Donald Trump embarrassingly paces in silence on stage for almost 20 minutes after 'tech problems'

Donald Trump was left pacing the stage in silence for nearly 20 minutes in Detroit after his microphone cut out during a rally, while the crowd chanted "USA" and "We love Trump" as he wandered around aimlessly

During a rally in Detroit on Friday night, Donald Trump was left pacing the stage in silence for almost 20 minutes following a technical mishap which saw his mic cut off.

Poised to talk tariffs, Trump couldn’t even utter "the most beautiful word in the dictionary" before being muted. As chants of "USA" and "We love Trump" erupted, the former president appeared lost without his microphone, turning his back towards the audience intermittently in frustration.

It marked yet another event hiccup in the space of one week – previously, a town hall was discontinued on Monday, with music played instead after several attendees needed medical help. This time, Trump could only stand by as "Technical Difficulties" flashed across the screens.

It's known that Trump enjoys control over stage management during appearances, which he reportedly did earlier on "Fox & Friends". Despite his team usually armed with backup mics, Friday’s delay left everyone wondering why a replacement wasn’t immediately at hand. Flags and other decorative elements are often carefully managed, but this time, technical issues stole the show.

Vice President Kamala Harris' team seized the opportunity to highlight concerns over Trump's vitality, using footage of an incident at his rally to suggest the 78-year-old may lack the stamina for another presidency. They shared on X: "An exhausted Trump awkwardly walks in circles on stage after his microphone stops working."

As the technical glitch dragged on, Trump's supporters kept the energy up with cheers and chants, even doing the wave at one point.

It took nearly 20 minutes before an aide managed to supply Trump with a working microphone. His response to the mishap was blunt: "I won’t pay the bill for this stupid company," he declared.

"I won't pay the bill, and then we’ll have a story that Trump didn’t pay the bill to a contractor."