# 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:** 21
**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:** [March 18, 2024, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/401 "2024-03-18T03:23:04Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I see no evidence that liberals are defending Trump against those frightening and consequential statements. Anyone who is doing so is not, by definition, a liberal. He called for a bloodbath if he loses the election and liberals in this thread are defending the “what he MEANT was he believes it’ll be bad for the auto industry” BS. > [@CairoCarol](#): > > Why get all fussed over a leaky faucet when in the next room, the house is catching fire? Why not do both? The future of democracy is at stake in this election. I see no reason not to use every avenue of attack available. “When they go low we go high” is what got us this mess in the first place. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2024, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/402 "2024-03-18T03:31:54Z")
I’d agree with you _if_ I thought that jeering at Trump’s peculiar sighs or slips of the tongue was likely to be effective. I can’t imagine this will sway any swing voters, though, or convince any apathetic “they’re- **ALL** -awful” people that Trump is worse than Biden. Trump is not worse than Biden because his speech is word salad. He’s worse because he’s a demagogue with dangerous ideas. This is the message that matters. If Trump’s values were decent, he could make tons of weird noises and stumbles and I wouldn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/403 "2024-03-18T03:35:21Z")
I’m curious to what degree his likely dementia progresses in the next few months. Clearly, the MAGAts who have drunk the Kool-Aid can’t be swayed for the most part but it can/will drive independents away. I have no clue how quickly something like this gets worse but it does seem the last 6 month have seen significant advancement of issues. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2024, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/404 "2024-03-18T03:42:05Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Trump is not worse than Biden because his speech is word salad. He’s worse because he’s a demagogue with dangerous ideas. He’s a demagogue with dangerous ideas and he’s not of sound mind and getting worse. The American voters need to be asking if they want the nuclear codes in the hands of a man who can’t remember who he’s running against or all the names of his own children. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/405 "2024-03-18T03:44:17Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Do these people not understand that population growth is an actual thing? Jeez Louise. While the US population is growing, it’s not growing that fast. The reason Biden got more votes than Obama was that a higher fraction of the eligible voters turned out to vote. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/406 "2024-03-18T03:48:16Z")
Okay, given. But I remember reading somewhere that part of it was that millions turn 18 every year and become eligible to vote. [In 2021 that number was 4,000,000.](https://civicinfluencers.org/2021/09/29/4000000-americans-turn-18-in-2021-thats-voting-power/) Even with a turnout rate of 46% that’s a lot of new voters every year. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/407 "2024-03-18T03:57:56Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > But I remember reading somewhere that part of it was that millions turn 18 every year and become eligible to vote But you have to balance that out with the number who die every year. While those numbers never match, they come close. If it weren’t for immigration, the US population would be growing by less than 1m per year. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/408 "2024-03-18T04:21:56Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The American voters need to be asking if they want the nuclear codes in the hands of a man who can’t remember who he’s running against or all the names of his own children. He can do a lot more damage by giving people akin to Steve Bannon carte blanche to raid and restructure the government than he can with the nuclear codes. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2024, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/409 "2024-03-18T05:14:17Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > He can do a lot more damage by giving people akin to Steve Bannon carte blanche to raid and restructure the government Exactly … and that’s why focusing on his message is more important than focusing on his slip-ups. The fact is, his word salad and stumbles are not dramatic enough to convince undecided voters that he’s sliding into dementia. In this day and age of information overload, we can all make slips of the tongue, momentarily forget a word, misspeak, or - if we’re old or just getting there - have a senior moment. To convince undecided voters (as opposed to those of use who wouldn’t vote for Trump if tomorrow he developed the eloquence of Martin Luther King or Winston Churchill) that he shouldn’t be president because he’d have access to nuclear codes, he needs to unbutton his pants and pee on stage, ramble in detail for a full minute and a half about how he wants to f\*\*k his daughter, pick his nose and eat it, or … well, I am fortunate in that my imagination is failing me for more possibilities. Those of us who are already predisposed to be horrified at Trump - well, OF COURSE we hear his word salad, we shudder, and think, “how could any sane person vote for this guy?” But put yourselves in the shoes of someone less invested in politics, perhaps a bit suspicious of the “woke” liberal agenda, and imagine whether _they_ - not you - would tolerate the weaknesses revealed in those 5-15 second clips that us Trump-loathers point to as evidence of his encroaching dementia. To repeat myself - damn straight I would tolerate those lapses, if the candidate showing them were a decent human being with values I share. Sure, it is fantastic if a president is a great orator. But who would you rather have as president - a horrible human being with a silver tongue, or a slightly demented old guy whose heart and values are in the right place? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/410 "2024-03-18T05:42:34Z")
Damn, @CairoCarol , I wish we had a “like” button. Very nicely said! ---
**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:** [March 18, 2024, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/411 "2024-03-18T05:59:37Z")
Why, thank you! ---
**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:** [March 18, 2024, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/412 "2024-03-18T06:14:40Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > The fact is, his word salad and stumbles are not dramatic enough to convince undecided voters that he’s sliding into dementia. In this day and age of information overload, we can all make slips of the tongue, momentarily forget a word, misspeak, or - if we’re old or just getting there - have a senior moment. Not if Democrats keep writing them off as “just slips of the tongue” they won’t. You’re surrendering control of the messaging to Republicans and minimizing his obvious mental instability while they aggressively push a false “Biden has dementia” narrative. And judging from the percentage of Americans who now think Biden is senile ot just plain too old, it’s working for them. Republicans intend to fight dirty to win this election. We’re not going to beat them by adhering to Queensbury Rules. We should be aggressively throwing everything we have on him at the wall and let what sticks stick. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/413 "2024-03-18T11:48:02Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > We’re not going to beat them by adhering to Queensbury Rules. We should be aggressively throwing everything we have on him at the wall and let what sticks stick. This implies that the purpose of the thread is to change election results. I come at it with the idea of having fun batting around the possibility Trump is confused. George Lakoff suggests somewhere that if you encounter an intended Trump voter at a family dinner, repeatedly and supportively ask them about times they helped others. This gets to the real foundations of nativist populism, which have nothing to do with whether Trump might be increasingly confused, or just as skillful a nativist populist as ever. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/414 "2024-03-18T12:24:21Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > George Lakoff suggests somewhere that if you encounter an intended Trump voter at a family dinner, repeatedly and supportively ask them about times they helped others. Well that’s just weird. “Hey Aunt Jane, what have you done to help others”? That’s very accusatory. Trumps confusion is simple. He’s a moron. He is more and more confused because for some strange reason, for the first time in his life he’s being held accountable for his despicable actions. He can’t comprehend that. That, and he’s getting older. Mix that with the above, shake, and that’s what you get. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/415 "2024-03-18T13:50:35Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > George Lakoff suggests somewhere that if you encounter an intended Trump voter at a family dinner, repeatedly and supportively ask them about times they helped others. So when wife’s cousin comes over for dinner and makes his normal snide comments about Biden and Democrats, I should say “Hey, Tom, what have you done lately to help other people?” Then when he answers that he volunteers twice a week at a local soup kitchen (which he does), and delivers meals-on-wheels several days each month (which he does), how am I supposed to respond? I see no good reason to ask this question. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2024, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/416 "2024-03-18T14:04:39Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Not if Democrats keep writing them off as “just slips of the tongue” they won’t. You’re surrendering control of the messaging to Republicans and minimizing his obvious mental instability while they aggressively push a false “Biden has dementia” narrative. Yes! Of course Trump is a vile and dangerous demagogue, and his verbal diarrhea is but a nit in comparison. But his dementia (I’m convinced he’s in the throes) may be the deficiency that _finally_ makes him toxic to all but the most deluded. Keep hammering on it! Watch as it gets worse and call it out! Maybe he won’t get to the underpants-on-his-head stage I’m hoping for, but this is a realpolitik opportunity we can’t squander. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/417 "2024-03-18T14:33:19Z")
Donald has ten grandchildren. I’ve never seen him interact with any of them. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/418 "2024-03-18T15:01:31Z")
Ronald Reagan had severe dementia during his second administration. It never stopped the GOP from getting their legislation signed - or indeed from raising him to sainthood. I don’t think that proving Trump’s dementia to his followers will win you anything at all. They are still going to vote for the GOP nominee, and that’s him. As long as he can sign where they tell him to sign nobody in the GOP cares. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/419 "2024-03-18T15:05:40Z")
That’s true. Mitch McConnell goes catatonic and they don’t blink an eye. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/420 "2024-03-18T15:13:52Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Mitch McConnell goes catatonic and they don’t blink an eye. Well, obviously. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=22)