "It's all steel and glass and wires. It looks like hell. And you see rabbits get caught in it ... it's just terrible." pic.twitter.com/jC8Vfju70h— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 22, 2024
Of course, that would involve cutting key regulations on liquefied natural gas, a highly volatile substance that when mishandled or stored can cause deadly explosions. Not to mention the dangers of fracking itself, which has resulted in reserves of potable groundwater becoming poisoned with chemicals, sometimes so severely that it can become flammable.
Not only is Trump’s plan for energy independence dangerous, it’s literally a pipe dream. The former president claimed in a speech Monday that he achieved energy independence during his administration and that it was undone by President Joe Biden. That is completely false; the U.S. hasn’t been energy independent for more than 75 years.
Kamala Harris, who once said she would ban fracking, has since walked back her position. Trump continues to insist that Harris opposes it. While neither candidate opposes fracking, the people actually living on the shale Trump intends to drill into, who remember when fracking first contaminated their water, sure do.
Trump previously held a rally in Doral, Florida, in July, where he gave a rambling speech that ricocheted from the death penalty and crying mothers to crappy airports and complaints that no one eats bacon anymore. At the time, it was a terrifying, incoherent tirade. Three months later, it would be considered run of the mill for the Republican presidential nominee. Trump doesn’t get better; we all just seem to get used to it.
