Donald Trump's account of how he reacted to ashootingat the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington on Saturday is fuelling fresh scrutiny of the former president's condition, after online commentator David Pakman claimed video of the incident shows a 'decline' that Trump himself refuses to acknowledge.
The alarm was raised at the Washington Hilton when shots were heard near the venue hosting the annual dinner, a staple of the US political calendar that draws journalists, politicians and celebrities. Nobody was killed, but the scare triggered a rapid response from Secret Service agents, who moved to shield Trump and escort him away from the stage. It was those few chaotic moments now captured and replayed in multiple clips that have become the latest flashpoint in the long-running argument over Trump's age, fitness and grip on reality.
In a subsequent interview about the incident, Trump painted a picture of defiance. He insisted he 'didn't make it easy' for Secret Service agents attempting to hustle him to safety, claiming he was fighting to stay in place and assess what was happening in the room. The clear subtext was that he remained firmly in control, physically and mentally, in the middle of a security emergency.
Pakman, who hostsThe David Pakman Showon YouTube and has long been a vocal critic of Trump, told his audience that this heroic framing simply does not match what the cameras captured. In a new reaction video dissecting the footage alongside Trump's remarks, he argued that the gap between the former president's version and visible reality has become too wide to ignore.
'Now, as we are starting to debrief and kind of process everything that took place, it's impossible to ignore that the entire thing again is a reminder of the degree to which Donald Trump is declining,' Pakman said, casting the episode as part of a broader pattern rather than an isolated misstep.
WATCH: More footage from the evacuation shows President Trump being rushed out of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner following THE SHOOTING.pic.twitter.com/7rIuitqXob
The video from the Washington Hilton shows a cluster of Secret Service agents rushing the stage as the disturbance unfolds. They surround Trump, forming a moving wall of bodies as they attempt to guide him away. In the scramble, Trump appears unsteady and struggles to move smoothly. At one point, he seems to fall to the ground as agents continue to bundle him from the platform.
There is no suggestion in the clip of Trump pushing back against his security detail to stay on stage. Instead, the visual impression is of a man being carried along by the professionals around him, rather than directing the situation himself.
Pakman seizes on that contrast. 'Donald Trump's denials of what is on video are only further raising questions as to what is wrong with this guy,' he said. He stressed that his concern is less about partisan preference and more about the basic ability to trust what a would-be leader says about events that millions can watch with their own eyes.
He framed it bluntly for viewers. 'This is not about the politics of it so much as it is about, hey, we have the ability to look at what's going on,' Pakman argued, before pointing back to Trump's insistence that he did not fall. 'Then we have someone telling us what your eyes show you was not really what took place.'
Source: International Business Times UK
