President Donald Trump marked the first White House Christmas party of his second term with a foreboding line.
The 79-year-old president addressed a crowd that had gathered for the party at the White House, newly decorated for the holidays by first lady Melania Trump, as shown in clips his Communications Advisor Margo Martin posted on X on Monday.
“President @realDonaldTrump stops by the first White House Christmas party!” Martin, 30, captioned one video that shows Trump speaking about the “honor” of being president before noting he’ll be in the job for a “long period of time.”
“We’re going to do a great job, and you know, we have a little more than three years left,” Trump added, before noting that “three years with Trump is an eternity, that’s a long period of time,” he said with a smile.
The crowd began to cheer loudly as he repeated, “A long time.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump is the oldest person ever inaugurated as U.S. president. When his term ends in January 2029, he’ll be 82—12 years older than he was when he first took office at age 70 in 2017.
The commander-in-chief has faced scrutiny over his physical health and mental acuity for much of his second term.
After going weeks without answering questions about the reason for the MRI scan he underwent last month, the White House revealed in a memo on Monday that “advanced imaging was performed because men in his age group benefit from a thorough evaluation of cardiovascular and abdominal health.”
The memo said that the MRI looked at Trump’s heart and abdomen, finding that his cardiovascular system shows “excellent health.”
Critics have raised concerns about the president’s cognitive health, citing his at times incoherent speeches and frequent mental gaffes.
The New York Times reported that Trump has scaled back his official appearances by 39 percent and started his days far later during the first 10 months of his second term compared to the same period of his first.
Trump displayed some of his rambling tendencies on Monday while honoring National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, who were shot just blocks from the White House last week. Beckstrom died from her injuries, while Wolfe is critically injured.
“One is no longer with us, one is looking down and loves her parents—I spoke to her parents the other night and she’s looking down and she’s so proud of her country and she loved her parents so much and her parents couldn’t believe what happened, could not believe it, what happened to their baby, what happened to their daughter, she’s gone,” Trump said.
“We have another one who’s fighting for his life, as you know, and he’s a fabulous young man, highest—both of them were the best everything, the best of their class. And maybe he’ll be ok, he’s going through a lot,” he continued, before touting that his deployment of the National Guard to D.C. has made the city “safe” again.
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