President Donald Trump had an awkward moment in front of the media on Thursday when he forgot the name of one of his newest political adversaries, Rod Bray. After criticizing the Republican lawmaker on social media the night before, Trump appeared to struggle to recall his name during a press briefing.
The moment came after Bray led a revolt against the President’s proposal to redistrict Indiana. When the Senate rejected the plan despite a Republican majority, Trump was asked about members of his own party breaking from him. The 79-year-old then hesitated as he tried to remember the senator’s name.
He said, “You had one gentleman, the head of the Senate, I guess, Bray, whatever his name is, I heard he was against it. He’ll probably lose his next primary, whenever that is. I hope he does, because he’s done a tremendous disservice.”
Trump advocates for primary against Indiana GOP leader Rodric Bray, who rejected the redrawn congressional maphttps://t.co/VHjdJsNObk pic.twitter.com/kU10KPPIfm
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) December 12, 2025
But the President didn’t stop there. He appeared to blame Rod Bray for having a name that, as he implied, isn’t easy for him to remember. Trump stated, “There’s a man named Bray, as a, I guess, head of the Senate. Was that Bray? Is that the name? Bray? And I mean, I’m sure that whenever his primary is, I think, in two years, but I’m sure he’ll go down.”
Considering that Trump had attacked Bray with multiple posts on Truth Social on Wednesday night, it’s striking that he wasn’t able to remember his name. The timing of this momentary lapse is particularly notable, coming just days after the President boasted about acing three cognitive tests.
According to him, only a few people in the world have been able to take the cognitive exams that he said he passed with flying colors in the presence of accomplished doctors. Claiming he is physically and mentally fit, Trump criticized news outlets for what he called “fake” and “treasonous” reporting on his signs of aging.
Meanwhile, experts have expressed concerns about the President’s difficulty recalling information. Ramin Setoodeh, author of Apprentice in Wonderland—a book about Trump’s career in entertainment—stated in 2024 that the politician “couldn’t remember things” and displays “severe memory issues.”
🚨NEW: The Indiana Senate, led by GOP Senate President Rod Bray, has voted down Donald Trump’s attempt to gerrymander Indiana.
RETWEET to thank Senator Bray for standing up for our democracy against Trump! pic.twitter.com/ZFczA9aGoU
— Protect Kamala Harris ✊ (@DisavowTrump20) December 11, 2025
Coming back to why Trump is targeting Bray, the President had pushed for Indiana’s congressional redistricting for months. He argued that it would lead to more seats for the GOP in the deep-red state in the upcoming midterms. However, several senators from his own party opposed the move, including Bray.
Ultimately, the President faced an embarrassing defeat as the Senate voted 31–19 against the redistricting proposal. Unsurprisingly, Trump did not take the defeat lightly. He made several posts against the Republicans who broke with him on Truth Social and wished for their defeat in the upcoming primaries.
He even urged voters in Indiana to vote these people out of power. Vice President JD Vance then also took to X to echo the same sentiment and slammed Bray for being ‘dishonest.’ On the other hand, Bray has remained silent and has not reacted to Trump and Vance’s comments.
