Trump pauses Florida rally to wipe his eye with a wet napkin and says critics would call him 'seriously ill'

Trump, 80, had already cancelled two weekend rallies in Kansas and Iowa before the Daytona Beach event, fuelling intense speculation about his health just four days before Tuesday's midterm elections. Critics on social media seized on the eye-wiping moment as evidence of decline, even as the crowd laughed along and Trump turned the episode into a joke about eye drops.

Trump had also been accused of closing his eyes during a Cabinet meeting in January, which he blamed on boredom rather than fatigue.

He lashed out at a Reuters reporter earlier in the week who asked about the cancelled Kansas rally, calling him a 'dope' and telling him: 'You look like hell.'

Both cancelled rallies were reinstated on Friday, with Trump now expected to travel to Kansas and Iowa on Sunday.