Every September, world leaders meet in New York for the UN General Assembly. This year, Trump sat at the American delegation’s table alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and several other senior officials.
A short clip from that event has since made the rounds online. Commentator Ed Krassenstein shared the video with a caption. “Wow! At the UN General Assembly, Trump doesn’t even know Marco Rubio is sitting right next to him,” he wrote. He added, “25th Amendment Now!”
In the clip, Trump is mid-speech when he begins, “I wanna thank Secretary of State Marco Rubio.” He pauses, then asks, “Where’s Marco?” Rubio is seated directly beside him the entire time.
Wow! At the UN General Assembly, Donald Trump doesn’t even know Marco Rubio is sitting right next to him.
25th Amendment Now! https://t.co/cra0JDs4Mg
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) September 22, 2026
The replies converged on a single interpretation almost immediately, framing the exchange not as a momentary slip but as evidence of a deeper cognitive pattern.
@EdKrassen trump’s cognitive decline is getting worse all the time.
— Jessica Anne C. (@CAnne39964) September 22, 2026
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@EdKrassen Has anyone asked Trump what year it is recently? No reason, just asking.
— Pizza Skeleton (@Suspicious_Cook) September 22, 2026
@EdKrassen He doesn’t even recognize him sitting next to him,oh the brain isn’t there anymore,he works on automatic
— Diane D. (@Diane5785) September 22, 2026
@EdKrassen He’s drugged
— miketerrance is fully vaccinated. (@lmikelee) September 22, 2026
@EdKrassen What a freaking embarrassment.
— jaime coudriet (@JaimeCoudriet) September 22, 2026
Rubio, for his part, spent that same morning making the television rounds. He appeared on NBC’s “Today” show to discuss Trump’s openness to meeting with Iran’s president. “This is a president that will meet with anybody for the most part, because he believes that engaging with people is important if you’re going to solve problems,” Rubio said.
Trump has praised Rubio before, too. Back in January, at a speech in Davos, he called Rubio something close to a mentor. “I became a diplomat for the first time. Well, you know, taught me that? Marco Rubio. He said, ‘Let me teach you about diplomacy,'” Trump said.
The General Assembly itself covered far more ground than this single exchange. Trump used his remarks to address the war with Iran head-on, telling the crowd, “I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election because it doesn’t make sense for them not to,” while floating a harsher alternative should talks collapse.
He’d already clashed with a reporter before he even reached the podium. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pressed him on a poll showing weak public support for the Iran war as he arrived. “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me,” Trump told her. She shot back, “The United Nations let us in, sir.” He kept going anyway: “You should not be here covering me.”
Featured image via X screengrab
