What is Sundowning? Term trends after Trump plays music for 39 minutes at Pennsylvania town hall event
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump played music and occasionally danced on stage for 39 minutes during his latest event at the town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on October 14, 2024.
The former President paused his Q&A session with the audience after two people from the crowd had to seek medical help. He later suggested to play music for the final 39 minutes. Trump told his team to play nine songs, including Rufus Wainwright’s cover of Hallelujah, Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U, Guns N’ Roses’ November Rain, and Memory from The Cats musical soundtrack.
Shortly after the event, many users on social media dubbed Trump's actions and gestures as "sundowning," leading to the term trending online. According to the Cleveland Clinic, sundowning is a medical term that refers to a group of behaviors, thoughts, or feelings patients with Alzheimer's Disease or dementia usually face in the evening or while the sun sets.
Sundowning is also called late-day confusion and can affect a person's thoughts, memories, rationality, or mood. Some users on X criticized Trump's behavior at the Pennsylvania event on Monday as "sundowning," supposedly alleging the former President lost control of his thoughts.
User @PieceDeReSister wrote:
"Trump couldn't even make it through a friendly -name redacted- Town Hall in PA without sundowning. Seriously. He just stopped taking questions and they bailed him out by playing his fav tunes, which he's forbidden from playing at rallies, while he danced awkwardly. Save us all."
One X user also alleged the former President forced Joe Biden out of the Presidential race.
"He’s literally sundowning. They forced Biden out of the race by implying he had cognitive decline which he does NOT but they won’t apply those same standards to Trump. It’s f**king infuriating."
It is worth noting that there is no evidence to prove the former President has any mental or physical illness. Sundowning is a term used by social media users to criticize the Republican nominee's actions according to their personal views.
"Hope he's okay"— Vice President Kamala Harris comments on Trump playing songs for 39 minutes during town hall event at Pennsylvania
On October 15, Vice President Kamala Harris took to X to comment on Donald Trump's town hall event in Pennsylvania. The Democratic nominee quoted a post by the official account of her campaign, @KamalaHQ, which claimed the former President was "confused" during the event. The original post said:
"Trump appears lost, confused, and frozen on stage as multiple songs play for 30+ minutes and the crowd pours out of the venue early."
Quoting the same, Harris wrote:
"Hope he's okay."
Harris's comment came after she accused the former President of being mentally unfit at a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday, October 14. The Vice President called him "increasingly unstable and unhinged" while playing clips of the MAGA leader calling his opponents "the enemy within."
On Sunday, October 13, Kamala Harris urged the former President to release his medical records. The Vice President recently released a two-page medical summary of herself that she claimed proved she could "successfully execute the duties" if elected in November. It is noteworthy that Donald Trump will be the oldest inaugurated President in the history of the United States if elected in November.
"He refuses to release his medical records. I've done it. Every other presidential candidate in the modern era has done it," Harris said on Sunday.
What happened during Trump's town hall event in Pennsylvania on October 14?
On October 14, Donald Trump held at the town hall of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds in Oaks, Pennsylvania.
During the event, hosted by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, the former President was interrupted on two occasions due to medical emergencies in the audience. Both interruptions came when the Republican leader was answering questions from the audience.
When he was interrupted for the first time, the Republican asked to play Ave Maria and an instrumental version of the track was played. During the second interruption, he asked to play Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti's version of the same track, which was also played at his request.
Shortly after the two interruptions, the former President stopped taking any more questions and decided to play more music for the final 39 minutes of the event. He asked to play Village People’s YMCA as the first track and urged people in the crowd not to leave. The track was followed by nine other songs and ended with Memory from The Cats musical.
As per The Washington Post, some attendees began leaving early after the former President said he would not be taking any more questions. However, some stayed back until the end.
The Republican's spokesperson, Steven Cheung, spoke of the event on X, calling it "very special." He called him "unlike any politician in history." The former President's national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, shared images from the event with the caption "DJ TRUMP!"