Donald Trump paced his rally stage in silence for nearly 20 minutes on Friday night in Detroit after his microphone cut out. After an aide brought him a replacement device, he said he will not be paying the bill for “this stupid company”.
“I won’t pay the bill for this stupid company,” he said. “I won’t pay the bill, and then we’ll have a story that Trump didn’t pay the bill to a contractor.”
Trump was about to wax on about one of his favorite subjects, tariffs, working up to naming it by first teasing “the most beautiful word in the dictionary”. Very quickly afterward, the sound went down.
The crowd chanted “USA” and “We love Trump” in support. But with no microphone, he simply wandered around the stage. Looking frustrated, his back was turned to most of his audience at times.
It was the second time in a week that one of his events was interrupted — though the last time, on October 14, the former president cut off a town hall and instead played music after multiple people in the audience needed medical attention.
This time, he appeared to have little control over the matter, standing silently while the screens in the room displayed the messages “Technical Difficulties” and “Complicated Business”.
Trump is famously attuned to his image and the mechanics of his rallies, often commenting on the microphones and teleprompters. Earlier on Friday, the hosts of Fox & Friends joked that he likes to adjust the lighting when he sits for interviews.
Aides are known to travel with multiple backup mics — though it was unclear why they were not able to locate one immediately at the rally — and to carefully prepare the flags that decorate his stages.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign used video of the moment to push its message that the 78-year-old Republican nominee may not have the energy to be president again. “An exhausted Trump awkwardly walks in circles on stage after his microphone stops working,” it posted on X.
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