# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/141 "2024-01-30T03:23:04Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Of course, now I can’t find the clip. Please withdraw my comment. If I find the clip, then I will post it. Well, he confused Iraq with Syria. Maybe that’s what you meant? > **[Trump mistakenly says the US bombed Iraq](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ETjmylZaFs%2F)** > > During an interview on Fox Business Network, President Trump mistakenly said the US launched 59 missiles, "Heading to Iraq." ---
**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 15, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/142 "2024-02-15T20:28:37Z")
> [@President Joe Biden and the runup to the 2024 election](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/772): > > Trump, on the other hand, still seems to be able to speak quickly and extemporaneously. He does not present as anywhere near as compromised as Biden intellectually. You must have missed this thread. I encourage you to review it thoroughly and see if you reach the same conclusion as your assertion above. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/143 "2024-02-15T20:40:38Z")
I’ve seen Trump’s gaffes. And yeah, they could be symptomatic of early-onset dementia. But emphasis on ‘early’. Trump can talk extemporaneously to a crowd for two hours and keep them entertained. He fills sports stadiums because he entertains the crowd. Joe Biden shuffles stiffly to the podium, takes a long time to collect his thoughts, speaks slowly, and still makes gaffe after gaffe. Like that press conference he called after the Hur report that was so mock-worthy. He CHOSE to come back to the podium to say something, then fumbled with his papers for 30 seconds trying to figure out what to say. He started talking about the Gaza border, but somehow landed on Mexico (probably because there have been Mexican border issues, and he momentarily conflated them). Then he called the President of Mexico ‘Sisi’, who is actually the President of Egypt (and named El-Sisi, not ‘Sisi’). He basically mangled together two issues and left everyone scratching their heads. He wasn’t put on the spot - he had something to say, went back to the podium to say it, and lost himself. That’s what it looked like to me. ---
**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 15, 2024, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/144 "2024-02-15T21:10:09Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Trump can talk extemporaneously to a crowd for two hours and keep them entertained. He fills sports stadiums because he entertains the crowd. Except Trump can’t speak in complete sentences. Trump can’t finish a thought. He speaks in nonsensical, incoherent, word-salad gibberish. And Trump can’t fill a stadium. And he’s easily confused because of his narcissistic personality disorder. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/145 "2024-02-15T21:18:32Z")
That’s because Trump is a blowhard idiot, not because he’s senile. He’s been saying crazy shit since he entered politics. IMO, it’s a bad combination of narcissism and Dunning-Kreuger. But of course he’s not as mentally sharp as he was 20 years ago. Nobody is. Nobody is as sharp at 40 than they were at 20, either. Hopefully, experience and knwledge makes up for brain firepower. In Trump’s case, apparently not. My grandfather died of Alzheimers. He had the name-confusion thing, but then he had that when he was 20, and I’ve also had it my whole life. He used to call me by my brother’s name, and vice versa. He’d correct himself instantly, though. I think it was more a Tourette’s type of symptom than dementia. I don’t blame Biden or Trump for occasionally mixing up a name, especialloy if they are aware they did it and correct it. If they aren’t aware, and keep doing it, that’s another matter. I’m not sure if that’s the case with either of them, though. ---
**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 15, 2024, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/146 "2024-02-15T21:23:59Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > That’s because Trump is a blowhard idiot, not because he’s senile. Not mutually exclusive. Trump is demonstrating cognitive decline, _and_ he’s a blowhard idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/147 "2024-02-15T21:24:06Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Trump can talk extemporaneously to a crowd for two hours and keep them entertained. He could recite Jabberwocky backwards, _in the original Klingon_, hands flailing wildly as they often do, and his crowd would cheer wildly. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2024, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/148 "2024-02-15T21:26:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Trump can’t fill a stadium. Give the man some time will you? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hY84jqSyspI/0.jpg) ](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hY84jqSyspI/0.jpg) Remember ~~Allende~~ Obama, and the days before, before the army came Please remember ~~Victor Jara~~ Taylor Swift, in the ~~Santiago Stadium~~ FedExField, ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/149 "2024-02-15T21:39:31Z")
False equivalency, comparing mistakes made by Trump vs. mistakes made by Biden. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/150 "2024-02-15T21:43:26Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > And yeah, they could be symptomatic of early-onset dementia. PSA You are using the term ‘early-onset dementia’ incorrectly. Early-onset dementia means dementia in a younger person. I think you meant to say, “And yeah, they could be early symptoms of dementia.” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/151 "2024-02-15T21:43:57Z")
This is true. Embrace the power of AND. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/152 "2024-02-15T21:46:16Z")
Thanks. You’re right. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > False equivalency, comparing mistakes made by Trump vs. mistakes made by Biden. I wasn’t drawing any kind of equivalency, other than that in both cases it could be something other than dementia. ---
**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 15, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/153 "2024-02-15T22:17:21Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Take the last sentence, and in particular the final four words. “[W]e’re going to de-bank.” Whatever meaning we speculate he intended for “de-bank,” it’s tough to hammer those final four words into something coherent with whatever we think he means. Here is an [MSNBC article](https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/trump-speech-debank-extremists-jim-jordan-rcna134524) that IMHO makes the pretty good case that it refers to members of the far right being kicked off payment platforms (e.g. [Laura Loomer](https://www.thedailybeast.com/paypal-bans-anti-muslim-fanatic-laura-loomer-from-their-platform)) His saying “We’re going to debank” I just the standard threat where if you do something to us we will do it back to you. So when we get back in charge we will prohibit banks from doing any buisiness with liberals. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/154 "2024-02-15T22:38:51Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I wasn’t drawing any kind of equivalency, other than that in both cases it could be something other than dementia. This, this is true. None of us are in a position to diagnose either candidate, only a qualified doctor with proper testing could do so. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2024, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/155 "2024-02-15T22:51:23Z")
[![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GGZAsjCa8AAM67Z?format=jpg&name=medium) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GGZAsjCa8AAM67Z?format=jpg&name=medium) ---
**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 15, 2024, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/156 "2024-02-15T23:11:39Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > So Trump is Chat-GPT? Don’t confuse stochastic parrot with stochastic terrorist, is my advice. Though he might be both at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/157 "2024-02-15T23:12:50Z")
I think Trump meant “transpose” (the word “interpose” wouldn’t make sense in this context) but those are complicated words so I’d let that pass. Of course, even if what’s he’s saying is true (which I doubt), it still doesn’t make sense. Getting them mixed up doesn’t make any kind of rational point. It’s not like he was attributing something to one politician that would be equally applied to the other. I mean, if it’s a gaffe on his part, whatever. Every politician does them. Every _person_ does them. The more you speak the more you’ll make, and when you’re doing them on camera then they are immortalized. Look at the blooper reels of any scripted work and you’ll see outtake after outtake of gaffes. It happens. This might be yet another example of “the coverup worse than the crime”. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2024, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/158 "2024-02-16T00:30:19Z")
Oh, that could _never_ happen here. (narrator: It certainly could) ---
**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 16, 2024, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/159 "2024-02-16T01:26:41Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Oh, that could _never_ happen here. [_It Happened Here_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Happened_Here) (1964). ---
**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 16, 2024, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/160 "2024-02-16T15:35:38Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Of course, even if what’s he’s saying is true (which I doubt), it still doesn’t make sense. I mean, if you’re trying to make a sarcastic remark about how Biden isn’t actually working as the President, that he’s just a front for Obama, you don’t just call him “Obama”, you mix it up. “Obama, Junior”, making him seem less than Obama, and also a bit of a joke about their relative ages. Or “Obama Lite”, or “Obama’s Understudy”, or “Joebama”, or something, so we have a clue that you’re actually _comparing_ the two, not _confusing_ them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=9)