# 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:** 162
**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:** [November 1, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3254 "2024-11-01T22:58:30Z")
> [@Smapti (quoting Trump)](#): > > “We should have never gone into Ukraine. If I was president, you would have never gone into Ukraine.” (We HAVEN’T “gone into Ukraine”) Trump is obviously a great patriot. He obviously has a deep and abiding love for, and commitment to, his country. Unfortunately, that country is Russia. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3255 "2024-11-01T23:08:06Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > In fairness, I think most of us have had a situation where we reached out to grab something and missed A couple days ago my left foot slipped while i was trying to plant it on the curb as I stopped my bicycle. I very _un_gracefully fell over in a heap into the bushes. I am 76 years old, but have these sort of smooth moves my whole life. I will grant that Mr Trump similarly may have just had an awkward moment as soon as he is willing to cut Prez Biden the same slack. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2024, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3256 "2024-11-01T23:23:33Z")
Allow me to remind you IOWRDI. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3257 "2024-11-01T23:53:40Z")
Very insightful article from John McWhorter (a Columbia University linguist) in _The New York Times_ on whether Trump’s verbal diarrhea of late indicates mental decline or something more prosaic like simple boredom. Gift link: > **[Opinion | Donald Trump Is Bored](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/31/opinion/donald-trump-speech-aging.html)** > > There’s plenty going on there, but it’s not senility. It’s “extravagance.” In the last paragraph, he gets to the point about whether he thinks Trump is truly mentally diminished or not: > [@John McWhorter](#): > > I’m not seeing it. My fear is that Trump in office would be perfectly and horrifically sane and more or less stay that way for his whole term. What many see of late as crazy is just him champing at the bit to get into office so that he can use it for his mentally maleficent ends. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3258 "2024-11-02T00:53:00Z")
I hate quoting myself in the same thread, but I feel the need to point out that I made a very similar observation to this like a week ago. Searching… Yep found it. > [@Jihi](#): > > Trump’s not even trying anymore. (If he ever did) He’s just blurting out the first nonsense that enters his head. > > My suspicion is he’s impatient to get this over with because campaigning is too much like a real work for him. It’s why he’s taken to just dancing on stage and not saying anything. He loves the adulation but making speeches is getting difficult for him. And to be frank, if I was 78 years old and had to keep the schedule that he is right now I would probably feel the same way (Post 3080 or thereabouts. From October 26th.) Now this doesn’t eliminate the possibility of mental deterioration. Something is clearly going on with Trump, whether it be Alzheimer’s or dementia or something else. But I agree with the article quoted above. I didn’t use the word “bored”, but I do think Trump is just over all of this. And it’s leading to his filter, such as it ever was, completely disappearing. I think he’s massively insulted that he hasn’t ran away with this race as he expected to. It’s narcissism combined with extreme entitlement. He thinks he has a god given “right” to the White House. It’s not something that he should have to earn. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3259 "2024-11-02T01:08:51Z")
If it’s not deterioration, then I’ll take exhaustion over boredom. Granted, boredom IS a feature of a toddler’s attitude. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3260 "2024-11-02T01:25:00Z")
I disagree with McWhorter, and point out he has no qualifications in diagnosing senility. How does he exain trump repeatedly forgetting that Obama is no longer president? Unable to complete any coherent thoughts? The examples are endless. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3261 "2024-11-02T01:30:58Z")
> [@Jihi](#): > > I didn’t use the word “bored”, but I do think Trump is just over all of this. I would say that Trump knows that he’s going to lose and that his health is degenerating at a rate where he’s not going to be able to do this again four years from now, so he’s just trying for one last hoorah. (For that matter, he hasn’t even been golfing lately, and he loves golf more than he loves McDonald’s.) ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3262 "2024-11-02T01:32:45Z")
Orangeboy is senile. Has been for decades. But the MAGAs eat it up. They just hear “Obama… Biden… enemies… Cheney…” and the shit supporters start supporting just for the name drops. BTW, has Trump ever insulted DICK Cheney for his Harris support? ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3263 "2024-11-02T01:47:03Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > BTW, has Trump ever insulted DICK Cheney for his Harris support? You assume he knows who Dick Cheney is. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3264 "2024-11-02T01:49:13Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Very insightful article from John McWhorter (a Columbia University linguist) in _The New York Times_ on whether Trump’s verbal diarrhea of late indicates mental decline or something more prosaic like simple boredom. It can be two things- I think what trump’s exhibiting lately is a combo of mental decline and exhaustion from his appearance schedule, not so much boredom. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3265 "2024-11-02T02:23:08Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > How does he exain trump repeatedly forgetting that Obama is no longer president? I say — normal age related memory loss. Are there men his age who do not show it? Yes, but Trump is probably in the normal range. > [@needscoffee](#): > > Unable to complete any coherent thoughts? I just do not see that. He leaves out words a lot but — even though I admit to age related memory loss myself, at age 69 — I almost always understand what he meant. > [@needscoffee](#): > > The examples are endless. But the examples where he expressed himself coherently are even more endless. If he wins, we will be so much better off should he be confused. He’ll order subordinates to take illegal actions and, fearing jail, they won’t do it — and then Trump won’t follow-up. Wonderful! But I’m a pessimist when it comes to his being confused. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3266 "2024-11-02T02:29:57Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > If he wins, we will be so much better off should he be confused. The techno-fascists backing him are HOPING he’s mentally infirm. It’ll make it all the easier for them to get their cronies into the Cabinet and then 25th amendment him so Just a Dumbass Vance can be the figurehead of a de facto Musk/Thiel administration. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3267 "2024-11-02T02:38:00Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > [@needscoffee](#): > > > > Unable to complete any coherent thoughts? > > I just do not see that. He leaves out words a lot but — even though I admit to age related memory loss myself, at age 69 — I almost always understand what he meant. > > > [@needscoffee](#): > > > > The examples are endless. > > But the examples where he expressed himself coherently are even more endless. If you _almost always_ understand what he meant then, by definition, Trump is not expressing himself coherently. If Trump was expressing himself coherently you would not need to _understand what he meant_, what he meant would be clear. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3268 "2024-11-02T02:52:06Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > If you _almost always_ understand what he meant then, by definition, Trump is not expressing himself coherently. > If Trump was expressing himself coherently you would not need to _understand what he meant_, what he meant would be clear. Bingo. I’m reminded of how one might have to interpret what a very young person says or an elderly person you’re familiar with. Like my neice when she was 3 or my mother-in-law now, I usually understand what Trump means. Like when he said Nikki Haley was responsible for the poor security on January 6, 2001 I knew he really meant Nancy Pelosi. When get complained about how Obama was running show I knew he meant Biden. Even though I knew what he meant, it’s a problem when I have to interpret what he says. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3269 "2024-11-02T02:58:33Z")
“Your team is very good. I would say the Greek is a seriously good player, do you agree? And tell me, who has more Greek in him? The Greek or me? I think we have about the same right?” > “Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage? I get so mad, I’m up here seething. I’m working my ass off with this stupid mic.” > Blowing an invisible Arnold Palmer > “Mrs. Obama was very nasty to me. What was that all about Scott Walker?” > “I’m blowing out my right arm and I’m blowing out my damn throat too because these stupid people. I’ll make you a deal - pretend you’re listening to it perfectly and I’ll come back and do another one, OK?” > “They have computers all over the place, and robots, lots of robots by the way. So I said, well, how’s that going? I was making a speech and there’s some, right about there, where that very beautiful girl is, I’m not allowed to say that, see that beautiful blonde girl right there? I said, now you know that’s the end of your political career, you’re not allowed to call anyone beautiful anymore.” > ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3270 "2024-11-02T02:58:40Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > When get complained Don’t worry, I know what you meant 😉 ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3271 "2024-11-02T02:59:16Z")
Idk if I put it this thread or another one, but Fred Trump was formally diagnosed with dementia at age 85 after years of symptoms. There’s no reason to doubt that Donny is in the same boat. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3272 "2024-11-02T03:01:50Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “Your team is very good. I would say the Greek is a seriously good player, do you agree? And tell me, who has more Greek in him? The Greek or me? I think we have about the same right?” Given that he’s in Milwaukee, I imagine he’s talking about the Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who _is_ Greek (born in Athens, granted Greek citizenship in 2013), to Nigerian parents. At a minimum, the second half of that statement is a bit insulting – it certainly could be seen to imply, “he doesn’t _look_ Greek.” [![](https://res.cloudinary.com/ybmedia/image/upload/c_crop,h_1123,w_2000,x_0,y_105/c_fill,f_auto,h_900,q_auto,w_1600/v1/m/0/0/00978ba0a2c5d8aac9f38dc9a2e7720675010563/report-giannis-antetokounmpo-available-trade.jpg) ](https://res.cloudinary.com/ybmedia/image/upload/c_crop,h_1123,w_2000,x_0,y_105/c_fill,f_auto,h_900,q_auto,w_1600/v1/m/0/0/00978ba0a2c5d8aac9f38dc9a2e7720675010563/report-giannis-antetokounmpo-available-trade.jpg) ---
**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:** [November 2, 2024, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/3273 "2024-11-02T03:07:28Z")
…he’s implying that he has “more Greek in him” because he’s white, isn’t he? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=161) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=163)