A confused and rambling President Donald Trump fumbled Monday while trying to remember Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's (D-MI) name in the Oval Office, landing instead on Gov. "Christy Whitman," former governor of New Jersey in the 1990s.
The gaffe occurred as Trump was signing executive orders, and came as he hurled insults at Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) amid tensions over the National Guard possibly being sent to Chicago.
"They should be saying, 'Please come in.' Pritzker should be saying that. You know, I did a favor for Christie — for, uh, Christy Whitman, uh Whitmer. A good — a good favor, I think. With the fish, the carp. The China carp. Did you ever hear of it? The China carp. And it's taking over your Great Lakes. You know about that right?"
Trump appeared to be referring to his ordering of federal agencies to act quickly to support and fund the carp barrier project, prioritizing speed and efficiency to block carp migration. Asian carp pose a severe threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem and economy by outcompeting native fish, potentially decimating fisheries.
But critics were stunned by the president's flub, with one social media observer calling it an "insane moment." Some warned it showed more evidence of cognitive decline.
"The press keeps ignoring his cognitive decline," wrote the Really American account on X.
The "Call to Activism" account, meanwhile, wrote "MAJOR BREAKING: In a moment of troubling cognitive decline, Trump confuses Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan governor) with Christine Todd Whitman (New Jersey’s governor from January 18, 1994 to January 31, 2001. When will the media address his obvious decline?"
"Trump appears to confuse Kristi Noem and Gretchen Whitmer," wrote FactPost.
Matthew Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters for America, noted on X, "Christy Whitman was governor of New Jersey in the 1990s, when Trump owned an Atlantic City hotel and casino."
Michigan College Democrats chimed in, "Somewhere out there, Kristi Whitman is very confused why she’s suddenly Governor of Michigan."
BREAKING: In an insane moment, Trump confuses Governor Gretchen Whitmer with Kristi Noem, and refers to the Michigan Governor as "Kristi -- uh, Kristi Whitman. Whitmer."
The press keeps ignoring his cognitive loss. pic.twitter.com/hWEBVvcZuB
— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) August 25, 2025