Donald Trump has left viewers disturbed after making a strange joke involving his two adult sons during an appearance in North Dakota. The US president made the comment on Wednesday (July 1) while speaking at a Congressional Medal of Honour ceremony held at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library ahead of Independence Day celebrations on July 4. A video shared online shows the 80-year-old looking toward his sons in the audience before launching into a joke that appeared to fall flat with the crowd.
Trump’s unusual joke
“As I see my two beautiful sons sitting there, I think I’m going to give one to myself and one to them,” Trump said on Wednesday. “We’ll have a threesome.”
“I’ll pick out one of the two. I’ll give them the Congressional Medal of Honour for something…for their genius at hunting,” he continued. “And I’ll get one for taking on Russia, Russia, Russia.”
The audience responded with uneasy laughter as Trump quickly acknowledged the joke may not have landed as intended.
He then suggested it was “dangerous” to make the bizarre comment, claiming “fake news is up there.”
“When I joke…I learned earlier, don’t be sarcastic in politics,” he added.
The president’s attempt at humor didn’t go down well with everyone, as one user wrote on X: “I just threw up in my mouth.”
Another reacted: “What the actual f***,” while a third added: “This is beyond disgusting and it shows the lack of respect for those serve and have served in the military.”
Trump’s finances revealed
The president’s comment came as the White House released his annual financial disclosure.
The filing shows cryptocurrency has become one of the president’s biggest sources of income.
Per the report, Trump earned more than $635 million through a licensing deal tied to his meme coin, with the value of his crypto holdings now exceeding $1 billion.
He also made more than $236 million from additional crypto token sales, over $65 million from the Trump family-backed crypto venture World Liberty Financial, and more than $290 million through cryptocurrency wallets linked to the business.
A White House spokesperson defended the 80-year-old’s financial interests, saying: “Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.”
The spokesperson added: “President Trump proudly made the United States the crypto capital of the world through executive actions, supporting legislation like the GENIUS Act, and other commonsense policies to drive innovation and economic opportunity for all Americans.”
The filing has prompted experts to comment on the scale of Trump’s business empire.
Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley said: “What strikes me as remarkable is how many pies Trump has his fingers in.
“There is no precedent to compare it with. No president in the 20th or 21st century has had something that’s vaguely comparable.”
The filing also revealed that First Lady Melania Trump reportedly earned more than $10 million by licensing her image for the documentary, Melania, while Trump received complimentary tickets to sporting events from organizations including FIFA, NASCAR, the UFC, and the PGA of America.
