# 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:** 11
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/201 "2024-02-29T17:00:49Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > > Earlier in the article, Dr. Gartner said, ‘Based on his behavior, and in my opinion, Donald Trump is dangerously demented.’ > > While I personally would agree and like to see solid corroboration, it’s also professionally questionable for Dr Gartner to offer an opinion when solicited as a medical expert without actually haven’t personally examined either person. > > Remember when Senator Bill Frist offered his opinion as a medical doctor on Terri Schaivo based only on watching a video for an hour? And turned out to be completely, ludicrously wrong? Professionals should not offer their professional opinions - or even things likely to be taken as professional opinions - when they can’t back them up. > > I understand Gartner is offering only a personal, not a professional, opinion, but that’s not how it’s being taken, and he should know better how to handle the ethics of that situation. If he had said he saw signs that indicated the need for independent professional evaluation, that would perhaps be a weaker statement and not a newsworthy one but it could be supported. We don’t need left wing versions of Dr Oz going around saying what they want based on shallow, superficial examination instead of direct study. > > I despise the appeal to authority inherent in that take, the further dumbening of our society, and the idea that the ends justify the means I was trying to formulate a proper response to that post when you did it pretty well. No matter who the candidate is I don’t want doctors who have never met them make medical diagnoses. I’m sure the right had found doctors to say the same about Biden. > **[Donald Trump, Joe Biden and dementia: Why not to diagnose from a distance](https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/blog/donald-trump-joe-biden-dementia)** > > In recent years, there has been a lot of speculation that Donald Trump and Joe Biden may have dementia or some form of mental health condition. However, this kind of speculation is usually wrong, is unethical and stigmatises people living with... ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/202 "2024-02-29T17:03:23Z")
On the other hand, you don’t need to be a meteorologist to tell if it’s raining outside. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/203 "2024-02-29T17:49:44Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Remember when Senator Bill Frist offered his opinion as a medical doctor on Terri Schaivo based only on watching a video for an hour? Hardly a similar comparison. There are _thousands_ of hours of video of trump walking, talking, and opining for all the world to see. Not to mention the thousands of people who have seen him _in person_ exposing his confusion and ignorance. One thing you can say for trump is that he is consistent in his speech and behavior. WYSIWYG. A personal examination of him is not going to reveal anyone different from the one he has been in person year after year. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/204 "2024-02-29T17:55:18Z")
Also, with so much video footage over so many years, it’s not hard to compare past with present and perceive mental deterioration. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/205 "2024-02-29T18:24:09Z")
But don’t you dare do that about someone else with video footage over many years. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/206 "2024-02-29T19:06:12Z")
There’s no doubt he’s always been intellectually incurious and not very bright and has gotten worse, especially recently. There’s even good reason for people to come to the conclusion he may be demented. I personally think it may even be likely, but I’m no medical professional nor have I examined him personally. But for a medical professional to offer that same opinion up without appropriate examination or study in a forum to be widely seen or read is not a good thing. If we’re to have something resembling a decent, civilized society, we need our professionals to behave…well, professionally, so that we can give their words appropriate weight. There’s always been a streak of anti-intellectualism in this country, and it’s gotten worse over the last several years. No matter how well-intentioned, we should not ourselves contribute to that trend. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2024, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/207 "2024-02-29T19:11:44Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Also, with so much video footage over so many years, it’s not hard to compare past with present and perceive mental deterioration. Although I will say, if he’s somehow putting on an act to look even more deranged and unhealthy, oh man, is he knocking it out of the park! I keep remembering how unhealthy and deranged I thought he was in 2020, but every time I look back at videos of him from that time, I’m amazed at how much better he looked then, than today. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2024, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/208 "2024-02-29T19:14:22Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > but every time I look back at videos of him from that time, Why on earth would somebody want to do that? My commiserations. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/209 "2024-02-29T19:15:21Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Why on earth would somebody want to do that? Sometime you have to Google shit to prove a point. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/210 "2024-02-29T19:16:44Z")
That’s the hard way to do it, as I wrote: my commiserations. Sounds like taking one for the team, hard job. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/211 "2024-02-29T19:40:06Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > No, Trump is a vibrant, extremely mentally sharp 77-year-old with perfect brain evaluation scores, who just happens to repeatedly confuse Biden with Obama. > [@DesertDog](#): > > And Haley with Pelosi. Trump was not confused, it was reality’s fault for not properly conforming to Trump’s statements. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/212 "2024-02-29T19:41:19Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > No matter how well-intentioned, we should not ourselves contribute to that trend. And in any event, demented or not, I don’t like him. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/213 "2024-02-29T20:47:28Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > I’m no medical professional nor have I examined him personally. I honestly don’t get what anyone could see in a person examination of him that isn’t blatantly obvious in every public appearance that he makes. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/214 "2024-02-29T20:51:23Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I honestly don’t get what anyone could see in a person examination of him that isn’t blatantly obvious in every public appearance that he makes. I agree. He’s a few clicks down from the guy in filthy clothes and a tinfoil hat, standing on the corner shrieking about aliens. Not much of a challenge to make a broad diagnosis. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/215 "2024-02-29T20:53:37Z")
Genuinely, I don’t care what the formal diagnosis is. I can watch both Trump and Biden for 5 minutes and know which one I want to run the country. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/216 "2024-02-29T20:57:03Z")
Trump has clearly explained that when he refers to Biden as Obama he’s doing it on purpose. When he referred to Nikki Haley as the one who failed to prevent the incident on January 6th instead of Nancy Pelosi he was doing it deliberately because he doesn’t think much of either one of them. And when he referred to Melania as Mercedes he was looking at one of his supporters and _his_ wife whose name is Mercedes but the liberal media doesn’t want you to know this. Trump has repeatedly explained to us that these aren’t gaffs on his part, and given how many cognative tests he’s passed combined with the respect for a statesman of his caliber, I don’t see why we would doubt him. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/217 "2024-02-29T20:59:05Z")
Your forgot the sarcasm tag. I hope. > [@Odesio](#): > > …given how many cognative tests he’s passed… “Cognitive.” ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/218 "2024-02-29T21:04:12Z")
It’s not like it’s an either/or situation. I know which I wouldn’t mind running the country and which one I think shouldn’t even be put in charge of putting toys away at naptime. But it’s also true that part of the reason we’re in this jam and have suffered through several series of mishaps is that people think they can safely ignore professional expertise, safely make snap judgments on their own, and just generally treat things like ethics and expertise and evidence with contempt. We should be able to have all of those things - somebody competent to lead the country AND the expectation that professionals behave ethically AND the concept that snap judgments on dementia via watching video clips is harmful to a lot of people who have or know somebody with dementia and have to deal with it If simply winning at all costs is sufficient, we’re just setting ourselves up for the same fight again and again and again while making our society meaner and poorer all the while ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/219 "2024-02-29T21:06:02Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > “Cognitive.” Damn it! That wasn’t on the test. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/220 "2024-02-29T21:07:20Z")
To be clear, the MiniMental Status Exam requires knowing some advanced material, including: - date, month, year, season and day of the week - geographic location, city, region, country, floor - being able to repeat, then recall 3 objects - counting backwards from 100 by sevens - being able to follow simple written instructions - being able to draw a clock - being able to draw intersecting shapes - identifying a pen and watch; knowing their use - and similar difficult puzzlers [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=12)