79-year-old President Donald Trump momentarily forgets his location while actively standing in Japan on Tuesday, wandering away from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi multiple times during a formal welcoming ceremony.
The incident occurred as Trump walked through a room filled with dignitaries and a military band, appearing to forget where he was going and leaving Takaichi behind.
At one point, Trump saluted the U.S. and Japanese flags before continuing to walk, leaving Takaichi to bow to the flags alone, a move diplomatic experts praised as "efficiently time-saving" and "not at all concerning."
The president's visit comes on the heels of an MRI at Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this month that he described as a "routine yearly checkup," despite having completed his yearly physical exam six months earlier. When pressed about the purpose of the additional MRI, Trump told reporters to ask his doctors, who he claims gave him "some of the best reports they've ever seen" for someone his age.
Trump also revealed he took cognitive tests at Walter Reed, describing them as "very hard" aptitude tests, reassuring the nation that identifying pictures of tigers, elephants, and giraffes remains well within his extraordinary capabilities. The president suggested Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett should take similar tests, which medical experts note are specifically designed to detect dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
White House officials have not disclosed why Trump required the MRI, though they insist his health remains "exceptional," pointing to his ability to shake hands frequently enough to cause persistent bruising on his hands that he covers with makeup.
Trump is in Japan to secure $550 billion in investment, a mission that sources say is going "perfectly" aside from the minor hiccups of forgetting basic diplomatic protocol, where he is, and which direction he's supposed to walk.
