Sometimes it seems as if Donald Trump simply can't help himself. He has been rebounding in the polls nicely and the case against him in New York looks as if it's rapidly coming apart at the seams. He's getting more endorsements every week, including some from congressional leaders who have disagreed with him in the past. In short, he seems to be on a roll. But then he has to go and do something like he did on Saturday at the annual NRA meeting. Addressing a supportive crowd, Trump seemingly out of the blue invoked the presidency of FDR (who served most of four terms) and asked the crowd if he would be considered "three-term or two-term." The Biden campaign immediately pounced, saying that Trump fancied himself a dictator who might never leave office. (Politico)

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday floated the idea of a third term if he wins in November.

“You know, FDR 16 years — almost 16 years — he was four terms. I don’t know, are we going to be considered three-term? Or two-term?” Trump quipped at the National Rifle Association annual meeting, speaking before a crowd of gun rights supporters.

Some in the crowd shouted in response: “Three.”

It’s not the first time Trump has mentioned extending his stay in the White House, an idea he suggested while on the campaign trail in 2020. His latest remarks provide more fodder for the Biden campaign, which seized on the comments as it tries to paint Trump as a threat to democracy and institutional norms.

Trump was almost certainly joking and trying to get a rise out of the crowd (which he did). It sounded to me like he was mentioning FDR in the sense that there would be three presidential terms between the time he originally took office and when he eventually leaves if he wins in November. But the joke was sort of a flop. Donald Trump is not a stupid man. He is obviously aware of the 22nd Amendment and knows that he would be barred from seeking a third term. He even appeared to be on the verge of laughing as he said it. But when he has Joe Biden on the ropes as seems to currently be the case, it's something of a self-own to toss out a comment like that for the media fish to swarm toward. 

Anyone who has been following the story closely already knows that Trump couldn't have been serious. He told Time Magazine last month that he wouldn't be in favor of repealing the 22nd Amendment and that he planned to "serve four years and do a great job." But far too many people don't follow these things closely and get most of their news strictly by glancing at the headlines. It's bad enough that we have the Biden campaign and everyone at CNN and MSNBC continually accusing Trump of planning to assume permanent dictatorial powers. This is just feeding them more ammunition.

On a vaguely related subject, there was another awkward moment during that speech to the NRA and some liberals are already trying to score points off of it. At one point, Trump paused in his commentary, looking around at the approving crowd, but the pause went on for nearly thirty seconds to the point where it began to seem uncomfortable. The Independent is describing the moment as Trump "freezing up" in the same way Joe Biden often does. But was that actually what happened?

Donald Trump appeared to freeze for more than 30 seconds during a speech at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas.

The former president — who kept the crowd waiting for more than two hours from the scheduled time of his speech on Saturday — was praising the state of Texas before he suddenly fell silent at the lectern.

Supporters of President Joe Biden were quick to pounce on the moment given that Mr Trump, 77, frequently attacks the president, 81, for his age, claiming he is not mentally competent and is too old for office.

You can watch the video of that moment in the speech at the top of the linked article from the Independent and judge for yourself. But after a bit of checking, I found that there was more going on than meets the eye. The speech was proceeding normally until that point, but then some loud music began playing, though you can't hear it very well in the video. As Trump pauses, you can see him shaking his head back and forth a bit after a few seconds. Then, when the disturbance died down, he continued where he left off. He did not appear to zone out the way Joe Biden does. He just seemed annoyed. Unfortunately, this will only feed more ammunition to the left as they try to claim that "they're both too old!" Thankfully, we only have a bit more than five months of this nonsense to put up with.