President Donald Trump recently tried to “joke” about a third term again, even though the Constitution prohibits anyone from being elected president more than twice. During his opening remarks at an event in Georgia on Wednesday, July 22, Trump acted like he was announcing another presidential campaign—except he couldn’t pronounce the word “candidacy.”
“I am here to announce my candicy…” he said. He paused for some time before saying, “I’m only kidding, I’m only kidding.” Online, critics weren’t convinced that he was actually joking. People also couldn’t get over the way he said the word “candidacy.”
Some people thought he was trying to bother his critics by “joking” about running for president again.
And while his comments definitely did bother people, they didn’t land in the way that he had probably hoped. When a clip of that part of his speech started circulating online, a lot of Trump critics focused on his pronunciation more than anything else.
Journalist Aaron Rupar shared the clip on X and captioned it with, “‘I am here to announce my candidacy’ — Trump opened his speech in Georgia by musing about running for an illegal third term.”
But some commenters argued that Trump didn’t actually announce his candidacy (or even joke about it). “Actually he said, ‘I am here to announce my candicy…'” one commenter wrote. Another commenter who jokingly corrected the journalist said, “I believe it’s ‘candacey’ sir.”
“Who’s Candacy?” a third critic wrote. Of course, people were not impressed. “I want a president who can correctly pronounce ‘candidacy,'” a fourth person stated.
It’s definitely not the first time he has “joked” about seeking a third term.
His "candicy." https://t.co/v2DLB5TEDp
— Karen Piper (@PiperK) July 22, 2026
Which is part of the reason people don’t actually believe he’s just kidding when he says it. It’s also part of the reason why the fact that he couldn’t pronounce the word surprised some of his critics.
“For someone who loves announcing his candidacy, you’d think he could pronounce the word,” someone commented.
Another person added, “Trump is out there trying to irk the libs and can’t even say the word without messing up isn’t the flex he thinks it is.”
Trump has also been called out after some of his attempts to read aloud and say common words.
Trump to UAE president: "We have a term 'groceries.' It's an old term but it means basically what you're buying, food, it's a pretty accurate term but it's an old fashioned sound but groceries are down."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 15, 2025 at 12:59 PM
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Back in May, Trump’s pre-recorded Bible reading for Rededicate 250 sparked a lot of conversations online. People noticed that he really struggled to read aloud. “Did nobody sit with him when he was a kid and encourage him to read, out loud?” a critic wrote at the time. “He sounds like a 6 or 7 year old stumbling over big words. It wouldn’t really matter but he is the President of the USA!”
On other occasions, he has acted surprised to learn how some pretty common words are spelled. He has repeatedly claimed that many people don’t realize the word “dumb” is spelled with a “B.” One time, when speaking about whole milk, he said “it’s whole with a ‘W,’ for those of you that have a problem.”
He has also marveled over words and phrases that other people use on a regular basis, such as the word “groceries” or the phrase “corner store,” almost as if he was hearing them for the first time. “We have a term ‘groceries,'” he famously said in 2025. “It’s an old term but it means, basically, what you’re buying, food… it’s a pretty accurate term.” He’s described it as an “old-fashioned term,” but a “beautiful” one nonetheless.
READ NEXT: Trump Questions What A ‘Corner Store’ Is Mid-Speech & The Internet Eats It Up
