Homelessness started two years ago, Sherman tanks are brand new, we’ll have a plan in four weeks… Is this type of thing evidence of time confusion brought on by dementia? Or is he just talking out his ass with no regard for the truth?
I’ve been estranged from my father for years, but at the end of our relationship (when he was in his 60’s), I found it nearly impossible to communicate with him because of his self-centerdness. He seemed incapable of discussing anything other than himself, and he’d get distracted and lose focus if you were talking. Although he had spent many years as a successful businessman, I was struck by how ‘dumb’ he seemed, since his thoughts were so narrow.
Trump is like that. He isn’t interested in knowing anything, so you can’t talk with him. When he speaks, it’s repetitive, because the only thoughts in his head are the ones he came up with, and he’s not that creative. His worldview is essentially ‘stuck’ in some place and time where he decided he was fully formed, and further growth, development, or knowledge is deemed useless.
I just don’t think this is new. I mean, yes, in his 70s (and lacking a healthful diet or any sort of exercise), I believe Trump is slowing down. But he’s long been boring, bland, and lacking in substance. That is nothing new. What is new is simply the fact that legions of reporters (not merely gossip columnists in NYC) are now hanging on his every dumb word, and the areas he is asked to opine on focus on the biggest issues of the day.
Yes, there is a difference between his acuity as demonstrated in interviews 20 years ago and now. Arguably he was elected in this state, and the only people empowered to do anything about it refuse to act.
He may or may not be having dementia, but his confusion over busing, western liberalism, and Sherman tanks, is not evidence of it. Those are just garden variety ignorance. These are things that any person educated in history and political science should know, but the random person on the street would probably get wrong. Trump is basically what you get when you take a random loud mouth in a bar who has an opinion on everything, but very little actual knowledge and actually put him in charge. Trump only looks ignorant when compared with other policy makers, but he’s probably knows as much about anything as the average man on the street. This is why he is so appealing for his “straight talk”. Unlike the educated “elites” who usually get elevated to power, Trump talks and thinks just like they do.
I disagree totally. His inability to control his emotions, his constantly losing his train of thought, the videos of him getting lost and confused. This speaks to something deeper than just being a low information citizen (which I agree he is that too).
Here are videos of Trump trying to walk out of a room before signing a bill that the event he was speaking at was devoted to. He would give a speech about a bill or executive order, then forget to sign it and try to walk out of the room. People have blips and memory lapses, but when you give a speech about signing a bill and then try to walk out because you forgot what you are doing is not normal.
Here it Trump forgetting his own wife is standing next to him and him saying he wishes she could be there.
People don't do that just because they don't follow politics. You don't forget your wife is standing next to you (likely after she traveled with you to a location) just because you don't follow politics.
Here is the text to one of Donald Trump’s speeches.
Sheesh. I thought it was the biggest tell in the beginning when he said he wouldn’t do press briefings. All of his gaffes he gave in the last two years would’ve been noticed at press briefings in January 2017. He knew we’d notice his decline.
As far as '80s and '90s, he was just as demented then. Boasts about a book he wrote (he didn’t), gives stump funds to fund a casino and a tower, only to be planned bankruptcies. Yet, he’s surprised when no one-- NO ONE-- will loan him anymore money for real estate. Demented then, demented now.
Not to derail the thread, but this is another reason I don’t want the likes of Biden, Bernie, Warren, etc. as president either. We need to stop this trend of 70-80 year old presidents; it’s not ageist to point out what aging does to the brain.
His leaving without signing the bills is pretty telling. He seems confused especially in the second example.
The one with Melania, I’m not sure. He could be saying, “Melania made the trip because this touched her heart and she really wanted to be here to show her support.” This could be another mangled sentence rather than an example of profound confusion. I could go either way on that one.
While that is a valid concern, the rates of dementia don’t skyrocket until after age 80. At age 80 its about 10%, at age 95 its around 50%. So a president serving in their early 80s will hopefully be in the clear.
A 10% chance of a person with dementia having their finger on the nuclear button and command of the armed forces is not reassuring.
I think Biden and Bernie are too old at this point, and a 2nd Trump term is really pushing it. They may be OK now but I’m not confident they’ll still have all their faculties 6 years from now if they’re elected. And I’m not confident someone in their 80’s can handle the stress and sleep deprivation if there is a major crisis such as a nuclear war.
This is clearly not the case if one compares recordings of him from 20-30 years ago with live presentations of him now.
He was just as ignorant back then, just as narcissistic, just as obnoxious, yes. What is different now is that his overall mental faculties are showing obvious signs of decay.
I thought that I acknowledged the difference. But I attributed it to:
Being in his 70’s
Poor diet
No exercise
More people listening to him on a regular basis
A greater scope of things to talk about
In other words, I agree that he sounds more confused and befuddled than decades ago. I just don’t attribute it to dementia. (I freely admit that I could be wrong).
Having said that, it is a data point in this discussion that his father had dementia in his later years. Fred, however, lived until 93.
As far as the two pics, come on. The first one, geez, a pic of Trump caught making a ridiculous face, there’s what, approximately 800,000 to choose from? And Ivana’s attention doesn’t even seem to be on Trump, she is looking elsewhere. The second pic, well that’s just Trump’s fat ass.
