Earlier this month, President Donald Trump imitated a transgender athlete and was mocked enormously for it.
A week later, during a speech, Trump was captured repeatedly grunting, reaching for his neck, and gesticulating with his head. He had a new person to mock this time, former President Joe Biden.
“Remember the speeches Joe would make? First of all, they'd last a matter of seconds, you know?” Trump said during his speech at the Detroit Economic Club in Michigan on Tuesday.
Highlights
- Trump mocked Biden during a Detroit speech by grunting, coughing, and gesturing, drawing widespread social media backlash.
- Many criticized Trump for mocking Biden, who was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer in May 2025.
- Social media users and some close to Trump expressed concern over his mental and physical health, citing signs of decline.
- Trump claimed inflation and grocery prices are falling, contradicting recent official reports showing rising consumer prices.
Trump imitated Biden during a speech, grunting and gesticulating with his head
Image credits: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
“You ever notice Joe would always cough before a speech? State of the Union he gets,” Trump said, before impersonating Biden’s grunting, which has since gone viral.
Users on social media have expressed their disbelief at Trump’s behavior, along with some concern and a whole lot of jokes.
One person compared Trump to their “cat with a hairball at 4am.”
Another said they “have no idea what to say about this besides he belongs in a memory care home.” A third said, “I know this is out of context, but wondering how the context could make it any better.”
One user shared a caricatured meme of a smiling Trump holding an FBI workplace safety board, which says, “0 DAYS SINCE I DID ANYTHING EARTH-SHATTERINGLY STUPID.”
Many questioned, “I thought this was AI,” “Are we sure this isn't AI?” or “No way this is real. Is it?”
This is not the first time Trump’s videos have received such comments, with Chinese social media users on Weibo being convinced that Trump’s impression of a transgender athlete last week was AI.
Image credits: atrupar/X
“They couldn’t believe that a U.S. President would actually do this in public,” claimed an X user.
And it’s not just netizens; even his wife thinks so. Trump said in a speech last Tuesday that the First Lady thinks it is “not presidential” for him to be acting this way. “My wife hates when I do this,” Trump said. “They don’t like it. They’re just being nice to you,” she tells him.
Users mocked Trump and criticized his impression of Biden, who has cancer
Image credits: atrupar/X
However, when social media users realized Trump’s latest impressions were of Biden, whose office announced in May 2025 that he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, they were not happy.
“I don’t like Biden either but mocking an old man with cancer. The crowd is stunned and NOT laughing at all,” one user wrote.
Image credits: atrupar/X
An X account called Really American wrote, “Trump HUMILIATES himself, doing a mocking cough of President Biden, who has cancer, to a room sitting in stunned silence at the unnecessary and cruel taunt. This is a new low, even for Trump.”
Users were also worried about Trump’s health, adding to recent concerns about his mental decline. Many critics have said Trump shows symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer’s.
“The doctor that keeps saying he's mentally fit should be arrested,” one user commented on the post. The Trump administration has maintained that the president is in “excellent” health.
Image credits: atrupar/X
“Slurring his speech. Slurping his saliva. Incoherently rambling on and on. Creating a false reality only his sickened mind understands. Mouth drooping to the right. Progressive frontotemporal dementia. Post-stroke cognitive impairment. Expiration date closing on in,” another user said.
Trump’s recent behavior, such as dozing off in meetings, hurling insults at reporters, and reports of him getting an MRI, have fueled concerns after Trump started showing swollen ankles and bruised hands.
Last year, Trump’s niece told The Daily Beast Podcast that the president was showing signs of dementia similar to his father.
Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Trump also made more comments on Biden during his speech. Calling Biden’s speeches “very short,” Trump mentioned one exception.
“Although the one time they had him spruced up pretty good,” Trump said. “Remember, he was high as a kite? He was floating. He was up there way up. He didn’t. That was a bad speech. But uh, hey, he got through it, you know. He got through it. If you call it getting through it.”
Trump also commented on Biden, saying he was "high as a kite" during one speech
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Trump made several economic claims during his speech, including that “inflation has stopped,” “prices were down,” and that “grocery prices are starting to go rapidly down.”
The statements contradict recent reports, such as the new Consumer Price Index report, which was released the morning of Trump’s speech. It revealed that average consumer prices in December were 2.7% higher than the year before and 0.3% higher than they were in November.
Average consumer prices were about 2.2% higher than in January 2025, the month Trump returned to office. A CNN fact check broke down several of his claims.