US President Donald Trump speaks during a midterm election rally to support Republican US Senate candidate Ken Paxton, in Lubbock, Texas, US October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee
President Donald Trump was briefly thrown off script during his rally in Lubbock, Texas on Tuesday night after loud noises rang out inside the Memorial Civic Center.
Trump traveled to Texas to hold a pair of rallies for Republicans like Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who is currently trailing Democratic candidate James Talarico in public polls. The duo also held a rally in Corpus Christie, Texas, earlier in the day.
During his speech, Trump wove his way into a story about how many people at Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's former employer died during the 9/11 attacks. While he was speaking, Trump got distracted by loud noises he heard over his shoulder.
"I'm hearing this," Trump said, looking off-stage and pointing behind him. "Is that okay? Could that be Iran dropping some kind of ... Do you hear that?"
Trump then seemed to self-diagnose the issue.
"What are they doing over there? Is that excavation? They're doing excavation," Trump said. "It's either excavation, demolition or bombs. It's one of the three."