Donald Trump's Bacon Comments During Speech Spark Mockery: 'Word Salad'

Donald Trump's discussion of bacon during a campaign speech in Wisconsin on Thursday has sparked widespread criticism on social media.

The Republican presidential nominee embarked on a rant about the higher cost of living at the town hall event in La Crosse after a college student asked him what he would do "to make life more affordable and bring down inflation."

"You take a look at bacon and some of these products... Some people don't eat bacon anymore," Trump said.

"And we're going to get the energy prices down... You know, this was caused by their horrible energy. Wind. They want wind all over the place. When it doesn't blow, we have a problem."

Trump's remarks were widely criticized online, including by journalist Charles P. Pierce, who wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Hi, I'm running for president, and my brain is made of potatoes."

Another X user commenting on the clip wrote: "What is this word salad?"

Journalist and attorney Ron Filipkowski, a harsh critic of the former president, shared the clip and added: "It's like Open Mic Night at the Assisted Living Facility."

Meanwhile, the British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan wrote: "Historians will scratch their heads about 2024, in which 1 candidate was forced to quit the race for being old & having a bad debate while the other candidate said mad, rambling stuff like this & not only stayed in the race but didn't get pressured to step aside by the media."

It's not the first time that Trump's meandering speeches have baffled observers. At the Republican National Convention, Trump spoke for more than an hour and a half—the longest convention address in modern history, according to CBS News. The speech started with the former president striking an intimate, somber tone when talking about the assassination attempt against him, but quickly descended into an unscripted, unfocused rant about the Biden administration and the legal cases against him.

Newsweek contacted Trump's 2024 campaign team for comment by email on Friday morning, outside of standard working hours.

The town hall in La Crosse was moderated by former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who endorsed Trump earlier in the week. Gabbard unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic primary in the state in 2020, and two years later announced she was leaving the party.

Trump only talked on the Wisconsin stage for about 30 minutes, answering questions mainly focused on immigration, inflation, crime and foreign policy. The town hall took place shortly before Kamala Harris, the vice president and Democratic nominee, appeared in her first joint interview with Tim Walz on CNN.

Wisconsin is set to be a crucial battleground state in the November election. According to the latest poll run by Emerson College between August 25 and 28, Trump led Harris in the state with 50 percent of the vote over the vice president's 49 percent.

An average of several recent polls compiled by The New York Times put Harris ahead with 49 percent of the vote over Trump's 48 percent, as of August 29.

Update 8/30/24, 4:00 a.m. ET: This breaking news article was updated to include more information on the story.