The Las Vegas Sun endorsed Kamala Harris for president ten days ago, stating that “A vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz is a vote for renewal, stability, a government that serves the people, and leaders who represent progress without abandoning the values that have long defined America.” Bravo.
Today the Sun followed up by publishing a blistering, no-holds-barred editorial the expressed deep concerns about cognitive decline in a way that was more forceful, blunt and truthful than anything I’ve seen written about Trump by any other newspaper’s editorial board.
The editorial comes out swinging from the start in the first two paragraphs:
Donald Trump’s racism, sexism, xenophobia and penchant for corruption have long made him unfit for any public office, let alone the presidency. But as he continues his bid for a second term in the White House, there is an unsettling and undeniable shift that is leading many experts, observers and even some Trump supporters to conclude that the former president’s mental acuity and sharpness are also in decline, that his physical health and stamina are waning and that his frustration and anger are boiling over.
Americans from both sides of the political spectrum should be alarmed by Trump’s words and behavior. The nation must confront the fact that beyond his hateful character, he is crippled cognitively and showing clear signs of mental illness.
(Note: I don’t want to stigmatize mental illness here. A lot of people have mental health issues and the important thing is to get it treated appropriately. Trump clearly has untreated mental illness issues.)
The editorial goes on to cite many examples of Trump’s mental decline. I can’t share them all, but here are a few:
- “When he does appear publicly, Trump struggles to complete sentences or sustain coherent thoughts, and has shown a pronounced difficulty concentrating and a tendency to repeat himself, sometimes within the same sentence.”
- “A recent analysis by The New York Times noted that Trump’s rally speeches over the past eight years have become darker, longer, more profane and increasingly unfocused and unhinged — a troubling sign that he is no longer able to articulate ideas or reason in ways we expect of our leaders.”
- He shambles about aimlessly, slurs his words and sometimes speaks gibberish. Always an effortless liar, now that his speeches are nothing more than a series of lies tangled in a mass inside his head, it appears he no longer even knows he’s lying.
The editorial then goes on to spell out the dangers of J.D. Vance as a vice president, particularly given Trump’s clear cognitive decline:
With Trump’s fragility comes an increasing dependence on enablers who show a disturbing willingness to indulge his delusions, amplify his paranoia or steer his feeble mind toward their own goals. Among these enablers is his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. Should Trump be deemed unfit to serve, Vance would step into power.
Once a “Never Trump” conservative who openly criticized Trump as a danger to the republic, Vance has since fully embraced an extremist ideology, morphing into a vocal MAGA supporter who seems eager to emulate Trump’s worst instincts.
…
His willingness to discard any principles shows that he would likely not push back against Trump’s excesses or his deteriorating mental stability. Instead, he might embrace a Trumpian authoritarianism, exacerbating the very dangers we face with Trump’s current mental decline.
The editorial ends by pleading that the stakes are to high for our country to elect “an impaired leader who cannot govern competently and a fellow authoritarian waiting in the wings,” calling this “perilous.”
I’m not sure how much difference, if any, this editorial will make with voters in the critical swing-state of Nevada, but I’m grateful that the Sun’s editorial board was open and honest about what’s happening with Trump right now — in ways that many other media outlets are too cowardly to do (I’m looking at you, Washington Post). I encourage you to share it with your networks. As I said, it spells out with deep clarity and soberness Trump’s obvious mental decline in ways that should concern anyone who cares about the future of America.
