# 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:** 123
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2474 "2024-10-10T01:57:11Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > (Note: Trump owns a swimming pool and never swims, and has never taken his shirt off in public Well thank God for small miracles ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2475 "2024-10-10T02:18:20Z")
Grandpa needs his nap. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2476 "2024-10-10T02:30:46Z")
I do not see confusion in the great majority of recent examples in the thread. It rather reads like what a demagogue, of any age, might tell supporters. As for the claim that “disinhibition is a common sign of dementia.” I think it is more a sign of being a wannnbe dictator. Rodrigo Duterte was known for swearing. I did see that article in the New York Times saying Trump uses more all or nothing, and negative, language then before, but the percent changes were not radical. Bu say I am wrong, and Trump is suffering from dementia. Those around him will be able to manipulate him, making him unable to consolidate dictatorial power. I wonder who those people would be. If the point is that he talks like someone that should never be allowed to have authority over nuclear weapons, or any other military authority, I totally agree. And Commander in Chief is the most important POTUS duty. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2477 "2024-10-10T02:50:14Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > As for the claim that “disinhibition is a common sign of dementia.” I think it is more a sign of being a wannnbe dictator. Trump swears a lot more now than he did eight years ago. You didn’t see him calling things “bullshit” all the time back then. Hell, 2016 Trump was a Rhodes scholar compared to 2024 Trump. Add that to the paraphasias, the increasingly simple and repetitive nature of his diatribes to the point of repeating the same story two or three times in one speech, the increasing reliance on phrases like “levels nobody’s ever seen”, the referring to himself in third person, his inability to draw on any pop culture references later than 1985 or so (as seen last week when he said Johnny Carson, who has been dead for 20 years, should come back to the Tonight Show), and his apparent inability to remember things that happened when he was president, makes it pretty clear IMO that his sanity is slipping. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2478 "2024-10-10T03:00:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “Your child goes to school and they take your child. It was a he and comes back a she. And they do this. And often without parental consent.” You missed the last question he posed: > [@](#): > > Can you even believe we’re saying this? Uh, yeah. His need for lying is nearly at the level as his need for breathing. Dipshits cheer this 100% BS. MORONS! Everyone voting for Trump is a moron by association. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2479 "2024-10-10T03:08:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “Steve Moore was a great guy. Do you know who Steve Moore is? From: [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen\_Moore\_(writer)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Moore_(writer)) > In 2012, a Virginia court held Moore in contempt of court for failing to pay his ex-wife $300,000 in spousal support, child support, and other obligations in his divorce settlement.[71] Moore did not respond to repeated court requests to make payments and failed to appear for a deposition before the court threatened to have him arrested and ordered him to sell his home to make the payments; the court revoked the order at Moore’s request after he made a $217,000 payment.[84][33] In January 2018, the IRS obtained a tax lien against Moore for $75,328 in unpaid federal taxes, interest, and penalties, alleging Moore had filed a “fraudulent” tax return in 2014. Moore contended that his accountant made an error in improperly deducting child support payments and that the lien was the result of an IRS miscalculation,[63] though Moore claims to have paid the lien and Montgomery County, Maryland Circuit Court records show the case is closed.[85] In addition to the child support payments, the IRS also disallowed other deductions Moore had claimed.[84] Sounds like a swell guy we can all aspire to. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2480 "2024-10-10T03:09:58Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Sounds like a swell guy we can all aspire to. Sounds like a guy with a Trump-like approach to paying taxes and court settlements. ---
**Author:** ![Win\_Place\_Show](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/win_place_show/32/13469_2.png) [@Win\_Place\_Show](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Win_Place_Show)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2481 "2024-10-10T04:50:16Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > as seen last week when he said Johnny Carson, who has been dead for 20 years, should come back to the Tonight Show I just looked that up - how the hell did that not gain as much steam and linger around as long as the “Biden said his uncle was eaten my cannibals” bullshit did across social media? > **[Donald Trump Claims Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Tonight Show’ Is ‘Dying’ and Late Night...](https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/donald-trump-johnny-carson-late-night-fallon-dying-1236154483/)** > > Donald Trump says Jimmy Fallon's "The Tonight Show" is dying and calls for the return of Johnny Carson, who died in 2005. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2482 "2024-10-10T05:05:01Z")
> [@Win\_Place\_Show](#): > > how the hell did that not gain as much steam and linger around as long as the “Biden said his uncle was eaten my cannibals” bullshit did across social media? I mean, the thing about Biden’s uncle is at least plausible in that there were tribes in New Guinea who practiced ritual cannibalism up until the '70s. His uncle was on a plane that crashed at sea, but if he had survived and managed to parachute into the jungle, there’s a non-zero chance that it could’ve happened. Compare that to the world Trump lives in where public schools are performing sex change operations on elementary students during the school day without the parents’ knowledge or consent, when in real life they can’t even give your kid an aspirin without your approval. ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2483 "2024-10-10T07:38:57Z")
> [@](#): > > “I dropped him like a dog.” Sorry Donny, that’s Kristi Noem’s job. > [@Smapti](#): > > Trump swears a lot more now than he did eight years ago. You didn’t see him calling things “bullshit” all the time back then. Hell, 2016 Trump was a Rhodes scholar compared to 2024 Trump. > > Add that to the paraphasias, the increasingly simple and repetitive nature of his diatribes to the point of repeating the same story two or three times in one speech, the increasing reliance on phrases like “levels nobody’s ever seen” So whether or not Trump might technically be suffering from dementia at this point, this is the one thing about his recent speeches that has stuck out to me. There are many articles out there attempting to analyze his word usage, and generally how articulate he is now versus in the past. And it’s this constant repetition and use of the same words over and over and over again. Even with the understanding that politicians of above average intelligence and rhetorical ability have a tendency to dumb down their public statements for consumption, and with the understanding that repetition is a rhetorical strategy in and of itself, he sounds like a fifth grader who’s never heard of a thesaurus. It’s just the exact same words and phrases over and over again. This is not repetition for the sake of emphasis, it seems like a legit inability to conjure new words for the same concepts. And it’s particularly noticeable when he goes off teleprompter. There’s more than one way to say something is the biggest thing of all time. Without sounding like an idiot. On this front at least, Donny is failing to clear a very low bar. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2024, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2484 "2024-10-10T08:01:17Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Those around him will be able to manipulate him, making him unable to consolidate dictatorial power. Making **him** unable to consolidate dictatorial power. It’s what the manipulators are doing that would be the concern. They’d get everything they ever wanted, with Demented Donnie as the ultimate fall guy. “Oh, _ **I** _ didn’t want the power to ban unions with a wave of my hand, it was THE PRESIDENT who asked me to do this job, I am but a humble servant who serves at the pleasure of THE PRESIDENT. If _I_ don’t do this job the way THE PRESIDENT wants it done, he’ll just find someone worse to do it! _I’m actually helping_, you ungrateful swine!” ---
**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:** [October 10, 2024, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2485 "2024-10-10T08:04:45Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > You missed the last question he posed: > > > [@](#): > > > > Can you even believe we’re saying this? > > Uh, yeah. His need for lying is nearly at the level as his need for breathing. It’s like when I saw the “They’re eating the cats!” bit during the debate. I’m in a quantum superposition of both belief and disbelief that we’re actually hearing this shit. Sure, obviously he needs to lie, there’s no way he’d win with the truth, but then, _these_ lies? What?!? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2486 "2024-10-10T08:45:31Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > It’s what the manipulators are doing that would be the concern. They’d get everything they ever wanted, with Demented Donnie as the ultimate fall guy. “Oh, _ **I** _ didn’t want the power to ban unions with a wave of my hand, it was THE PRESIDENT who asked me to do this job, I am but a humble servant who serves at the pleasure of THE PRESIDENT. If _I_ don’t do this job the way THE PRESIDENT wants it done, he’ll just find someone worse to do it! _I’m actually helping_, you ungrateful swine!” In the novelization of _Star Wars: A New Hope_, which was written by Alan Dean Foster long before George Lucas decided that Sheev Palpatine was the Ultimate Sith Lord, the Emperor is described as being an ineffective figurehead who has become isolated from the people and is controlled by politicians and generals carrying out atrocities in his name. That’s what Trump would be if he gets reelected. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2024, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2487 "2024-10-10T11:43:07Z")
Why do you think there’s a Project 2025? Trump isn’t smart or evil enough to come up with all those horrific plans. But he doesn’t care if someone does them in his name as long as he stays out of jail and can continue his various grifts. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2488 "2024-10-10T11:56:12Z")
I’m watching the toll taken by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and wondering why Trump’s innate sense of humanity hasn’t compelled him to suspend his campaign, head down to Florida, and _help:_ [![](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/171003141618-02-trump-paper-towels-puerto-rico-10-03-2017.jpg?q=w_3000,h_2000,x_0,y_0,c_fill) ](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/171003141618-02-trump-paper-towels-puerto-rico-10-03-2017.jpg?q=w_3000,h_2000,x_0,y_0,c_fill) [Just a reminder that Trump said relief efforts in Puerto Rico were hampered by PR being “an island surrounded by water. _Big water_ . Ocean water.” He wasn’t _always_ confused. Back then, he was just a moron.] ---
**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:** [October 10, 2024, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2489 "2024-10-10T12:41:13Z")
> [@Win\_Place\_Show](#): > > I just looked that up - how the hell did that not gain as much steam and linger around as long as the “Biden said his uncle was eaten my cannibals” bullshit did across social media? > > [Donald Trump Wants Johnny Carson's Late Night Return: Fallon Is Dying](https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/donald-trump-johnny-carson-late-night-fallon-dying-1236154483/) I liked this trump quote from that article: > “I don’t like anybody that doesn’t like me,” Trump added during the rally. “I’ll be honest, when they don’t like me, I don’t like them. OK? Sounds childish… That’s the way it is. Call it a personality defect.” Ok, I will… trump, you are childish and you have a personality defect. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2490 "2024-10-10T12:51:24Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > [x.com](https://x.com/atrupar/status/1844170304404259213) I wonder if those in the background are paid to hold those signs. They sure look bored in that still image! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2491 "2024-10-10T12:51:56Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Ok, I will… trump, you are childish and you have a personality defect. Oh, that’s not true. He has **many** personality defects. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2024, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2492 "2024-10-10T12:58:36Z")
Y’know, I was going to amend my post to say just that, but the fact is, his entire personality is defective. It’s like a car with multiple defects-- at some point you stop trying to track them all down, just declare the car a lemon, and try to get your money back. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2493 "2024-10-10T13:00:03Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > In the novelization of _Star Wars: A New Hope_, which was written by Alan Dean Foster long before George Lucas decided that Sheev Palpatine was the Ultimate Sith Lord, the Emperor is described as being an ineffective figurehead who has become isolated from the people and is controlled by politicians and generals carrying out atrocities in his name. > > That’s what Trump would be if he gets reelected. I was thinking more of the _Star Trek_ episode “Patterns of Force”; John Gill as a figurehead Führer and Melakon as the power behind the throne. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=122) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=124)