Trump assured conference attendees that he “wouldn’t have shown the pain” if the binder clip injured him: “Would’ve acted like nothing happened as my finger fell off.”

Donald Trump nearly shuts finger in simple paper clip on live TV: ‘Could’ve done some damage’

Trump assured conference attendees that he "wouldn't have shown the pain" if the binder clip injured him: "Would've acted like nothing happened as my finger fell off."

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January 20, 2026 3:00 p.m. ET

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Donald Trump nearly shuts finger in paper clip on live TV. Credit:

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty

- Donald Trump spoke Tuesday during a televised White House press conference.

- During his speech, Trump nearly shut his finger in a simple binder clip holding together a "book on accomplishments."

- "I would not have shown the pain, I would've acted like nothing happened as my finger fell off."

Donald Trump waged a teeny, tiny battle with a binder clip Tuesday morning during a live TV press conference.

While speaking to reporters at the White House during a briefing televised by CNN, the president again hit out at Joe Biden's administration, repeating to attendees once again a false claim that Biden actually lost the 2020 presidential election.

Then, as he held up a "book on accomplishments" his team has allegedly achieved during the first year of his second term in office, Trump nearly shut his finger in a large binder clip holding the thick stack of documents together.

Donald Trump holds up a book of 'accomplishments' during press conference.

SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty

The 79-year-old slightly recoiled as a loud snapping noise was heard after her removed the clip from the papers, while he exclaimed, "Ooh, I'm glad my finger wasn't in that sucker. That could've done some damage."

Still, he assured reporters, "You know what? I wouldn't have shown the pain."

He lingered on the topic for the next few seconds, asking the room, "Did you hear that?" before calling the snap "nasty" in the moment.

"But, I would not have shown the pain," he reiterated. "I would've acted like nothing happened as my finger fell off. That was nasty. I think somebody did that."

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He then looked around the room and pointed toward a member of the press, smiling as he said, "It was him. It was my man. How are you?"**

Trump then threw the clip off to the side of the podium, and it could be heard clanging around on the floor beside him. He then shifted his attention to the contents of the stack of papers behind the podium, lifting it up as he rifled through the pages.

"Each line is something that we did. Nobody did that before. It's big stuff, too," Trump said, calling the United States "the hottest country in the world" before tossing the papers to the ground as reporters in the room laughed at the gesture.

Donald Trump holds up a stack of papers during a Jan. 20 press conference.

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty

Outside of the clip catastrophe, Trump has found himself at the center of several national — and international — matters in recent weeks, with the administration's ICE initiatives drawing widespread criticism following the shooting death of Minnesota mother Renee Nicole Good earlier this month.

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Trump also stoked concern amid news that, because he was not presented with the Nobel Peace Prize, he reportedly told Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, that he no longer feels “an obligation to think purely of Peace" in text-based correspondence.**

Watch footage of Trump's battle with the paper clip, now circulating online.

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Source: “EW Politicians”