Donald Trump Blanks on Name of President He's Meant to Be Introducing as Health Concerns Mount

President Donald Trump sparked fresh chatter about his health after a tense moment at a major public event, where he appeared to blank on the name of a foreign leader he was meant to formally introduce.

While speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, the 79-year-old president praised the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, describing him as a “very, very brave, wonderful man.” However, when it came time to introduce him by name, Trump faltered.

“The president of the Congo… president… president, would you stand up please,” Trump said, repeatedly calling the leader “brave” but never saying Tshisekedi’s name.

The moment quickly made waves online, with critics pointing to it as another instance fueling ongoing questions about Trump’s age and cognitive sharpness. The White House downplayed the situation, with a spokesperson dismissing claims that Trump forgot the president’s name as a “stupid” story.

Still, the incident isn't the first time Trump has struggled with the Congolese leader’s name or the country itself. Back in August 2025, while boasting about brokering a peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Trump briefly referred to the nation as the “Republic of Condo” before correcting himself.

At a separate December 2025 press event celebrating the same deal, Trump once again hesitated while attempting to pronounce Tshisekedi’s name.

Late-night hosts quickly seized on the pattern.

“Don’t interrupt Donald Trump when he’s in the middle of a little stroke,” Jimmy Kimmel joked on his show, correctly pronouncing Tshisekedi’s name while airing a clip of Trump badly mispronouncing it.

The slip comes amid persistent speculation about Trump’s physical and mental health — something the president has repeatedly brushed off.

During a Wednesday, February 4, interview with NBC’s Tom Llamas, Trump was asked directly, "How do you feel now as you approach 80?"

"I feel great. I mean, physically and mentally, I feel like I did 50 years ago," raved the politician, whose birthday is in June. "It’s crazy."

"Now, there’ll be a time when I won’t be able to give you that answer. But that time hasn’t come, you know," he continued.

Trump, who has been spotted in recent months with swollen ankles and bruised hands, went on to once again boast about the cognitive tests he’s taken, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, which screens for early signs of dementia or mild impairment.

"I take cognitive physicals, so I do a cognitive mind test, OK, and a lot of people wouldn’t be able to do very well. Not easy. You know, you get to those last questions. I’ve aced — I’ve done three of them," he said. "No other president has agreed to do them. I do them because I have no problem with it because I’m one hundred percent."

The former businessman also took a swipe at Joe Biden, 83, adding, "I know people that are 95 years old that are sharp as a tack, and Biden was a bad thing for old people. He’s the worst thing that ever happened to old people, because he obviously didn’t have it."

Trump also briefly addressed his daily aspirin routine, explaining that while some urge him to lower the dose, "I say, ‘Well, I want that blood to be nice and thin running through my heart.'"