# Is Trump confused? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 24, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589 "2024-01-24T13:53:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 104
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2094 "2024-09-11T13:00:36Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > I watched the whole debate. Trump was not confused. He was a coherent vigorous demagogue. I watched the whole debate too. He was vigorous, for sure. A demagogue, definitely. But coherent? The ‘word salad’ thing he often does was not as apparent as it is in other settings, such as his rallies. That might have been somewhat ameliorated by the format, though, which doesn’t let him ramble too long at any one time. But his lies are getting more and more outlandish. Immigrants eating pets, babies being legally killed after birth in some states, “Orban likes me”. He doesn’t seem to be able to restrain himself to only saying the craziest crazy in his rallies, where it will play better. That may be more a result of his living in an echo chamber bubble far away from reality, than signs of incipient dementia, though. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2095 "2024-09-11T13:12:47Z")
> [@solost](#): > > But his lies are getting more and more outlandish. Immigrants eating pets, babies being legally killed after birth in some states, “Orban likes me”. That last one about Orban probably wasn’t a lie. Not that getting an endorsement from Orban is a good thing, mind you. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2096 "2024-09-11T13:16:50Z")
> [@solost](#): > > But his lies are getting more and more outlandish. Immigrants eating pets, babies being legally killed after birth in some states, “Orban likes me”. Orban apparently does like Trump. But Donald did lie about other people liking him. So? Lying has nothing to do with confusion. Zip. One time my wife and I heard him leave out the word “not” in a sentence, mistakenly agreeing with Harris. This is momentary confusion, but no worse than many of my posts — after proofreading. Trump said the word “Jesse,” meaning the right wing TV guy Jesse Watters. That was a slight confusion. A rally audience would know who he meant, but on national TV he needed to fully identify. That was about as confusing as I heard. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2097 "2024-09-11T13:31:49Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Orban apparently does like Trump. But Donald did lie about other people liking him. So? Lying has nothing to do with confusion. Zip. As I said, it’s not just the lying, it’s the fact that the lies and outright outlandish statements are getting more and more extreme. And he doesn’t have the ability or restraint to know when and in what situations to keep his mouth shut about them. I was actually curious to see if some of the nuttiest things out of his recent rally playbook would come out at the debate. And, boy oh boy did they come out, to the dismay of his handlers, I’m sure. It’s also a question of, how much does he know he’s lying for purposes of manipulation, and how much does he actually believe the crazy? I think there are different types of confusion. There’s ‘losing the plot thread’ confusion, and there’s 'illegals are eating our cats and dogs!!" confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2098 "2024-09-11T13:42:30Z")
Calling the head of the Taliban “Abdul” was pretty confused and fucked up. I assume he couldn’t remember his name (Hibatullah Akhundzada), so he threw out the first Arabic name he could think of. I’ll admit, he’s good at bullshitting on the spot. No one called him on it in the debate, and it doesn’t seem like the media is really making much of it in the post-debate analysis. But he gets to look like the tough negotiator who calls the heads of terrorist organizations by their first name. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2099 "2024-09-11T14:06:01Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I assume he couldn’t remember his name (Hibatullah Akhundzada), Wow. I actually thought how crazy that the guy’s name was Abdul. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2100 "2024-09-11T14:11:16Z")
I was pretty sure while watching that he made that name up because he couldn’t remember the real name. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2101 "2024-09-11T14:18:32Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Oh, I don’t know. “Viktor Orban likes me!” was pretty weird. Not to mention trying to paint Orban as the most popular leader in Europe as well. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2102 "2024-09-11T14:22:21Z")
I met Orban once… Of course I draped a towel over my head—both to keep out the smells and to hide my face from God. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2103 "2024-09-11T14:22:27Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > and bacon is on sale at my local supermarket every week for $5 a package. That was my biggest “Trump is obviously out of touch” moment. Where I am, bacon is consistently the most affordable meat there is, and while the price is a bit higher than before, it’s no where near the increases we’ve seen in chicken and beef. I hope this is one thing some Trumpers can look at, and realize, “Hey, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Even just a moment of realizing that might crack their bubble. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2104 "2024-09-11T14:25:00Z")
> [@solost](#): > > babies being legally killed after birth in some states He’s said that before on many occasions. Where he really went over the top this time was insisting that Walz, personally, supports murdering babies. He went from a generic, “people are saying” bit of crazy to a specific accusation that is obviously deranged. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2105 "2024-09-11T14:31:41Z")
Deranged is a good word for it. But I think, in addition to the increasing specificity of his outlandish lies and accusations, is as I said, an (increasing?) inability to know the time and place to shut up about them. His rallies? Sure, OK. But I was curious to see how much of the crazy would come out at the debate, whether he’d have much restraint, if any, because surely his handlers tried hard to convince him to rein it in. And he couldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2106 "2024-09-11T14:33:15Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I hope this is one thing some Trumpers can look at, and realize, “Hey, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” As we speak Fox news is trying to find out the price of Arapawa Island pork belly, smoked with old growth Indian hickory, and wrapped with 24k gold leaf, sous vided in Antarctic glacial melt water at a 7 Michelin star airport restaurant because . . . isn’t that what everyone gets when they buy bacon? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2107 "2024-09-11T14:35:06Z")
> [@solost](#): > > But I think, in addition to the increasing specificity of his outlandish lies and accusations, is as I said, an (increasing?) inability to know the time and place to shut up about them. Oh yeah, that was definitely a factor. People who aren’t used to seeing him in full crazy mode got a good dose of it, and I can’t imagine that being a good thing for him. Hell, I follow most of his nonsense, and knew about the cat eating thing before he brought it up, but even I, in the moment, couldn’t really believe that an actual candidate for president was bring up such stupid shit in the middle of a nationally televised debate. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2108 "2024-09-11T14:39:25Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > That was my biggest “Trump is obviously out of touch” moment. Where I am, bacon is consistently the most affordable meat there is, and while the price is a bit higher than before, it’s no where near the increases we’ve seen in chicken and beef. Hmm. For me in Chicago the average bacon price is about $7-8 a pound package. I just bought some yesterday. Chicken is pretty cheap at the markets I shop at and is about the same price as it’s been for awhile, usually around $1.99/lb for thighs and a dollar more for breast. (One is having a sale now for $1.99 for boneless, skinless breasts. That’s the same price they were 5-10 years ago, as far as I remember.) Usually you can get pinwheels or quarters for $1.49/lb or less. Beef, though, is about a buck to two bucks more a pound than recently. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2109 "2024-09-11T14:40:04Z")
Now you made me hungry! (For bacon, not for cats and dogs!) And the famous all knowing perfect markets _ **do** _ think that tanTrump is confused enough to have diminished his chances of winning in 56 days, sending the Truth Social stock 15% down at the beginning of the trading day. I like that. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2110 "2024-09-11T14:51:22Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > (For bacon, not for cats and dogs!) If you’re not eating dog bacon, made from dogs on a diet of cats on a diet of post-birth aborted babies then you aren’t living the liberal American dream. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2111 "2024-09-11T15:28:27Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Hell, I follow most of his nonsense, and knew about the cat eating thing before he brought it up, but even I, in the moment, couldn’t really believe that an actual candidate for president was bring up such stupid shit in the middle of a nationally televised debate. Even Guiliani, who loudly and proudly told the media many times that the election was rigged, had enough common sense not to claim it in court. He was asked directly by a judge in one of the 60 or more court cases if he was claiming the election was rigged, and he said "no, your honor’. My understanding is that all of those court cases simply tried to chip away at technicalities to attempt to get some votes thrown out. A presidential debate is a court of public opinion. Lying for personal gain only works if you understand the proper time, place and audience with which to to lie. So again, I wonder how much does trump know he’s lying, and how much of his lies has he started to actually believe? Did he really think that if he was loud and vehement enough, he could convince the general public like he does his stupid and gullible rally audiences? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2112 "2024-09-11T15:33:13Z")
> [@solost](#): > > So again, I wonder how much does trump know he’s lying, and how much of his lies has he started to actually believe? Did he really think that if he was loud and vehement enough, he could convince the general public like he does his stupid and gullible rally audiences? That’s one of those things we’ll probably never know. The only way we’d ever be sure is if there’s a tape of Trump admitting to knowing he’d lying, as with that tape where he admitted he knew COVID was more serious than he was saying publicly. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2113 "2024-09-11T18:14:04Z")
Watch the video in this. I think grampy is reaching the “supervised care facility” stage. > **['What’s wrong with Trump?' Onlookers stunned as ex-president smiles at 9/11...](https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-on-sept-11/)** > > Former President Donald Trump's smiles and winks during the Sept. 11 memorial in New York City Wednesday outraged attendees and onlookers who blasted the Republican presidential nominee for a demeanor they dubbed disrespectful. Trump drew much... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=103) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=105)