During a live Fox News broadcast, President Trump, who turned 80 earlier this month, made a notable blunder when he mistakenly referred to tech billionaire and X owner Elon Musk by the completely wrong name.
Trump had been discussing the Starlink satellite system and how it would make Musk “very happy” when he addressed the crowd, saying, “My friend Leon,” before quickly correcting himself, “My friend Elon is going to be very happy.” The leader continued his speech without acknowledging the mistake, but social media users were quick to call out the gaffe.
The clip, ironically, began to circulate rapidly on Musk’s social media platform X, with many viewers expressing concern about the President’s health.
One user penned, “TRUMP SUFFERS MAJOR COGNITIVE SLIP ON LIVE TV.
Trump just FORGOT Elon’s name, calling him ‘LEON.’ Elon has been one of Trump’s biggest allies for years.
This might be Trump’s biggest mental slip yet.” Another user agreed, saying, “Yeah he’s slipping hard,” as a third added: “MAGA can’t seriously think that he’s ok.
They made fun of Joe Biden for looking sleepy, but he sounds confused, is falling asleep in public and meetings, and there is evidence of his hands and ankles being swollen.” It comes amid a pattern of worrying behavior from Trump — after he posted a photo of a mystery blonde woman taken inside a classified location.
As the backlash against Trump’s Leon gaffe continued, a fourth user pointed out, “All the right letters, sadly in the wrong order.
When will someone actually do something about him? Or maybe you enjoy him turning the USA into a laughingstock across the globe?”
“It’s bound to keep happening.
The MAGA/GOP crowd is holding on to Trump for as long as possible.
He’s showing clear signs of dementia, and it’s only going to get worse with each passing day,” argued someone else.
Nevertheless, some were quick to defend the president.
“Keep up.
He’s done this many times and has called him Leon for years.
I’m guessing this is an older clip cause that would be about right,” one person said.
This latest incident follows his speech at the G7 summit in France, which was widely described as “strange” and “quite rambling in parts” just days prior.
The viral moment comes months after a highly publicized fallout between Trump and Musk following the latter’s departure from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
At the height of their disagreement, Musk claimed Trump would not have won the 2024 presidential election without his support, writing, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election… Such ingratitude.”
Despite the public clash, the pair appeared to have mended ties when Musk joined Trump’s delegation during the president’s May visit to China.
