Count me in, brother! Just think, after this upcoming term as VP, and two probable terms as president, JD will still just be 52 years old!
Chills watching JD Vance walk in surrounded be security. What kind of loser tweets that?
Obviously, a gentleman named Larry D. Jones, Jr.
I didn’t realize how homo-erotic security details could be for you guys. Whatever you’re into…
I think the correct term is, “NTTIAWWT.” Is that your side arm pressing up against me or are you just happy to see me? Did you weep when you read the text and looked at the pic? Be honest.
Count me in, brother! Just think, after this upcoming term as VP, and two probable terms as president, JD will still just be 52 years old!
Chills watching JD Vance walk in surrounded be security. What kind of loser tweets that?
Obviously, a gentleman named Larry D. Jones, Jr.
I didn’t realize how homo-erotic security details could be for you guys. Whatever you’re into…
I think the correct term is, “NTTIAWWT.” Is that your side arm pressing up against me or are you just happy to see me? Did you weep when you read the text and looked at the pic? Be honest.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Say what you want about Donald Trump, but President-elect Musk will really be relying on him for the next 4 years.
Not only will he be the oldest "president" to be sworn in but he will also be the most obese president in recent memory.
Not to fat shame but when was the last time we had a fat president? Roosevelt?
Clinton was definitely overweight when he won but was 30+ years younger and jogged regularly. He eventually lost a large amount of weight. Who else?
Being obese, elderly, and in cognitive decline is not a great trio.... especially for someone who does not believe in exercise and regularly eats fast food. We obviously have a lot to be concerned about moving forward, but how concerned are you, specifically, with Trump's health?
There's no mandate for a presidential candidate to publicly disclose medical details, but a large group of medical professionals joined Harris this week in calling for Trump to be "transparent" about his health and said he's "displaying alarming characteristics of declining acuity."
The big picture: Former White House physician Jeffrey Kuhlman said Wednesday that as "an overweight ... never smoker," Trump "appears in good health" for his age, but he raised concerns about his cognitive ability for critical decision making.
"He exhibits cognitive decline in reasoning, memory, and processing speed, consistent with his advanced age," added Kuhlman, who worked with former Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama but has never examined Trump, over email.
The Trump campaign responded to questions from Axios and others about whether it would release updated medical records by issuing a statement saying the Republican presidential nominee has "voluntarily released updates from his personal physician."
It linked to two July accounts from Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), who served as physician to the president in the Obama and Trump administrations, regarding the GOP leader's recovery from a bullet wound to his ear following an assassination attempt on him.
The campaign also shared a note from Trump's personal physician issued last November describing the ex-president's overall health as "excellent."
The intrigue: Kuhlman, author of the upcoming book "Transforming Presidential Healthcare," said the information released thus far is "general and vague."
Online records indicate that Trump has not released details about his physical health, such as weight and blood pressure, since 2020, when a White House medical report showed he weighed 244 pounds, making him medically obese as defined under the Body Mass Index.
State of play: Trump offered scant information on his health during the 2016 campaign, except for a note from his personal doctor claiming he would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." The doctor later said Trump "dictated the letter."
Jackson detailed to reporters Trump's high cholesterol and a weight of 239 pounds.
That increased to 243 pounds at Trump's physical in 2019 — putting him at a BMI considered obese. His cholesterol levels had dropped by 2020, according to that medical report.
Zoom out: The former president's father, Fred Trump, was diagnosed with dementia in 1991, at the age of 86, and was later found to have Alzheimer's disease.
Kuhlman said a parental history of dementia is associated with roughly a twofold increase in relative risk for dementia.
"Age remains the strongest risk factor for dementia." One in six Americans in their 80s has it, Kuhlman said. "The leading cause of death for a senior citizen (over the age of 65) is heart disease."
What they're saying: In 2020, Trump publicly talked about taking a "very hard" cognitive test as he sought to prove his mental soundness.
More recently, Trump and his campaign have responded to accusations that his speeches can be rambling and incoherent by framing it as a "weave," where he'll "talk about like nine different things and they all come back brilliantly together."
Between the lines: Ben Michaelis, a clinical psychologist who's previously carried out cognitive assessments for the New York Supreme Court, said there's been "a notable decline" in Trump's speech and quality of thinking — though it's unsurprising, given his age.
"However, Trump's consistent inconsistency and difficulty staying on track may be suggestive of some form of further cognitive decline," he said in an email on Wednesday.
"In total, he appears as the portrait of someone who is compromised by significant cognitive decline, but his showmanlike instincts and skill at being compelling to watch is such that many people focus on the entertainment value of his presence, not what his speech suggests about his limited functioning," he added.
Flashback: Trump mocked octogenarian President Biden's age and questioned his fitness to serve when the two were competing in the 2024 presidential race, making age a key theme of the campaign.
Several polls at the time suggested most Americans believed both men were too old for another term, though more voters were concerned about the president's age.
Flash forward: Trump's cognitive health was again questioned this week after two medical events involving attendees at a town hall prompted him to call for over 30 minutes of music, during which he danced and swayed along.
I can't imagine how the magats would react if Biden did the double dong dance to a gay anthem over and fucking over again. Or if Biden had saluted a fucking North Korean military officer like a submissive puppy that was trying to shake his hand.
Post edited by Kat on
Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018) The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago 2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy 2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE) 2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston 2020: Oakland, Oakland:2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana 2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville 2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has insisted that a cognitive test he took recently was “difficult”, using the example of a question in which the patient is asked to remember and repeat five words.
“Person, woman, man, camera, TV,” Trump explained, saying that listing the words in order was worth “extra points”, and that he found the task easy.
“They said nobody gets it in order, it’s actually not that easy. But for me it was easy. And that’s not an easy question,” he told Fox News medical analyst and New York University professor of medicine Marc K Siegel.
Trump said that a year ago he asked former White House physician Ronny Jackson whether there was “some kind of cognitive test” he could take, he said, “Because I’ve been hearing about it. Because I want to shut these people up. They’re fake news. They’re making up stories.’”
00:02
03:36
Read More
Trump went on to explain the test, saying that after several questions, the doctor returned to the list of words, asking Trump to repeat them. “And you go, ‘person, woman, man, camera, TV.’ They say, ‘That’s amazing. How did you do that?’ ‘I do it because I have like a good memory? Because I’m cognitively there.’”
One list of words that features on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the test Trump is referring to, is “Face, velvet, church, daisy, red.”
The president then went on to suggest that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden should take the test.
Over the course of his re-election campaign, Trump has repeatedly attacked Biden’s mental acuity. In one ad, the campaign warns that under the former vice president, “America would become diminished and weak. Just like Biden.” In another, Biden is labelled “old and out of it”.
Trump has repeatedly referred to the cognitive test in recent interviews. Speaking to Fox news host Chris Wallace on Sunday he insisted the last five questions of the test were hard.
“I’ll bet you couldn’t even answer the last five questions. I’ll bet you couldn’t, they get very hard, the last five questions,” he said. “I guarantee you that Joe Biden could not answer those questions.”
Say what you want about Donald Trump, but President-elect Musk will really be relying on him for the next 4 years.
Not only will he be the oldest "president" to be sworn in but he will also be the most obese president in recent memory.
Not to fat shame but when was the last time we had a fat president? Roosevelt?
Clinton was definitely overweight when he won but was 30+ years younger and jogged regularly. He eventually lost a large amount of weight. Who else?
Being obese, elderly, and in cognitive decline is not a great trio.... especially for someone who does not believe in exercise and regularly eats fast food. We obviously have a lot to be concerned about moving forward, but how concerned are you, specifically, with Trump's health?
I am confident that President Trump is in good health - both mentally and physically - and is heeding advice given him by his doctors. I would like to see him lose some weight, which is probably good advice for most adult Americans these days.
Regarding Trump's mental health, you claim that he is in "cognitive decline". Where did you read that information? I'm unaware of it. You also erroneously state that "they" (whoever "they" are) made him take a cognitive test "4 years ago".
The fact is, in 2018 President Trump voluntarily requested that he be given the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and that the full results be released to the public, which they were. Trump had scored a perfect 30 out of 30.
During President Biden's term in office, Trump suggested that he take the same cognitive test and Biden refused.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
We can see the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy. So why are Republicans and the press holding Trump to a different standard than Biden?
Donald Trump attended a town hall, moderated by Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds in Oaks, Pa., on Oct. 14.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump’s answer to a question about child-care costs last month was eye-opening — not because of what it said about his agenda if he were to return to the Oval Office but what it said about his ability to do the job.
Asked at an economic forum in New York what specific legislation he would back to make child care more affordable, Trump rambled incomprehensibly for nearly two minutes without answering the question.
“Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down,” Trump said. “You know, I was somebody — we had, Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka, was so impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about — that, because look, child care is child care, couldn’t — you know, there’s something — you have to have it in this country. You have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers, compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to.”
The rest of his answer provided no clarification about a connection between import tariffs — if that is what Trump was referencing — and child-care costs. The lack of context, or even complete sentences, made his comments as clear as mud.
Advertisement
But what was crystal clear was the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy.
President Biden, after struggling with his answers during a June debate with Trump, ended his bid for a second term in July. That decision came after Democrats publicly voiced concern about Biden’s cognitive fitness and the press pursued the controversy breathlessly for weeks. Editorial boards, including the Globe’s, had even urged Biden to step aside.
Yet neither the media nor Republicans have shown that kind of urgency as Trump has repeatedly shown himself to be, to put it kindly, unwell. That is not only unfair and irresponsible, it is dangerous for the future of our country.
Advertisement
The next president will enter the Oval Office at a time of immense challenges: an economy on the upswing but still hamstrung by persistent inflation; the ongoing domestic threat of home-grown radicalized terrorism; a surge in racist, antisemitic, and Islamophobic hate crimes and bias incidents across the nation; expanding conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine; and the ongoing global threat of political and election interference by China, Iran, and Russia, just to highlight a few.
The next president must be sharp and nimble in confronting those perils. Trump’s decision to halt an Oaks, Pa., town hall last week after two attendees needed medical attention and then convert the event to an impromptu dance party, dancing awkwardly to the tunes of the Village People and Barbra Streisand for over a half hour instead of answering voters’ questions, does not a paint a picture of a man up for the task of being commander-in-chief.
“Friends of mine that are like English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing they’ve ever seen,’ ” Trump said. News flash: That’s a lie too.
I’m not a doctor, but in a report for STAT, several cognitive experts who have studied Trump’s speaking patterns over the course of several years say his disjointed way of jumping from one subject to another — called tangentiality — and his increasing reliance on superlatives and absolute terms are consistent with several causes of cognitive decline.
Advertisement
Though cautioning that they could not diagnose Trump without examining him, experts said his speech patterns match those of people experiencing the effects of things like mood changes, aging, and dementia.
“There’s reasonable evidence suggestive of forms of dementia,” clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis told STAT. “The reduction in complexity of sentences and vocabulary does lead you to a certain picture of cognitive diminishment.”
Yet Trump’s party has not urged him to step aside for the good of the country, as Biden’s did. And much of the press is doing the American people a disservice by treating Trump’s obvious cognitive slippage as just “Trump being Trump.”
But his diminishing cognitive ability can’t be ignored. He may not be able to get a grip, but it’s long past time the news media and Republicans stop participating in the gaslighting. We can see reality with our own eyes.
Say what you want about Donald Trump, but President-elect Musk will really be relying on him for the next 4 years.
Not only will he be the oldest "president" to be sworn in but he will also be the most obese president in recent memory.
Not to fat shame but when was the last time we had a fat president? Roosevelt?
Clinton was definitely overweight when he won but was 30+ years younger and jogged regularly. He eventually lost a large amount of weight. Who else?
Being obese, elderly, and in cognitive decline is not a great trio.... especially for someone who does not believe in exercise and regularly eats fast food. We obviously have a lot to be concerned about moving forward, but how concerned are you, specifically, with Trump's health?
The fact is, in 2018 President Trump voluntarily requested that he be given the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and that the full results be released to the public, which they were. Trump had scored a perfect 30 out of 30.
Hi sheck. Thanks for chiming in. I guess you took me off your ignore list for this one. Yeah! I forgot it was SIX years ago that they made him take this test.
I wonder how other patients fair as the progress into their 80's six years after having to take a cognitive test. I do not imagine their cognitive abilities get better in their eight decade on this planet.
Also, you say he score a perfect 30 for 30. That would be great, if true. But I unaware of where these results can be found. Can you post these results and cite a source of the results from someone other than the person who took the cognitive test.....as that would not seem to be totally reliable. Thanks.
We can see the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy. So why are Republicans and the press holding Trump to a different standard than Biden?
Donald Trump attended a town hall, moderated by Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds in Oaks, Pa., on Oct. 14.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump’s answer to a question about child-care costs last month was eye-opening — not because of what it said about his agenda if he were to return to the Oval Office but what it said about his ability to do the job.
Asked at an economic forum in New York what specific legislation he would back to make child care more affordable, Trump rambled incomprehensibly for nearly two minutes without answering the question.
“Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down,” Trump said. “You know, I was somebody — we had, Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka, was so impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about — that, because look, child care is child care, couldn’t — you know, there’s something — you have to have it in this country. You have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers, compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to.”
The rest of his answer provided no clarification about a connection between import tariffs — if that is what Trump was referencing — and child-care costs. The lack of context, or even complete sentences, made his comments as clear as mud.
Advertisement
But what was crystal clear was the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy.
President Biden, after struggling with his answers during a June debate with Trump, ended his bid for a second term in July. That decision came after Democrats publicly voiced concern about Biden’s cognitive fitness and the press pursued the controversy breathlessly for weeks. Editorial boards, including the Globe’s, had even urged Biden to step aside.
Yet neither the media nor Republicans have shown that kind of urgency as Trump has repeatedly shown himself to be, to put it kindly, unwell. That is not only unfair and irresponsible, it is dangerous for the future of our country.
Advertisement
The next president will enter the Oval Office at a time of immense challenges: an economy on the upswing but still hamstrung by persistent inflation; the ongoing domestic threat of home-grown radicalized terrorism; a surge in racist, antisemitic, and Islamophobic hate crimes and bias incidents across the nation; expanding conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine; and the ongoing global threat of political and election interference by China, Iran, and Russia, just to highlight a few.
The next president must be sharp and nimble in confronting those perils. Trump’s decision to halt an Oaks, Pa., town hall last week after two attendees needed medical attention and then convert the event to an impromptu dance party, dancing awkwardly to the tunes of the Village People and Barbra Streisand for over a half hour instead of answering voters’ questions, does not a paint a picture of a man up for the task of being commander-in-chief.
“Friends of mine that are like English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing they’ve ever seen,’ ” Trump said. News flash: That’s a lie too.
I’m not a doctor, but in a report for STAT, several cognitive experts who have studied Trump’s speaking patterns over the course of several years say his disjointed way of jumping from one subject to another — called tangentiality — and his increasing reliance on superlatives and absolute terms are consistent with several causes of cognitive decline.
Advertisement
Though cautioning that they could not diagnose Trump without examining him, experts said his speech patterns match those of people experiencing the effects of things like mood changes, aging, and dementia.
“There’s reasonable evidence suggestive of forms of dementia,” clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis told STAT. “The reduction in complexity of sentences and vocabulary does lead you to a certain picture of cognitive diminishment.”
Yet Trump’s party has not urged him to step aside for the good of the country, as Biden’s did. And much of the press is doing the American people a disservice by treating Trump’s obvious cognitive slippage as just “Trump being Trump.”
But his diminishing cognitive ability can’t be ignored. He may not be able to get a grip, but it’s long past time the news media and Republicans stop participating in the gaslighting. We can see reality with our own eyes.
It doesn’t need to be discussed ‘Murica, in overwhelming majorities and in a landslide, voted for a jacket snappa people pusha for POTUS. And Faux News will never tell them otherwise.
It is alarming that Trump never released the results of his cognitive test. What is he hiding? What doesn't he want the world to know about his cognitive abilities? And, as sheck pointed out, since it has been 6 years later and he's the oldest president in history--should he be required to take another one? Maybe a yearly cognitive test for Trump?
Former President Donald Trump claimed to have again “aced” an increasingly difficult cognitive test involving intricate math problems, but experts say the test is easy, and a mock exam contained simple questions—and no complex math equations.
Former President Donald Trump looks off into the distance.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
During a New Hampshire campaign stop Wednesday, Trump boasted about how he “aced” a cognitive test with questions including identifying animal shapes that progressively “got harder,” and included complex math problems.
The 77-year-old said he’s “cognitively better now” than he was 20 years ago, which prompted him to ask former White House doctor Ronny Jackson—who reportedly said the exam “can be hard”—for a cognitive test.
Trump went on to make a jab at President Joe Biden, saying Biden wouldn’t be able to get past the third question, and adding nobody would trust Biden to run a lemonade stand.
Cognitive testing typically takes around 15 minutes and involves “simple tasks” like spelling words backwards or repeating lists, which are used in people who’ve shown signs of problems with thinking, memory or other brain functions, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Though he didn’t specify which test he took, a mock exam of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment—one of the most common cognitive tests—includes a similar question about identifying animals, as well as questions involving word similarity and drawing a given time on a clock.
The only math problem on the mock assessment was a serial sevens test, which requires the subject to count backwards in increments of seven, starting with the number 100.
A score of 26 or higher is considered normal, while 18 to 25 is considered mild cognitive impairment, 10 to 17 is considered moderate cognitive impairment and less than 10 is considered severe cognitive impairment.
00:19
03:36
Read More
Key Background
This isn’t the first time Trump has bragged about passing cognitive tests. He said at a campaign event in Iowa in December 2023 he passed a cognitive test “with flying colors.” He then added that all presidential candidates should be forced to take a cognitive test, and once again claimed Biden wouldn’t be able to pass one. In an interview in June 2020, Trump said doctors were “very surprised” after he passed a cognitive test because it was “rare” to do so. However, White House officials declined to make the results public. Jackson told reporters in 2018 Trump received a perfect score on a cognitive test and there was “no reason whatsoever to think the president has any issues whatsoever with his thought processes.”
Tangent
One of Trump’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, also endorsed mental capacity tests for politicians over the age of 75—both Trump and Biden fit into this group. “They need to let a younger generation take over,” Haley added.
We can see the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy. So why are Republicans and the press holding Trump to a different standard than Biden?
Donald Trump attended a town hall, moderated by Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds in Oaks, Pa., on Oct. 14.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump’s answer to a question about child-care costs last month was eye-opening — not because of what it said about his agenda if he were to return to the Oval Office but what it said about his ability to do the job.
Asked at an economic forum in New York what specific legislation he would back to make child care more affordable, Trump rambled incomprehensibly for nearly two minutes without answering the question.
“Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down,” Trump said. “You know, I was somebody — we had, Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka, was so impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about — that, because look, child care is child care, couldn’t — you know, there’s something — you have to have it in this country. You have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers, compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to.”
The rest of his answer provided no clarification about a connection between import tariffs — if that is what Trump was referencing — and child-care costs. The lack of context, or even complete sentences, made his comments as clear as mud.
Advertisement
But what was crystal clear was the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy.
President Biden, after struggling with his answers during a June debate with Trump, ended his bid for a second term in July. That decision came after Democrats publicly voiced concern about Biden’s cognitive fitness and the press pursued the controversy breathlessly for weeks. Editorial boards, including the Globe’s, had even urged Biden to step aside.
Yet neither the media nor Republicans have shown that kind of urgency as Trump has repeatedly shown himself to be, to put it kindly, unwell. That is not only unfair and irresponsible, it is dangerous for the future of our country.
Advertisement
The next president will enter the Oval Office at a time of immense challenges: an economy on the upswing but still hamstrung by persistent inflation; the ongoing domestic threat of home-grown radicalized terrorism; a surge in racist, antisemitic, and Islamophobic hate crimes and bias incidents across the nation; expanding conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine; and the ongoing global threat of political and election interference by China, Iran, and Russia, just to highlight a few.
The next president must be sharp and nimble in confronting those perils. Trump’s decision to halt an Oaks, Pa., town hall last week after two attendees needed medical attention and then convert the event to an impromptu dance party, dancing awkwardly to the tunes of the Village People and Barbra Streisand for over a half hour instead of answering voters’ questions, does not a paint a picture of a man up for the task of being commander-in-chief.
“Friends of mine that are like English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing they’ve ever seen,’ ” Trump said. News flash: That’s a lie too.
I’m not a doctor, but in a report for STAT, several cognitive experts who have studied Trump’s speaking patterns over the course of several years say his disjointed way of jumping from one subject to another — called tangentiality — and his increasing reliance on superlatives and absolute terms are consistent with several causes of cognitive decline.
Advertisement
Though cautioning that they could not diagnose Trump without examining him, experts said his speech patterns match those of people experiencing the effects of things like mood changes, aging, and dementia.
“There’s reasonable evidence suggestive of forms of dementia,” clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis told STAT. “The reduction in complexity of sentences and vocabulary does lead you to a certain picture of cognitive diminishment.”
Yet Trump’s party has not urged him to step aside for the good of the country, as Biden’s did. And much of the press is doing the American people a disservice by treating Trump’s obvious cognitive slippage as just “Trump being Trump.”
But his diminishing cognitive ability can’t be ignored. He may not be able to get a grip, but it’s long past time the news media and Republicans stop participating in the gaslighting. We can see reality with our own eyes.
So, this is the only source that your opinion is based on? A reporter named Kimberly Atkins Stohr of the Globe Staff? Are you serious?
We can see the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy. So why are Republicans and the press holding Trump to a different standard than Biden?
Donald Trump attended a town hall, moderated by Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds in Oaks, Pa., on Oct. 14.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump’s answer to a question about child-care costs last month was eye-opening — not because of what it said about his agenda if he were to return to the Oval Office but what it said about his ability to do the job.
Asked at an economic forum in New York what specific legislation he would back to make child care more affordable, Trump rambled incomprehensibly for nearly two minutes without answering the question.
“Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down,” Trump said. “You know, I was somebody — we had, Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka, was so impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about — that, because look, child care is child care, couldn’t — you know, there’s something — you have to have it in this country. You have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers, compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to.”
The rest of his answer provided no clarification about a connection between import tariffs — if that is what Trump was referencing — and child-care costs. The lack of context, or even complete sentences, made his comments as clear as mud.
Advertisement
But what was crystal clear was the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy.
President Biden, after struggling with his answers during a June debate with Trump, ended his bid for a second term in July. That decision came after Democrats publicly voiced concern about Biden’s cognitive fitness and the press pursued the controversy breathlessly for weeks. Editorial boards, including the Globe’s, had even urged Biden to step aside.
Yet neither the media nor Republicans have shown that kind of urgency as Trump has repeatedly shown himself to be, to put it kindly, unwell. That is not only unfair and irresponsible, it is dangerous for the future of our country.
Advertisement
The next president will enter the Oval Office at a time of immense challenges: an economy on the upswing but still hamstrung by persistent inflation; the ongoing domestic threat of home-grown radicalized terrorism; a surge in racist, antisemitic, and Islamophobic hate crimes and bias incidents across the nation; expanding conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine; and the ongoing global threat of political and election interference by China, Iran, and Russia, just to highlight a few.
The next president must be sharp and nimble in confronting those perils. Trump’s decision to halt an Oaks, Pa., town hall last week after two attendees needed medical attention and then convert the event to an impromptu dance party, dancing awkwardly to the tunes of the Village People and Barbra Streisand for over a half hour instead of answering voters’ questions, does not a paint a picture of a man up for the task of being commander-in-chief.
“Friends of mine that are like English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing they’ve ever seen,’ ” Trump said. News flash: That’s a lie too.
I’m not a doctor, but in a report for STAT, several cognitive experts who have studied Trump’s speaking patterns over the course of several years say his disjointed way of jumping from one subject to another — called tangentiality — and his increasing reliance on superlatives and absolute terms are consistent with several causes of cognitive decline.
Advertisement
Though cautioning that they could not diagnose Trump without examining him, experts said his speech patterns match those of people experiencing the effects of things like mood changes, aging, and dementia.
“There’s reasonable evidence suggestive of forms of dementia,” clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis told STAT. “The reduction in complexity of sentences and vocabulary does lead you to a certain picture of cognitive diminishment.”
Yet Trump’s party has not urged him to step aside for the good of the country, as Biden’s did. And much of the press is doing the American people a disservice by treating Trump’s obvious cognitive slippage as just “Trump being Trump.”
But his diminishing cognitive ability can’t be ignored. He may not be able to get a grip, but it’s long past time the news media and Republicans stop participating in the gaslighting. We can see reality with our own eyes.
So, this is the only source that your opinion is based on? A reporter named Kimberly Atkins Stohr of the Globe Staff? Are you serious?
Are you upset with Ms Atkins Stohr's assesment?
Also, sheck, what is your source for Trump going 30 for 30 on his cognitive test? I mean, really---that is an AMAZING score. Literally the best score anyone can score on such a difficult test. Can you link to the results?
Mental health experts sound the alarm on Trump’s potential ‘cognitive decline’ as he’s ‘lost touch with reality’
Rhian Lubin
September 25, 2024 at 7:21 AM
Leading mental health experts, including a former White House doctor, have expressed alarm over Donald Trump’s mental faculties, suggesting he’s showing signs of “cognitive decline.”
Several experts told The Independent their concerns about the Republican presidential nominee are similar to those they had about President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the race, warning Trump appears to “have lost touch with reality,” as exhibited by the 78-year-old’s “rambling” speeches and “erratic” debate performance.
They join a growing number of mental health professionals calling for independent and objective cognitive testing as November’s election edges closer.
Biden, 81, faced a deluge of questions about his mental fitness for another four years in office following his disastrous debate against Trump in June when he repeatedly stumbled over his words and trailed off. Now, all eyes are on Trump, who is prone to incoherent tangents and bizarre musings.
That was on full display at Monday night’s rally in Pennsylvania, where Trump was mocked for his “word salads.”He said of Kamala Harris: “She had the other interview with the other guy who was a nice guy I think from Philadelphia from Pennsylvania, he was a nice guy, he was asking her all these [inaudible] — the daily take — they don’t take like I do! Anybody wants to go, go what the hell differences they make — they have — and how dishonest was ABC...”
But Trump insists he is “cognitively very strong.”
On the campaign trail in Potterville, Michigan, Trump leapfrogged from one random topic to another (Getty Images)
Earlier this month a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, Richard A. Friedman, said he was “alarmed” by what he witnessed during Trump’s debate performance on September 10. In an op-ed for The Atlantic, he said Trump “displayed some striking, if familiar, patterns that are commonly seen among people in cognitive decline.”
Dr. Ben Michaelis, a clinical psychologist who has previously carried out cognitive assessments for the New York Supreme Court, agrees. He told The Independent that Trump is “really not in a strong cognitive place.”
Michaelis — who stressed he has not examined Trump in person and could not offer any formal diagnosis — watched the former president’s debate against Kamala Harris earlier this month, noting that it started at 9 p.m.
“There’s a term when you’re talking about people with dementia called sundowning, it’s a lot harder for them as the day goes on,” he said, suggesting it appeared Trump could have been experiencing those symptoms.
“It’s very difficult for them to maintain focus on a topic,” he continued. “The idea of being able to maintain that level of focus for that amount of time, that late in the day…you wouldn’t think twice about it if that was your grandfather. It’s just he happens to be running for president.”
When it comes to Trump’s rambling speeches, where he has often veered from one unrelated topic to another, Michaelis said it struck him as “logorrhoea” — the Greek word meaning excessive talking — which can be associated with dementia.
An example of this was at a speech in Potterville, Michigan, where Trump leapfrogged from talking about how he lost billions of dollars in San Francisco to where he ranks in a list of “horribly” treated presidents. In another speech, he began talking about bacon and within a minute had moved on to wind turbines.
Psychiatrists observed Trump in the debate and said he displayed patterns seen in people in cognitive decline (AP)
“When I do the weave...I’ll talk about nine different things and they all come back brilliantly together,” he said. “Friends of mine that are English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen.’”
But the experts don’t agree. “It’s excessive incoherent talking,” Michaelis said.
“Again, I am not diagnosing him with anything, but it can be a symptom of significant mental illness or dementia. [It is] that inability to maintain focus and to move in a sort of tangential way from topic to topic.
“If you’re observing him, [the topics] don’t seem at all connected but they may have some random connection in his mind, that’s what seems to be happening.”
Allen Frances is a professor and the chair emeritus of psychiatry at the Duke School of Medicine as well as the architect of the DSM-IV — the manual for diagnostic criteria of a range of mental disorders.
Frances is “very much opposed to the misuse of the diagnostic system,” and in 2016 he did not believe Trump displayed symptoms of a mental health disorder.
But, from what he has observed from afar, Frances told The Independent he believes the dial has now shifted, and it is likely Trump “has deteriorated a great deal” since he was in office.
“First off, he seems pretty incoherent,” he said. “It’s hard for him not to be tangential, circumstantial, not to stay on message. He’s all over the place.”
Frances cited examples of unfounded claims Trump made in the debate: that babies are “being executed” after birth, schools are performing surgery on children, and Haitian immigrants are eating pets. “The things he’s saying suggest he’s really lost touch with reality,” he said. “It seems to me likely — although we can’t be definitive about saying anything about anyone at a distance — it seems likely he has deteriorated a great deal.”
The psychiatrist, who conceded there is a possibility Trump’s behavior can also be explained as a deliberate attempt to appeal to specific voters, argued there should be “an upper age limit” for candidates running for the presidency.
A number of experts believe there should be an age limit on candidates running for president (Getty Images)
Former White House physician Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who has cared for Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, agrees there should be a cap on the age of presidential candidates if they will not agree to undergo objective cognitive assessments.
“We don’t let you be an airline pilot because of public safety past the age of 65, we don’t let you be an FBI agent past the age of 57,” he told The Independent. “[The President] has the most powerful position in the free world.”
Kuhlman, who has never medically examined Trump, said independent cognitive testing would provide a “much better objective picture” of whether a candidate has some cognitive decline — which he added everybody has to some degree after the age of 60 — or if there is a presence of progressive dementia.
Dementia is more common for those in their eighties, “which Donald Trump will be in about a year and a half,” Kuhlman notes.
A cognitive assessment tests a person’s vocabulary, spatial visualization, reasoning, memory and speed. “So we know the vocabulary usually stays about the same, but those other four drastically start falling off past the age of 70,” Kuhlman explains.
Kuhlman — whose bookTransforming Presidential Healthcare: Ensuring Comprehensive Care for the Commander in Chief Amid 21st Century Threats is out now — concurs with the observations of his peers.
“If you listen to the debate, or if you listen to his speech every day, what’s missing is reasoning or that critical decision making,” he said.
The Independent has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.
Say what you want about Donald Trump, but President-elect Musk will really be relying on him for the next 4 years.
Not only will he be the oldest "president" to be sworn in but he will also be the most obese president in recent memory.
Not to fat shame but when was the last time we had a fat president? Roosevelt?
Clinton was definitely overweight when he won but was 30+ years younger and jogged regularly. He eventually lost a large amount of weight. Who else?
Being obese, elderly, and in cognitive decline is not a great trio.... especially for someone who does not believe in exercise and regularly eats fast food. We obviously have a lot to be concerned about moving forward, but how concerned are you, specifically, with Trump's health?
The fact is, in 2018 President Trump voluntarily requested that he be given the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and that the full results be released to the public, which they were. Trump had scored a perfect 30 out of 30.
Hi sheck. Thanks for chiming in. I guess you took me off your ignore list for this one. Yeah! I forgot it was SIX years ago that they made him take this test.
I wonder how other patients fair as the progress into their 80's six years after having to take a cognitive test. I do not imagine their cognitive abilities get better in their eight decade on this planet.
Also, you say he score a perfect 30 for 30. That would be great, if true. But I unaware of where these results can be found. Can you post these results and cite a source of the results from someone other than the person who took the cognitive test.....as that would not seem to be totally reliable. Thanks.
Obviously, you're trying to yank my chain: you twice lie by saying "they made him take this test" and "after having to take a cognitive test." And, though a given person's "cognitive abilities" may not get better with age, that doesn't mean that their abilities do not remain constant. Lastly, I've attached a screen grab showing the sources, the dates and the headlines showing Trump's 30 out of 30 score. You can do all the research you desire with that info. Now, you are back on "ignore" because you are a dishonest person and I have no tolerance for that.
Say what you want about Donald Trump, but President-elect Musk will really be relying on him for the next 4 years.
Not only will he be the oldest "president" to be sworn in but he will also be the most obese president in recent memory.
Not to fat shame but when was the last time we had a fat president? Roosevelt?
Clinton was definitely overweight when he won but was 30+ years younger and jogged regularly. He eventually lost a large amount of weight. Who else?
Being obese, elderly, and in cognitive decline is not a great trio.... especially for someone who does not believe in exercise and regularly eats fast food. We obviously have a lot to be concerned about moving forward, but how concerned are you, specifically, with Trump's health?
The fact is, in 2018 President Trump voluntarily requested that he be given the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and that the full results be released to the public, which they were. Trump had scored a perfect 30 out of 30.
Hi sheck. Thanks for chiming in. I guess you took me off your ignore list for this one. Yeah! I forgot it was SIX years ago that they made him take this test.
I wonder how other patients fair as the progress into their 80's six years after having to take a cognitive test. I do not imagine their cognitive abilities get better in their eight decade on this planet.
Also, you say he score a perfect 30 for 30. That would be great, if true. But I unaware of where these results can be found. Can you post these results and cite a source of the results from someone other than the person who took the cognitive test.....as that would not seem to be totally reliable. Thanks.
Obviously, you're trying to yank my chain: you twice lie by saying "they made him take this test" and "after having to take a cognitive test." And, though a given person's "cognitive abilities" may not get better with age, that doesn't mean that their abilities do not remain constant. Lastly, I've attached a screen grab showing the sources, the dates and the headlines showing Trump's 30 out of 30 score. You can do all the research you desire with that info. Now, you are back on "ignore" because you are a dishonest person and I have no tolerance for that.
Aww, sheck, get to that safe space buddy! Do they provide you with a nice comfy pillow and blanket there?
Only kidding bud. I love you and would never consider "yanking your chain."
Okay, so your "screen grabs" are not links. Now, is that on purpose? Do you not really want us to read what is in those stories or something? Because the source for those stories is none other than, ardent Trump supporter and and his former physician: Ronnie Jackson, not exactly an unbiased bastion of truth. Also, none of the articles or videos actually show the test results. Are you putting me back on ignore because you realize you goofed and that there is no proof that Trump got 30 for 30 or even passed his cognitive test?
Also, here is some information you might find useful about Ronnie Jackson:
Comments
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Happy New Year my fellow Americans.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
What was that about Brandon and the twatter files, again?
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Not only will he be the oldest "president" to be sworn in but he will also be the most obese president in recent memory.
Not to fat shame but when was the last time we had a fat president? Roosevelt?
Clinton was definitely overweight when he won but was 30+ years younger and jogged regularly. He eventually lost a large amount of weight. Who else?
Being obese, elderly, and in cognitive decline is not a great trio.... especially for someone who does not believe in exercise and regularly eats fast food. We obviously have a lot to be concerned about moving forward, but how concerned are you, specifically, with Trump's health?
What we know about Trump's medical history
Republican presidential nominee former President Trump in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
The big picture: Former White House physician Jeffrey Kuhlman said Wednesday that as "an overweight ... never smoker," Trump "appears in good health" for his age, but he raised concerns about his cognitive ability for critical decision making.
The intrigue: Kuhlman, author of the upcoming book "Transforming Presidential Healthcare," said the information released thus far is "general and vague."
State of play: Trump offered scant information on his health during the 2016 campaign, except for a note from his personal doctor claiming he would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." The doctor later said Trump "dictated the letter."
Zoom out: The former president's father, Fred Trump, was diagnosed with dementia in 1991, at the age of 86, and was later found to have Alzheimer's disease.
What they're saying: In 2020, Trump publicly talked about taking a "very hard" cognitive test as he sought to prove his mental soundness.
Between the lines: Ben Michaelis, a clinical psychologist who's previously carried out cognitive assessments for the New York Supreme Court, said there's been "a notable decline" in Trump's speech and quality of thinking — though it's unsurprising, given his age.
Flashback: Trump mocked octogenarian President Biden's age and questioned his fitness to serve when the two were competing in the 2024 presidential race, making age a key theme of the campaign.
Flash forward: Trump's cognitive health was again questioned this week after two medical events involving attendees at a town hall prompted him to call for over 30 minutes of music, during which he danced and swayed along.
The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/23/person-woman-man-camera-tv-trump-insists-cognition-test-was-difficult
'Person, woman, man, camera, TV': Trump insists cognitive test was difficult
US president’s pride in his own mental agility on display during interview in which he lists five things repeatedly
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has insisted that a cognitive test he took recently was “difficult”, using the example of a question in which the patient is asked to remember and repeat five words.
“Person, woman, man, camera, TV,” Trump explained, saying that listing the words in order was worth “extra points”, and that he found the task easy.
“They said nobody gets it in order, it’s actually not that easy. But for me it was easy. And that’s not an easy question,” he told Fox News medical analyst and New York University professor of medicine Marc K Siegel.
Trump said that a year ago he asked former White House physician Ronny Jackson whether there was “some kind of cognitive test” he could take, he said, “Because I’ve been hearing about it. Because I want to shut these people up. They’re fake news. They’re making up stories.’”
Trump went on to explain the test, saying that after several questions, the doctor returned to the list of words, asking Trump to repeat them. “And you go, ‘person, woman, man, camera, TV.’ They say, ‘That’s amazing. How did you do that?’ ‘I do it because I have like a good memory? Because I’m cognitively there.’”
One list of words that features on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the test Trump is referring to, is “Face, velvet, church, daisy, red.”
The president then went on to suggest that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden should take the test.
Over the course of his re-election campaign, Trump has repeatedly attacked Biden’s mental acuity. In one ad, the campaign warns that under the former vice president, “America would become diminished and weak. Just like Biden.” In another, Biden is labelled “old and out of it”.
Trump has repeatedly referred to the cognitive test in recent interviews. Speaking to Fox news host Chris Wallace on Sunday he insisted the last five questions of the test were hard.
“I’ll bet you couldn’t even answer the last five questions. I’ll bet you couldn’t, they get very hard, the last five questions,” he said. “I guarantee you that Joe Biden could not answer those questions.”
I am confident that President Trump is in good health - both mentally and physically - and is heeding advice given him by his doctors.
I would like to see him lose some weight, which is probably good advice for most adult Americans these days.
Regarding Trump's mental health, you claim that he is in "cognitive decline". Where did you read that information? I'm unaware of it.
You also erroneously state that "they" (whoever "they" are) made him take a cognitive test "4 years ago".
The fact is, in 2018 President Trump voluntarily requested that he be given the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and that the full results be released to the public, which they were. Trump had scored a perfect 30 out of 30.
During President Biden's term in office, Trump suggested that he take the same cognitive test and Biden refused.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/10/16/opinion/trump-cognitive-decline-press-republicans/
Trump’s decline is too dangerous to ignore
We can see the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy. So why are Republicans and the press holding Trump to a different standard than Biden?
Donald Trump’s answer to a question about child-care costs last month was eye-opening — not because of what it said about his agenda if he were to return to the Oval Office but what it said about his ability to do the job.
Asked at an economic forum in New York what specific legislation he would back to make child care more affordable, Trump rambled incomprehensibly for nearly two minutes without answering the question.
“Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down,” Trump said. “You know, I was somebody — we had, Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka, was so impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about — that, because look, child care is child care, couldn’t — you know, there’s something — you have to have it in this country. You have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers, compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to.”
The rest of his answer provided no clarification about a connection between import tariffs — if that is what Trump was referencing — and child-care costs. The lack of context, or even complete sentences, made his comments as clear as mud.
Advertisement
But what was crystal clear was the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy.
Related
The bro vote might be small. But in a close election, Harris shouldn’t cede it to Trump.Vance tried to sane-wash Trump’s autocracy. Walz didn’t let him.Kamala Harris claps back at Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s ‘humble’ criticismPresident Biden, after struggling with his answers during a June debate with Trump, ended his bid for a second term in July. That decision came after Democrats publicly voiced concern about Biden’s cognitive fitness and the press pursued the controversy breathlessly for weeks. Editorial boards, including the Globe’s, had even urged Biden to step aside.
Yet neither the media nor Republicans have shown that kind of urgency as Trump has repeatedly shown himself to be, to put it kindly, unwell. That is not only unfair and irresponsible, it is dangerous for the future of our country.
Advertisement
The next president will enter the Oval Office at a time of immense challenges: an economy on the upswing but still hamstrung by persistent inflation; the ongoing domestic threat of home-grown radicalized terrorism; a surge in racist, antisemitic, and Islamophobic hate crimes and bias incidents across the nation; expanding conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine; and the ongoing global threat of political and election interference by China, Iran, and Russia, just to highlight a few.
The next president must be sharp and nimble in confronting those perils. Trump’s decision to halt an Oaks, Pa., town hall last week after two attendees needed medical attention and then convert the event to an impromptu dance party, dancing awkwardly to the tunes of the Village People and Barbra Streisand for over a half hour instead of answering voters’ questions, does not a paint a picture of a man up for the task of being commander-in-chief.
Trump and his campaign seem to be aware of his addled appearance. He canceled several interviews in recent days. At a rally last month in Johnstown, Pa., Trump tried to pass off his meandering verbal style as an intentional strategy called “the weave.”
“Friends of mine that are like English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing they’ve ever seen,’ ” Trump said. News flash: That’s a lie too.
I’m not a doctor, but in a report for STAT, several cognitive experts who have studied Trump’s speaking patterns over the course of several years say his disjointed way of jumping from one subject to another — called tangentiality — and his increasing reliance on superlatives and absolute terms are consistent with several causes of cognitive decline.
Advertisement
Though cautioning that they could not diagnose Trump without examining him, experts said his speech patterns match those of people experiencing the effects of things like mood changes, aging, and dementia.
“There’s reasonable evidence suggestive of forms of dementia,” clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis told STAT. “The reduction in complexity of sentences and vocabulary does lead you to a certain picture of cognitive diminishment.”
Yet Trump’s party has not urged him to step aside for the good of the country, as Biden’s did. And much of the press is doing the American people a disservice by treating Trump’s obvious cognitive slippage as just “Trump being Trump.”
Yes, the press has a lot to wrestle with when it comes to Trump, including his embrace of authoritarian strongmen, his refusal to vow to accept the election results, his criminal conviction and civil judgments for fraud and sexual abuse, and his racism and disparagement of women, LGBTQ people, and immigrants.
But his diminishing cognitive ability can’t be ignored. He may not be able to get a grip, but it’s long past time the news media and Republicans stop participating in the gaslighting. We can see reality with our own eyes.
I wonder how other patients fair as the progress into their 80's six years after having to take a cognitive test. I do not imagine their cognitive abilities get better in their eight decade on this planet.
Also, you say he score a perfect 30 for 30. That would be great, if true. But I unaware of where these results can be found. Can you post these results and cite a source of the results from someone other than the person who took the cognitive test.....as that would not seem to be totally reliable. Thanks.
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/01/18/trump-boasts-about-acing-hard-cognitive-test-heres-whats-on-those-tests/
Trump Boasts About Acing ‘Hard’ Cognitive Test: Here’s What’s On Those Tests
Topline
Former President Donald Trump claimed to have again “aced” an increasingly difficult cognitive test involving intricate math problems, but experts say the test is easy, and a mock exam contained simple questions—and no complex math equations.
Former President Donald Trump looks off into the distance.
AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts
During a New Hampshire campaign stop Wednesday, Trump boasted about how he “aced” a cognitive test with questions including identifying animal shapes that progressively “got harder,” and included complex math problems.
The 77-year-old said he’s “cognitively better now” than he was 20 years ago, which prompted him to ask former White House doctor Ronny Jackson—who reportedly said the exam “can be hard”—for a cognitive test.
Trump went on to make a jab at President Joe Biden, saying Biden wouldn’t be able to get past the third question, and adding nobody would trust Biden to run a lemonade stand.
Cognitive testing typically takes around 15 minutes and involves “simple tasks” like spelling words backwards or repeating lists, which are used in people who’ve shown signs of problems with thinking, memory or other brain functions, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Though he didn’t specify which test he took, a mock exam of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment—one of the most common cognitive tests—includes a similar question about identifying animals, as well as questions involving word similarity and drawing a given time on a clock.
The only math problem on the mock assessment was a serial sevens test, which requires the subject to count backwards in increments of seven, starting with the number 100.
A score of 26 or higher is considered normal, while 18 to 25 is considered mild cognitive impairment, 10 to 17 is considered moderate cognitive impairment and less than 10 is considered severe cognitive impairment.
Key Background
This isn’t the first time Trump has bragged about passing cognitive tests. He said at a campaign event in Iowa in December 2023 he passed a cognitive test “with flying colors.” He then added that all presidential candidates should be forced to take a cognitive test, and once again claimed Biden wouldn’t be able to pass one. In an interview in June 2020, Trump said doctors were “very surprised” after he passed a cognitive test because it was “rare” to do so. However, White House officials declined to make the results public. Jackson told reporters in 2018 Trump received a perfect score on a cognitive test and there was “no reason whatsoever to think the president has any issues whatsoever with his thought processes.”
Tangent
One of Trump’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, also endorsed mental capacity tests for politicians over the age of 75—both Trump and Biden fit into this group. “They need to let a younger generation take over,” Haley added.
Are you serious?
Also, sheck, what is your source for Trump going 30 for 30 on his cognitive test? I mean, really---that is an AMAZING score. Literally the best score anyone can score on such a difficult test. Can you link to the results?
Mental health experts sound the alarm on Trump’s potential ‘cognitive decline’ as he’s ‘lost touch with reality’
Leading mental health experts, including a former White House doctor, have expressed alarm over Donald Trump’s mental faculties, suggesting he’s showing signs of “cognitive decline.”
Several experts told The Independent their concerns about the Republican presidential nominee are similar to those they had about President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the race, warning Trump appears to “have lost touch with reality,” as exhibited by the 78-year-old’s “rambling” speeches and “erratic” debate performance.
They join a growing number of mental health professionals calling for independent and objective cognitive testing as November’s election edges closer.
Biden, 81, faced a deluge of questions about his mental fitness for another four years in office following his disastrous debate against Trump in June when he repeatedly stumbled over his words and trailed off. Now, all eyes are on Trump, who is prone to incoherent tangents and bizarre musings.
That was on full display at Monday night’s rally in Pennsylvania, where Trump was mocked for his “word salads.”He said of Kamala Harris: “She had the other interview with the other guy who was a nice guy I think from Philadelphia from Pennsylvania, he was a nice guy, he was asking her all these [inaudible] — the daily take — they don’t take like I do! Anybody wants to go, go what the hell differences they make — they have — and how dishonest was ABC...”
But Trump insists he is “cognitively very strong.”
Earlier this month a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, Richard A. Friedman, said he was “alarmed” by what he witnessed during Trump’s debate performance on September 10. In an op-ed for The Atlantic, he said Trump “displayed some striking, if familiar, patterns that are commonly seen among people in cognitive decline.”
Dr. Ben Michaelis, a clinical psychologist who has previously carried out cognitive assessments for the New York Supreme Court, agrees. He told The Independent that Trump is “really not in a strong cognitive place.”
Michaelis — who stressed he has not examined Trump in person and could not offer any formal diagnosis — watched the former president’s debate against Kamala Harris earlier this month, noting that it started at 9 p.m.
“There’s a term when you’re talking about people with dementia called sundowning, it’s a lot harder for them as the day goes on,” he said, suggesting it appeared Trump could have been experiencing those symptoms.
“It’s very difficult for them to maintain focus on a topic,” he continued. “The idea of being able to maintain that level of focus for that amount of time, that late in the day…you wouldn’t think twice about it if that was your grandfather. It’s just he happens to be running for president.”
When it comes to Trump’s rambling speeches, where he has often veered from one unrelated topic to another, Michaelis said it struck him as “logorrhoea” — the Greek word meaning excessive talking — which can be associated with dementia.
An example of this was at a speech in Potterville, Michigan, where Trump leapfrogged from talking about how he lost billions of dollars in San Francisco to where he ranks in a list of “horribly” treated presidents. In another speech, he began talking about bacon and within a minute had moved on to wind turbines.
Trump has addressed his tendency to venture off topic, bragging about what he calls “the weave.”
“When I do the weave...I’ll talk about nine different things and they all come back brilliantly together,” he said. “Friends of mine that are English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen.’”
But the experts don’t agree. “It’s excessive incoherent talking,” Michaelis said.
“Again, I am not diagnosing him with anything, but it can be a symptom of significant mental illness or dementia. [It is] that inability to maintain focus and to move in a sort of tangential way from topic to topic.
“If you’re observing him, [the topics] don’t seem at all connected but they may have some random connection in his mind, that’s what seems to be happening.”
Allen Frances is a professor and the chair emeritus of psychiatry at the Duke School of Medicine as well as the architect of the DSM-IV — the manual for diagnostic criteria of a range of mental disorders.
Frances is “very much opposed to the misuse of the diagnostic system,” and in 2016 he did not believe Trump displayed symptoms of a mental health disorder.
But, from what he has observed from afar, Frances told The Independent he believes the dial has now shifted, and it is likely Trump “has deteriorated a great deal” since he was in office.
“First off, he seems pretty incoherent,” he said. “It’s hard for him not to be tangential, circumstantial, not to stay on message. He’s all over the place.”
Frances cited examples of unfounded claims Trump made in the debate: that babies are “being executed” after birth, schools are performing surgery on children, and Haitian immigrants are eating pets. “The things he’s saying suggest he’s really lost touch with reality,” he said. “It seems to me likely — although we can’t be definitive about saying anything about anyone at a distance — it seems likely he has deteriorated a great deal.”
The psychiatrist, who conceded there is a possibility Trump’s behavior can also be explained as a deliberate attempt to appeal to specific voters, argued there should be “an upper age limit” for candidates running for the presidency.
Former White House physician Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who has cared for Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, agrees there should be a cap on the age of presidential candidates if they will not agree to undergo objective cognitive assessments.
“We don’t let you be an airline pilot because of public safety past the age of 65, we don’t let you be an FBI agent past the age of 57,” he told The Independent. “[The President] has the most powerful position in the free world.”
Kuhlman, who has never medically examined Trump, said independent cognitive testing would provide a “much better objective picture” of whether a candidate has some cognitive decline — which he added everybody has to some degree after the age of 60 — or if there is a presence of progressive dementia.
Dementia is more common for those in their eighties, “which Donald Trump will be in about a year and a half,” Kuhlman notes.
A cognitive assessment tests a person’s vocabulary, spatial visualization, reasoning, memory and speed. “So we know the vocabulary usually stays about the same, but those other four drastically start falling off past the age of 70,” Kuhlman explains.
Kuhlman — whose bookTransforming Presidential Healthcare: Ensuring Comprehensive Care for the Commander in Chief Amid 21st Century Threats is out now — concurs with the observations of his peers.
“If you listen to the debate, or if you listen to his speech every day, what’s missing is reasoning or that critical decision making,” he said.
The Independent has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.
And, though a given person's "cognitive abilities" may not get better with age, that doesn't mean that their abilities do not remain constant.
Lastly, I've attached a screen grab showing the sources, the dates and the headlines showing Trump's 30 out of 30 score.
You can do all the research you desire with that info.
Now, you are back on "ignore" because you are a dishonest person and I have no tolerance for that.
Only kidding bud. I love you and would never consider "yanking your chain."
Okay, so your "screen grabs" are not links. Now, is that on purpose? Do you not really want us to read what is in those stories or something? Because the source for those stories is none other than, ardent Trump supporter and and his former physician: Ronnie Jackson, not exactly an unbiased bastion of truth. Also, none of the articles or videos actually show the test results. Are you putting me back on ignore because you realize you goofed and that there is no proof that Trump got 30 for 30 or even passed his cognitive test?
Also, here is some information you might find useful about Ronnie Jackson:
https://www.npr.org/2021/03/03/973343296/ronny-jackson-bullied-subordinates-and-broke-alcohol-rules-pentagon-report-finds
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/scathing-report-finds-rep-ronny-jackson-engaged-inappropriate-conduct-white-n1259437
https://rollcall.com/2023/08/15/police-video-shows-rep-ronny-jackson-handcuffed-cursing-officers/
maga