‘Old man yells at cloud’: The internet reacts to Trump’s frustrated national rally style speech in prime time
The internet has reacted to President Donald Trump’s frustrated national address — which came off more like a campaign rally speech — with many expressing concern over his sanity.
Trump addressed the country live on prime time television Wednesday night to tout his accomplishments since taking office in January. The White House also streamed the speech live on YouTube. The president began his speech blaming his predecessor Joe Biden for the affordability issues that many Americans are facing.
“When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say in the history of our country, which caused prices to be higher than ever before, making life unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans,” Trump said from the White House.
Trump delivered a loud and seemingly angry speech, something viewers at home picked up on.
One social media user summed up the presidential address with a photo from the cartoon sitcom The Simpsons that showed a newspaper article with the headline, “Old man yells at cloud.”
Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger wrote: “Someone come get grandpa he’s yelling again, and we’re concerned.”
“What is happening right now? He’s just screaming into the camera,” Sarah Longwell, founder of political analysis site The Bulwark, asked.
CNN political commentator Maria Cardona said: “The president does not look or sound well. He is yelling at the American people. Seriously. He looks crazy. He is lying, he is melting down. He is cooked!”
“Just turned on the TV. You mad, bro?” Jon Ralston, CEO of the Nevada Independent, wrote.
Journalist John Harwood said, “He’s really losing it.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is known for trolling Trump online, took the opportunity to mock the president.
“Many are saying that was a better speech than the Gettysburg Address,” the governor’s press team wrote in a sarcastic post.
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
During his speech, Trump painted a rosy picture of the American economy with him back in office: “Wages are up, prices are down. Our nation is strong. America is respected, and our country is back stronger than ever before. We are poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen.”
But the president is actually losing support on his economic agenda, with a majority of Americans disapproving of the job he’s doing on the matter in a recent poll.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 58 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy while 33 percent approve, a new low since he started his second term.
According to the poll, 39 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s overall job performance, a notable dip from the 47 percent rating he had in January.
