President Donald Trump’s remarks at a White House ceremony honoring “angel families” took an unexpected turn when he pivoted from criticizing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to claiming a doctor had “ripped me off” over a woman’s eye surgery.
The event, held in the East Room, marked the first official “Angel Family Day,” a proclamation signed by Trump designating Feb. 22 to honor families whose loved ones were killed by undocumented immigrants. The date was chosen to remember Laken Riley, who was killed on Feb. 22, 2024. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House border czar Tom Homan attended the ceremony, which included a vigil described by the administration as a solemn tribute.
During his speech, Trump moved quickly between topics. He began with comments about voter ID laws before turning to Mamdani, the mayor of New York City.
Trump’s brain flits wildly from Mamdani to shoveling snow to having a conversation with a woman in the audience who has bad eyes. He claims he “gave her a lot of money to get her eyes fixed.” This event is totally off the rails. pic.twitter.com/mtEruEnYfl
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 23, 2026
“You know, the mayor of New York, and he’s a very nice person,” Trump said. “I’ve met him, but his ideology is not too good.” He then referenced a snowstorm affecting the city.
“We’re having a massive snowstorm right now, and I heard that he’s asked people to come out and help shovel the snow. OK, so you get a shovel and you start shoveling, right? What the hell?” Trump said.
Moments later, the president shifted focus to someone in the audience. “Hello! Darling, how are you? No, right behind you. Look, my friend, right? Are you OK? Yes, you, are you OK? Are your eyes OK?” he asked. Trump told the crowd he had given the woman money for cataract surgery.
“I gave her money to get her eyes fixed, a lot of money to get her eyes fixed. The doctor ripped me off, but that’s OK,” he said. He continued, describing the procedure in conversational detail.
“She’s almost blind, cataracts,” Trump said. “With one operation that’ll take a very short period of time. Hope you have a good doctor. He’s an expensive doctor, top of the line, right? But you know what? You’re going to have 20/20 vision.” At one point, he added that he had seen her wearing glasses on television the day before.
Trump gets distracted mid-sentence: “You can help, & hello, darling, how are you? Right behind you, look! My friend, right? Are you okay? Are you okay? Good. Are your eyes okay? I gave her money to get her eyes fixed, a lot of money. The doctor ripped me off, but that’s okay.” pic.twitter.com/cNRd7lx8U8
— Lesley Abravanel 🪩 (@lesleyabravanel) February 23, 2026
The exchange drew audible laughter from some in the room. Video of the moment circulated widely on social media, with clips showing Trump moving from immigration policy to snow shoveling to the discussion about eye surgery in a matter of minutes.
The ceremony itself was designed to highlight the administration’s immigration agenda ahead of Trump’s upcoming State of the Union address. In signing the proclamation, Trump said the day would honor “two survivors and 62 people killed by undocumented immigrants,” according to the White House.
The administration described the gathering as a reminder of its push to continue deportations of individuals it calls “the worst of the worst.” Family members of victims stood alongside the president during the signing.
Trump’s remarks, however, became the most shared moment of the event. The president’s aside about cataracts and the cost of surgery added a personal, unscripted note to a ceremony framed as formal and commemorative.
Within minutes, clips of the exchange were posted online, with viewers highlighting the abrupt topic changes and the offhand comment about being “ripped off.”
The speech ended as it began — with Trump returning to broader political themes and the upcoming address to Congress — but it was the brief detour into eye surgery that lingered long after the East Room cleared.
