Donald Trump calls Elon Musk by wrong name at rally, Internet dubs it 'classic donmentia'

Former president Donald Trump also stumbled over his words while mentioning his plan to eliminate the federal Department of Education
Donald trump refers to Elon Musk as 'Leon' while addressing a rally on September 7, 2024 (Getty Images)
Donald trump refers to Elon Musk as 'Leon' while addressing a rally on September 7, 2024 (Getty Images)

MOSINEE, WISCONSIN: Former president Donald Trump had multiple slip-ups while speaking at a Wisconsin rally on Saturday, September 7, reported Raw Story. The most glaring verbal misfire by the GOP nominee was when he referred to tech billionaire Elon Musk as "Leon" during his speech.

Trump has time and again ridiculed incumbent Joe Biden, 81, for the gaffes in his speeches. However, with Biden suspending his reelection campaign, 78-year-old Trump has found himself to be the oldest candidate running for the White House in the history of the United States and on the receiving end of age-related criticisms.



 

Donald Trump's reference to Elon Musk at rally

Trump was speaking of the aircraft manufacturer Boeing at his rally when he shared, "Boeing, I shouldn’t say anything there is a beautiful Boeing plane right there. But, ehh Boeing had a little hard time, so they are going to save—Leon is going to send them a rocket."

According to the Daily Beast, two NASA astronauts are presently stranded aboard the International Space Station as their Boeing Starliner vessel has been deemed unsafe to make a return to Earth. SpaceX, owned by Musk, is planning a rescue mission for them.

“He looks forward to it, that’s all he thinks about is things like that,” added Trump of Elon Musk, without correcting himself to say the right name.

Donald Trump struggles to say the word 'eliminate'

The slip-up between Leon and Elon was not Trump's only gaffe in the rally, as he later had a brain freeze while saying the word "eliminate."



 

The GOP nominee was sharing his outlook on education policies, when he said, "Ultimately, will li--- (garbled), and you know what we're doing here."

"I say it all the time, I'm dying to get back to do this. We will ultimately eliminate the federal Department of Education," he added.

Internet trolls Donald Trump over his slip-ups

The gaffes in Trump's speech concerned netizens on the social media platform X, and many took to trolling the former President. The following tweets demonstrate the predominant takes.

"Classic Donmentia," wrote a user.



 

"Leon the famous owner of Litter," mocked another, referring to Elon Musk buying Twitter.



 

"Grandpa is having cognitive issues again!" jibed a third.



 

"Nothing to worry about if you’re supporting a septuagenarian with the linguistic skills of a college freshman after 15 shots of Jagermeister," expressed a fourth.



 

"At least, DonOld didn’t call him Elmo," jibed a fifth.



 

"I wonder how many of his 'nicknames' for people are just him being unable to read their name," quipped yet another.



 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.

GET BREAKING U.S. NEWS & POLITICAL UPDATES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

Donald Trump accused Murkowski of opposing the lawsuit, which he argued could help prevent votes from being diverted from the Republican incumbent to the other candidate with a similar name
2026-10-25T16:10:22.000Z
Susan Collins, Abdul El-Sayed, James Talarico and Jon Ossoff face voter concerns over affordability, health care, Iran and Donald Trump's influence
2026-10-25T08:08:10.000Z
Barack Obama questioned Pete Hegseth’s priorities, suggesting his focus on troops’ appearances distracted from more pressing military responsibilities
2026-10-25T06:41:45.000Z
Vivek Ramaswamy defended his controversial ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother, accusing Acton of attacking his mother
2026-10-25T05:15:22.000Z
Elon Musk defended SpaceX’s decision, arguing that Starlink is a civilian commercial service and was never intended to support offensive drone strikes
2026-10-25T04:29:36.000Z
Ilhan Omar hired former Joe Biden attorney Amy Jeffress and Trump impeachment lawyer Joshua Matz amid a federal probe into her immigration history
2026-10-25T03:39:35.000Z
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a localized ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and the evacuation of elderly civilians
2026-10-25T02:50:24.000Z
Bill Clinton mocked the paved Rose Garden, while Barack Obama took aim at the gold decor and planned ballroom at the presidential residence
2026-10-25T01:29:33.000Z
Political strategist James Carville said Democrats would achieve little even if they won Congress because Trump would veto their every move
2026-10-24T21:17:27.000Z
Donald Trump's first campaign pledged to "drain the swamp" by rooting out corruption and serving ordinary Americans over special interests
2026-10-24T20:36:15.000Z