Donald Trump's comments at a rally meant to address the economy on Friday have gone viral, with videos showing the US President rambling about First Lady Melania Trump's undergarments.
Trump's comments came during a meandering speech in Rocky Mount, North Carolina ahead of next year's mid-term elections, where the US President touched upon issues related to the economy, but often veered off course.
In one of his tangents, Trump began talking about the US Department of Justice (DOJ)'s investigations into him, where he touched upon the searches carried out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in 2022.
While decrying the Mar-a-Lago search, Trump said that his wife Melania in particular felt violated by federal agents searching her personal belongs, including her lingerie drawer.
"Her undergarments, sometimes referred to as panties, are folded perfect, wrapped. They’re like, so perfect. I said, that’s beautiful," Trump said during the speech, adding, "I thinks she steams them."
“She opened the drawers, and it was not that way. They were a mess. It was all over the place,” Trump further said, rambling on.
The President's rather unusual tangent came during a speech that was supposed to highlight his administration's efforts to steer the economy, a speech that was supposed to highlight the recently released low inflation numbers and address concerns about high unemployment.
While Trump did touch upon the economy every now and then during his 90-minute address, much of it was filled with other personal anecdotes, including his political rivalries.
Beyond speaking about the First Lady's undergarments, Trump went on to talk about his former rivalry with 2016 Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“I don’t know, beating Hillary was fun. Remember, she was a nasty person. I was going to use a B word. I said, ‘my wife would not be happy,’" the US President further said, to enthusiastic roars from members of the audience, some of whom were seen holding up signs that read 'Lower Prices' and 'Bigger Paychecks'.
"It's unbelievable but she dropped out because I wasn't going to endorse her. And the person I was going to endorse was going to kill her at the polls," Trump said.
"And then they talk about how brave she is. No brave would be to stay," the US President further said, adding fuel to a public spat that has been going on for weeks now.
Trump's departures from the speech's agenda also included a random talk about purchasing furniture in North Carolina.
"The arm of a chair was very important to me. I said, ‘I like that chair, but this arm has to be a different shape," Trump said, before meandering and talking about women.
"I’m a very aesthetic person, believe me, except with women, I don’t care what a woman looks like. I used to say beautiful. Now I don’t care," the US President added.
Trump also touched upon the subject of his health, which had invited scrutiny of late after the US President was seen dozing off on camera in multiple recent events, pointing to a string of cognitive tests that he supposedly aced.
The US President also told Americans that he would alert the nation should his health or cognitive abilities decline.
"When that time comes, I will let you know about it. In fact, you’ll probably find out about it just by watching," Trump said, before adding defiantly, "But that time is not now, because I feel the same that I felt for 50 years."