Donald Trump Corrected by Rally Crowd During Atlanta Speech

Donald Trump was corrected by rally audience members when he mistakenly said the country is “close to World War II.”
The former president was speaking at a campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia, when he made the gaffe before correcting himself and thanking the crowd.
“But we’re close to World War II, because we have people in the White House that—World War III,” Trump said before laughing and pointing to crowd and saying “thank you.” The Republican nominee said the mix-up was due to him getting ready to talk about World War II veterans who were in the audience.
The campaign team for Trump’s 2024 rival Kamala Harris shared a clip of the incident to suggest the Republican is “confused.” The clip has been viewed more than 400,000 times on X, formerly Twitter.
Newsweek has contacted Trump’s team for comment via email.
Harris, 60, and her team have frequently suggested the 78-year-old former president is too old and lacks the cognitive competence for a second term in office. Trump had previously used the same playbook against President Joe Biden, 81, while he was still seeking reelection.
Trump, 78, is the oldest presidential nominee in U.S. history. If the Republican wins November’s election, he could overtake Biden as the oldest-ever sitting U.S. president during his second term.
Elsewhere during the Atlanta rally, Trump called Harris a “train wreck” who would lead the country in World War III and introduce a draft system to force people to enlist to fight in it.
“To make her president would be to gamble with the lives of millions of people. She would get us into World War III because she is too grossly incompetent to do the job, and then all of your sons and daughters will end up getting a draft notice,” Trump said.
“Our enemies are laughing at her, but if we win, our enemies won’t be laughing anymore,” the Republican added.
Newsweek has contacted Harris’ campaign team for comment via email.
The incident at the Atlanta rally on Monday was not the first time that Trump has mixed up World War II with a potential third world war.
During a speech at the Washington, D.C., Pray Vote Stand Summit in September 2023, Trump said Biden would lead the country into “World War II very quickly.”
“We have a man who is totally corrupt and the worst president in the history of our country, who is cognitively impaired, in no condition to lead, and is now in charge of dealing with Russia and possible nuclear war,” Trump said.
“Just think of it. We would be in World War II very quickly if we’re going to be relying on this man, and far more devastating than any war.”
Trump also appeared to mix up Biden with former President Barack Obama during the same speech.