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Trump's Water-Bottle Fumble Steals Show From Asia Travelogue

Donald Trump reached for a water bottle, creating ripples, while delivering a speech on his Asia trip.

Trump's Water-Bottle Fumble Steals Show From Asia Travelogue
U.S. President Donald Trump reaches for a bottle of water while delivering remarks on his Asia trip in Washington, D.C., U.S. (Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s fumbling search for a water bottle stole the show from an extended defense of his trip to Asia that he delivered from the White House the day after he returned.

Trump paused halfway through his remarks on Wednesday in the White House Diplomatic Room to look down and reach to one side of his lectern, look up, then search around on the other side before taking a slug from a bottle of Fiji water. Later in the 24-minute speech, he paused again to take another drink.

The performance echoed a moment during the Republican response that Senator Marco Rubio delivered to President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address. The Florida senator stopped to reach for a glass of water -- a moment Trump later mocked as the two vied for the GOP presidential nomination.

Rubio chimed in on Trump’s water break with a Twitter post minutes later drawing the parallel. “Similar,but needs work on his form,” Rubio tweeted. “Has to be done in one single motion & eyes should never leave the camera. But not bad for his 1st time.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Dorning in Washington at mdorning@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net.

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.