Democrats, including Kamala Harris, President Biden and Barack Obama, are taking a toll on the 78-year-old Trump’s mental health. Many Republicans, including some of Mr. Trump’s opponents, say they have seen no decline in Mr. Trump’s mental health since he first ran for president in 2016.
Donald Trump’s repeated gaffes, inappropriate statements and erratic behavior have led to questions from opponents about the 78-year-old Republican presidential candidate’s mental and physical health.
Abraham, who recently bopped for nearly 40 minutes to the beat of his own music playlist in a battleground state’s town hall, pro-Vladimir Putin blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion, and not “resolving” the Civil War・Even criticizing former President Lincoln and performing riffs. When it comes to locker room gossip about pro golfers’ anatomy, President Trump provides plenty of fodder for rivals who have declared him “unstable.”
Democrats, including horror novelist Stephen King and former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, have taken every opportunity to bash Trump, just as Republicans did against 81-year-old President Joe Biden earlier this year. This creates a target-rich environment.
Michael Cohen, a former Trump lawyer and current opponent who has testified against Trump in legal proceedings, said that “Trump has had moments of confusion and disorientation during interviews and rallies.” “The number of cases is increasing and their health appears to be at risk.”
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“That’s why he’s now obsessed with his medical records and declaring himself the healthiest person ever running for president in American history,” Cohen said. .
Other critics say Mr. Trump has always been unstable, but more people have noticed that since Mr. Biden withdrew from the presidential race in July.
Trump’s allies countered that the former reality TV star simply had a unique style and that the attention his unconventional behavior on the stumps drew was political.
Mr. Trump is by no means a sophisticated orator. From the beginning, his meetings were long and rambling, with periodic asides to attack his rivals or offer well-worn anecdotes. They became longer and less focused.
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His style is authentic and part of his appeal, supporters say. President Trump’s fans regularly praise him for not speaking like a typical politician.
However, in the final stages of his third presidential campaign, Trump has often raised eyebrows with his statements and actions. His refusal to release his age and detailed health records further deepens the doubts.
President Trump released only a general statement attesting to his health from Rep. Ronnie Jackson (R-Texas), a former White House physician who ran for Congress with Trump’s support.
“The fact that the campaign won’t release any medical reports tells us that we have unhelpful and unflattering data,” said Professor Jonathan Reiner, a former George Washington University cardiologist. (Medicine/Surgery) said. Vice President Dick Cheney.
Harris’ White House physician released a detailed two-page medical report on October 12, stating that Harris “has the physical and mental resilience necessary to successfully carry out the duties of the Presidency.” We are prepared,” he said.
Pressured to follow suit, the Trump campaign received a three-paragraph letter from his doctor in November 2023 stating that Trump was in “good overall health” and that his “cognitive test results were exceptional.” pointed out.
Harris pounces
If Trump wins, he will become the oldest person ever to be elected president.
Harris and Democrats are using the former president’s secrecy about his medical records and recent episodes to pursue questions about his suitability for president.
“He’s becoming more and more unstable and less and less free, and the American people are watching and witnessing that in real time,” Harris said Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania, where President Trump spoke of the late professional golfer. Hours before he gave a passionate speech about Arnold Palmer, with strong references to Palmer’s genitals.
Trump told the crowd that when Palmer took a shower, “the other men came out and said, ‘Oh my God. I can’t believe it.'”
President Trump recently stopped taking questions after two medical emergencies in the crowd at a town hall in Pennsylvania, and instead danced and played music for 39 minutes as his supporters trickled out. did.
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Mr. Biden piggybacked on Mr. Trump’s DJ set and told a crowd in Pennsylvania last week that Mr. Trump showed he was “not upset,” a phrase Ms. Harris echoed on Saturday.
The incident gave Biden an opportunity to return to Republican attacks on his age and frail appearance.
Trump is now a much older candidate. Mr. Harris turns 60 on Sunday.
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After President Trump delivered a deeply funny monologue at a recent banquet hosted by the Catholic Archbishop of New York, Al Smith, former Republican Congresswoman Barbara Comstock wrote, “A confused Trump slurred his words in front of the priests. He was cursing, enacting a list of revenge against mean women and putting on a show.” His brain is spinning down the drain. ”
Although Trump’s supporters say he has the energy and mental sharpness of a much younger man, there are also signs that he is showing age. Recently, he has been canceling many appearances, and there are questions that he may be suffering from fatigue.
Politico reported last week that when the online news site The Shade Room sought a meeting with the former president, Trump’s advisers were “exhausted and refusing (some) interviews.” It was reported that he was told.
“His team says he’s suffering from fatigue, but that’s their excuse,” Harris told reporters Friday.
“Being president of the United States is probably one of the toughest jobs in the world,” she said. ? ”
Harris’ campaign then ran a series of news headlines about Trump’s alleged exhaustion over X, writing, “Okay, Donald, let’s put it to bed.”
Some experts don’t expect a significant decline.
Experts say that if anything is wrong with Trump, only his doctors and family would know, but he does not appear to suffer from easily identifiable age-related symptoms. .
Jamie Riley, a cognitive psychologist at Temple University in Philadelphia, said President Trump has always had a unique way of speaking. “Can you put a label on it? I don’t think so,” Riley said.
“He looks completely different from day to day,” Riley said, which is inconsistent with a diagnosis of a disease that often comes with age, such as Parkinson’s disease or dementia.
Arthur McGovern, a psychology professor at Nicholls College in Massachusetts, said that although President Trump has said many things that are not true, his language is in line with politicians like Obama, who is well known for his objectivity. He said it was as “real” as the words. reality.
McGovern’s own analysis of Trump’s public performance has found nothing that raises concerns about Trump’s mental health and no signs of decline in the former president’s health.
“To me, he’s not a particularly alarming case,” McGovern said. “Unfortunately, that’s what happened to Biden.”
Clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis analyzed Mr. Trump’s speech patterns from before he became a TV star until he became president.
He said Trump became “incredibly lucid” in his 40s and used much more complex sentence structures than when he first ran for president in his 60s.
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“He seemed very sophisticated in his way of speaking and his use of vocabulary. In middle age, it was more linear,” Michaelis said. “So there was definitely some loss.”
But when Michaelis looks at President Trump’s language from 2017 to today, he doesn’t see much change.
“If he were your grandfather, you probably wouldn’t think twice. He just happens to be running for president, and the danger is clear to me,” Michaelis said.
“I’m not even tired.”
Trump has previously described himself as a “very stable genius” and said his critics were just playing politics.
“I don’t even feel tired. I’m really excited,” Trump told reporters in Detroit on Friday. Do you know why? We’re killing her in the polls because the American people don’t want her. ”
President Trump’s press secretary, Caroline Leavitt, said reports that Trump was exhausted were “patently false” and that Trump was in excellent health.
But the online political site Bulwark reported on Saturday that “the exhaustion is real” because of the aggressive campaign schedule, citing anonymous sources who spoke with Trump and know him.
“Of course he’s tired,” a Trump adviser told the magazine. “Who isn’t tired?”
Almost all of President Trump’s events include mistakes, slurred speech, and other anomalies that are quickly pointed out by his opponents.
President Obama last week pounced on Trump’s bizarre comments about in vitro fertilization and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.
“He called himself the ‘father of in vitro fertilization,'” President Obama said at a rally in Tucson, Arizona. “I don’t know what that means. You don’t either. He said January 6th was the day of love…It was like Woodstock.”
Republicans say Trump is the same as always.
But some Trump critics believe not much has changed.
Former Illinois Republican Congressman Joe Walsh said, “All the recent talk about whether Trump is ‘lost’ misses the larger question of whether Trump was ‘lost’ in the first place.” “I’m doing it,” he said.
“I don’t see any change in Trump,” Walsh said, adding that Trump has always been “no nonsense.”
Trump’s gaffes include repeatedly mixing up names.
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In a speech before the New Hampshire primary on January 23, Trump referred to Republican opponent Nikki Haley as Nancy Pelosi, and regularly refers to Biden. quoting Obama’s name.
President Trump’s rambling style can be detrimental in delivering a closing message that often seems scatterbrained.
Marc Short, who served as President Trump’s White House legislative director and then as chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, said President Trump focused intensely on two issues that favor Republicans: immigration and the economy. He said he should guess.
Instead, “he still seems to be rehashing past grievances or perhaps bringing up topics that are off-message.” Short said Trump has made false claims about Haitian immigrants and further personal attacks on Harris. He pointed out that the focus is on
But Short doesn’t think Trump’s age is the root cause or that his mental strength is failing.
“I don’t know,” Short said. “I think he has a lot of stamina for a 78-year-old. I don’t think there’s been a huge change in attitude or temperament.”
Short believes the Harris campaign is simply raising the issue to get Trump to react and get his message off the table, a tactic that won him a victory in the Sept. 10 debate. .
Many Republicans argue that criticisms of President Trump’s mental competency are untrue.
Sam Nunberg worked on Trump’s first campaign but became a critic. He hasn’t noticed any “obvious differences” in Trump’s public presentations.
“He’s not Joe Biden,” Nunberg said.
Allies who have spent time with him recently are adamant that Trump is mentally strong.
“He’s very sharp,” said Rep. Michael Walz of Florida, who attended a recent Pennsylvania rally. “I’ve never seen anyone in my life with an engine and motor like his.”
(This article has been updated with a changed heading and new information.)
White House correspondent Joey Garrison contributed to this report
