Donald Trump has sparked fears about his mental health after appearing to refer to himself as an “illegal immigrant” in a bizarre rambling answer to a journalist’s question. The US President made the startling gaffe during an extraordinary press conference after visiting a new detention facility for illegal migrants in Florida.
Dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” the migrant facility will be able to hold around 3,000 people. The White House says alligators, crocodiles, and pythons in the surrounding wetlands will prevent detainees from escaping.
During a tour of the new facility on Tuesday, Trump said it will soon hold the most “menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet”.
The 79-year-old raised eyebrows in a subsequent press conference, where he appeared to become seriously confused and seemingly referred to himself as a “detainee”.
A Fox News journalist asked: “Mr President, is there an expected time frame that detainees will be here, days, weeks, months?
“And does that have anything to do with the immigration judges you just spoke about being trained and staffed here.”
Trump requested her to repeat the initial part of her query, to which she clearly replied: “Is there a specific timeframe you expect the detainees to spend here?”
Still looking perplexed, the US President launched on a bizarre, long-winded answer, saying: “I’m gonna spend a lot. Look this is my home state, I love it, I love your government, I love all the people around…….
“I feel very comfortable in the state. I’ll spend a lot of time here.”
Quickly going off topic, the Republican boss then discussed redecorating the Oval Office and shared his opinions on taxes in New York.
He finally concluded: “But thank you very much, I’ll be here as much as I can.”
The video of his presser went viral on social media, as many users expressed fears that yet another White House occupant could be suffering from cognitive decline.
One said: “He has serious dementia. More and more of his moments seem insane, soon most all his moments will be this way.”
While another wrote: “Unreal. Asked about detainees – Trump answers like he’s booking a vacation.
“This isn’t a gaffe. It’s cognitive collapse on live TV. Where’s the media?”