Donald Trump had an unexpected exchange with a White House staffer during an Oval Office ceremony on Monday, Aug. 25.
While delivering remarks before signing an executive order, the 79-year-old president abruptly interrupted himself to reprimand someone for creating a distraction — and ultimately ordered them out of the room.
The incident occurred as Trump was responding to a reporter’s question about his decision to acquire a stake in Intel for the U.S. government. Mid-sentence, he stopped to address the disruption.
“As you know the stock market went up almost a thousand points on Friday and it went up not because of…” Trump began, before pausing.
“Hello, who is that?” he asked as the sound of a phone echoed through the room. “Who is that back there? Alright, get out of the room.”
The comment drew some laughter from those present, though Trump remained serious. Moments later, the sound of a door closing could be heard.
According to Daily Mail, the person asked to leave was White House staff secretary Will Scharf, who oversees executive orders. However, the footage does not clearly identify him.
That same day, Daily Beast noted that Trump appeared to be concealing a bruise on his hand while signing documents. Observers have previously spotted patches on his hand, sometimes covered with makeup.
Back in July, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained the bruising in a statement, attributing it to “minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.”
