A minor mishap inside the White House on Monday sent President Donald Trump into a brief, unexpected panic — all over a mirror.
While hosting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the Cabinet Room, Trump was mid-sentence praising Australia’s defense spending habits — “big orderers of our great military equipment,” he said, calling it “the best equipment anywhere in the world by far” — when a small commotion pulled his attention away.
Footage shows what appears to be a flagpole being jostled, causing it to knock into a nearby mirror. Trump immediately interrupted himself to address the situation — and not subtly.
“Oh, you got to watch that. Watch that. You’re not allowed to break that. That mirror is 400 years old. A camera just hit the mirror. Ay yay yay,” Trump exclaimed. “I just moved it up here, special from the vaults, and the first thing that happens, the camera hits it. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Hard to believe, but these are the problems in life.”
The moment was caught on video from multiple angles and went viral almost instantly, with social media users quick to respond. Trump supporters rushed to defend the president, accusing media crews of being careless and even disrespectful in such a formal setting. The phrase “fake news strikes again” made its predictable rounds in MAGA circles.
Critics, meanwhile, found comedy in Trump’s flair for the dramatic. The image of a president suddenly fixated on a mirror while talking military deals with a foreign leader was, to some, peak Trump.
“Cameras and mirrors are the two things he loves most, so it tears him up to see them destroy each other,” one user quipped on X (formerly Twitter).
“A narcissist worried about a mirror,” another chimed in.
Adding to the irony — or perhaps the perfect symbolism — the incident happened on the same day demolition crews began tearing down part of the East Wing to make room for Trump’s planned $250 million White House ballroom.
Because nothing says “presidential priorities” like a priceless mirror taking center stage during international diplomacy.
Watch the clip and more reactions below.
"You're not allowed to break that. That mirror is 400 years old. Aiy-yie-yie … hard to believe" — Trump isn't happy about a camera hitting a mirror pic.twitter.com/1LEepv6ZBg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 20, 2025
