'Struggling' Donald Trump Caught Mixing Up His Words Multiple Times and Having Difficulty Clapping as Dementia Fears Skyrocket
Donald Trump fueled dementia rumors after confusing words and struggling to clap at a public address.
Nov. 14 2025, Updated 7:57 p.m. ET
Donald Trump has yet again fueled rumors about his declining cognitive abilities after he mixed up words multiple times and visibly struggled to clap at a recent public address, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Social media users wasted no time pointing out Trump's gaffes while speaking at the signing of an Executive Order, dubbed "Fostering the Future for American Children and Families," an initiative from First Lady Melania Trump, at the White House on Thursday, November 13.
Trump Confuses 'Adopt' for 'Adapt'
The president confused the two words three times in a row while reading his speech.
In a video shared on social media from the event, Trump, 79, fumbled his way through an incoherent speech about Christians and the foster care system, during which he repeatedly confused "adopt" for "adapt."
The president said: "Christians and more, think of this, more than twice as likely foster care, they'll adopt the general population.
"They adopt to it so easily. When they get out, they adopt to it like it's become second nature. It's amazing."
While the gaffe was worrisome enough for critics who have long suspected the president has been secretly suffering with dementia, Trump struggling to clap later at the event added to scrutiny about his health.
Trump rambled about Christians and foster care at the Executive Order signing on November 13.
One X user wrote: "Trump got 'adapt' confused with 'adopt' three times today and then failed to move one of his arms while trying to clap. He's getting worse by the day."
"So Christians are going to adopt the general population? Who's going to get out and adopt to it like it's become second nature?" a second user asked.
A third blistering comment declared: "He's like a bag of garbage left out in the sun. His brain is decomposing."
"His brain is all but leaking out of his ears," another X user wrote. "He is just rambling on, mixing up the words 'adopt' and 'adapt' while he’s looking at words on a page, trying to read them, but his Swiss cheese brain isn’t at all functioning at a level to allow him to communicate."
Critics claimed Trump's incoherent public speech was proof his health is 'getting worse by the day.'
Thursday's Executive Order signing is far from the first public address from Trump to spark concern about his cognitive abilities.
Since taking office for his second term in January, Trump has gone on bizarre rants about magnets, confused countries while claiming to have ended wars between nations – and even admitted to having an MRI during a recent exam at Walter Reed.
While White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted the MRI was merely part of the president's "routine" check-up, physicians and healthcare professionals pushed back on social media.
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Trump recently fueled dementia claims after telling reporters he had an MRI during a recent exam at Walter Reed.
Adding to the concerns about Trump's health included visible bruises on his hands, falling asleep in public, swollen ankles and unsteady gait.
Trump himself has brought up his own mortality on several occasions in recent months, even going as far as joking about whether or not he would make it into heaven.
Many critics online have called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked amid increasing claims alleging Trump's mental decline has rendered him unfit for office.
