Donald Trump is standing in front of thousands of supporters in South Carolina. 80 years old, President of the United States, commander in chief of a military that has been fighting a war against Iran for almost 8 months. He's actually supposed to be campaigning for Republicans. But during his speech on Wednesday, another form of expression increasingly takes over: noises. The president makes a gagging sound in the middle of a sentence, imitates gunfire, and sends oil prices plunging with a loud "POW." Political reality demands explanations. Trump delivers a soundtrack.
Trump: Oh, and when Iran ends. The oil *sound effect* and again, all of that, it's a very small price to pay.
He's held 20 campaign rallies in just 2 months. When he starts talking about Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, his story suddenly comes to a halt. He says he appointed Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations primarily because he wanted Henry McMaster to become governor. But right where Haley's name should be, a guttural noise comes out instead. "EUHH." Trump then repeats the sentence and keeps talking. What caused that sound remains unclear. Haley, whose name Trump has repeatedly gotten wrong before, disappears behind a strange noise for a moment.
Trump makes a weird noise instead saying Nikki Haley’s name. Nikki Haley served as governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and then as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump from 2017 to 2018. She ran against him in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.
A little later, the president turns his attention to the fight against suspected drug smugglers at sea. The legality of U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats remains highly controversial. Trump claims the flow of deadly drugs arriving by sea has dropped by 97 percent. To illustrate his point, he throws in a "Pew, pew, pew," as though he's playing a children's war game with invisible toy guns. He's been repeating that number for months. Yet the Pentagon's own figures don't provide sufficient evidence to support it. Where people can die from military violence, apparently sound effects are good enough for the president.
Trump on military strikes on boats: Pew Pew Pew
The Iran war gets its own sound-effect version, too. Once the war is over, oil prices will fall, he claims. "POW," Trump shouts, gesturing downward. Then he adds, "The oil." What was originally supposed to be a 6-week war has now dragged on for nearly 8 months. Energy prices remain high, and the Strait of Hormuz continues to be an economic flashpoint. Indirect negotiations are ongoing while Trump keeps promising that the war will soon be over. Even the easing of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil has failed to relieve the pressure. Washington has yet to offer a way out. But its president already knows exactly what sound the crisis is supposed to make when it disappears.
In between, Trump occupies himself with another historic undertaking. The Atlantic Ocean could be named after him. "Trump Ocean" is what he has in mind. Apparently, the geographical renaming efforts so far haven't gone far enough for him. The world map becomes the personal kingdom of a man whose attention wanders from a war zone to his own name.
Trump: I think let's keep it the Atlantic Ocean, right? Pacific Ocean—we're going to call it the American Ocean. How do you think Europe, how do you think Europe would feel? Do you think they'd like that?
Then comes the matter of awards he hasn't received. Trump complains about the Nobel Peace Prize, which he believes he deserves, briefly confuses it with the Pulitzer Prize, and then claims he deserves that award as well for his writing. He doesn't explain which of his writings would be worthy of such a prize. The idea that recognition might have something to do with other people's judgment doesn't seem to have a place in his thinking.
They gave the wonderful peace prize, right? Does anybody know the name of that peace prize? They gave the Pulitzer Prize to a young lady
When a supporter physically attacks a protester, Trump responds approvingly. Senator Tim Scott also receives his special attention, which turns into a disturbingly personal appraisal. The event was supposed to mobilize Republican voters. Instead, the president delivers a string of rambling digressions, accompanied by noises that occasionally take the place of political statements.
South Carolina, Donald Trump praised a supporter who allegedly punched a heckler, saying, “That was great, man. Wow. Man, I loved that. I watched that. That was incredible. Wow. That was unbelievable.” He then asked the crowd, “Who’s the guy that threw that punch?” and compared the supporter's action to boxing legend Evander Holyfield
While Americans struggle with high energy prices and soldiers are fighting a war, the president claims an ocean for his own name. Perhaps that combination reveals more about his relationship with power than any carefully crafted speech ever could. One "POW" is all it takes, and reality is supposed to obey.
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