From The Mind of Merc - Trump's Mental Decline

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about Trump. Or, more specifically, Trump’s mental decline.

It is clear, whichever way you look at it, that there is something seriously wrong with the mental state of the President of the United States. I’m not referring to his racism, sexism, misogyny, narcissism or any of his other long-held and discriminatory beliefs (which could arguably, from my perspective, be referred symptoms of mental instability) but there are clear signs that the President is suffering from an increasingly severe cognitive decline.

Evidence includes:

-          verbal gaffes, growing confusion, and frequent memory lapses - including routinely confusing the names of countries, opponents, and foreign leaders, (which, according to Dr John Gartner states are “clinical signs of dementia”. Dr Gartner added that “Whatever personality issues or problems [people with dementia] have begin to deteriorate and they become even more crude, disorganized, aggressive, confused”.  In addition to this, Dr Ben Michaelis has noted a distinct difference both in his sentence structure and in the complexity of his vocabulary between from when he was, say, in 40s to now. Dr Michaelis also observed that Trump is not staying “linear” – he doesn’t stay on topic or answer the question he’s been asked (and not in the usual vague politician way but as in loses track of what was asked seconds earlier)).
-          falling asleep during high-profile meetings – in a work day that used to start at 10.30 and now rarely gets going before noon.
-          a wide-based gait and “droopy face” – noted by Dr Gartner as signs of a psychomotor deterioration 

Factor in a family history of history of dementia – Trump’s father, Fred Trump Sr. was diagnosed with dementia 8 years before he died and his niece, Mary Trump, has said she’s noticed similar symptoms in Trump that she saw in his father – and the probability of the president exhibiting at the very least early signs of the disease are too undeniable to ignore.

The trouble is, with Republicans controlling the government, and Trump being their golden goose, it is likely – however hypocritically given the focus that was directed at Biden’s mental health and capacity to operate efficiently in his role as President – that little will be done to prevent the President’s decline from impacting his work, our lives and the United States as a whole. And, when the man in charge of a country is using his personal affronts and perceived slights as the basis for national policy – like when Trump called off trade negotiations with Canada after taking a dislike to a viral video posted by Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking out against tariffs - this becomes a dangerous game for anyone to play or to allow to be played.