Donald Trump, 79, admitted that he is now “older than pretty much everybody in the room.” The president said as much during an hour-long speech he made at the Detroit Economic Club on Tuesday, January 13. While speaking about affordability, a word which he still says is a hoax made up by the Democrats, he took a few moments to reflect on his age. This comes amid health concerns that Trump, who became the oldest president to be inaugurated into office in January 2025, had swollen ankles and smacked his leg several times while walking down the steps of Air Force One.
Trump wishes for the old days when he was younger
“If we keep deregulating and adding more capacity like I saw today at Ford and if we don’t raise interest rates every time good news is mentioned…” Trump said, before making a tangent about his age.
“You know, in the old days, I’m probably old. I used to be up these lecterns and I’d say I’m younger than pretty much everybody in the room. Now I say I’m older than pretty much everybody in the room.”
The president then smiled as he reminisced about his younger self. “I like it the other way better, actually,” he continued before addressing the crowd. “But you’re too young. But in the old days, when you had good numbers, interest rates would go down. When you had good numbers, the market would go through the roof. That’s the way we’re going to make it again. That’s the old-fashioned way.”
Trump took particular aim at Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, calling him a “jerk” for not lowering interest rates further.
With the midterm elections looming ahead, the president has attempted to pivot toward affordability and cost-of-living as talking points.
Over the last several months, Trump seemed to have drifted off to sleep during cabinet meetings, though he has said that his latest MRI results were “perfect.” He has also boasted about “acing” various cognitive tests for dementia.
