President Joe Biden’s physical decline is now so apparent that it has put his reelection chances in serious jeopardy. During the debate with Donald Trump, his voice was soft, he sometimes lacked focus, and he seemed feeble. There is no doubt that his age is catching up to him. This is not to say that I think he can’t do the job as President. To the contrary, he still possesses great wisdom and skill and is an outstanding Commander-in-Chief. I have no doubt, health permitting, he could do a great job during his second term. I also have no doubt that the perceptions of his physical and mental condition (fair or unfair) could cost him the election.
Having said that, I believe that Donald Trump is IN MUCH WORSE SHAPE than Biden, something that most of the media has largely ignored. He has received a pass despite numerous instances of his saying bizarre things (sharks or electrocution), getting simple facts wrong (mistaking Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi) and his frequently slurring words.
Dr. John Gartner says in an interview in Salon: “Not enough people are sounding the alarm that based on his behavior, and in my opinion, Donald Trump is dangerously demented. In fact, we are seeing the opposite among too many in the news media, the political leaders and among the public. There is also this focus on Biden's gaffes or other things that are well within the normal limits of aging. By comparison, Trump appears to be showing gross signs of dementia. This is a tale of two brains. Biden's brain is aging. Trump’s brain is dementing.”
What evidence do you have for that conclusion?
"Phonemic paraphasias" —the substitution of non-words for words that sound similar—are not normally seen until a patient enters the moderate to severe stages of Alzheimer’s.
Some examples of Trump’s non-words: Beneficiaries becomes “benefishes.” Renovations become “renoversh.” Pivotal became “pivobal." Obama became “obamna.” Missiles became “mishiz.” Christmas became “Crissus.” Bipartisan became “bipars.”
This is a fundamental breakdown in the ability to use language. If you were talking to your father on the phone and he did this, you would think he is having a stroke. There is no healthy older person who speaks that way.
Trump also engages in what we call "tangential speech." He just becomes incomprehensible when he engages in free association word salad speech that is all over the place. Again, that's a sign of real brain damage, not being old, not being slow, not losing a step not being, but of severe cognitive deterioration. What I don’t understand is why those clips aren’t replayed over and over in the mainstream media. Isn’t Trump babbling incoherently the most newsworthy part of his rally? You can be sure it would be if it were Biden.
Biden has been excoriated for forgetting names, which can be a normal part of aging. But Trump isn’t just forgetting names, he’s forgetting and combining people. Trump believes Nikki Haley is Nancy Pelosi. He has said repeatedly that Obama is still president. He said his father was born in Germany when that was his grandfather.”
Dr. Gartner is correct. The mainstream media is failing us in focusing on Biden’s mental acuity and not Trump’s.
I believe that for Trump to have the energy he did have during the debate that he was jacked up on speed, probably Adderall. In a classic case of projection, Republicans suggested that Biden would take something prior to the debate to enhance his performance. But it was clearly Trump who did that. The media and some in the public mistake his energetic belligerence as strength. But temporarily having energy is not a real indication of the a man’s mental or physical health.
Trump’s general health is also not good. He is obese. He eats crap. He is a Diet-Coke addict. He is reportedly incontinent from all the speed and cocaine he took over the years and needs to wear diapers. Trump could not stay awake during his criminal trial in New York. He frequently drags his leg when he walks and requires assistance going up and down stairs. Joe Biden may have a stiff gait when he walks, but he is trim and rides a bike for exercise. I would be very interested in hearing the results of an impartial physical done on both men.
A doctor friend of mine believes that Trump has also been suffering from mini-strokes and doubts that Trump will even make it to election day without a major health event. She also thinks that though Biden is showing signs of aging, he is still capable of being the hugely successful President he has been up until now (infrastructure, climate legislation, support for Ukraine, etc.)
The bottom line is that the media needs to focus on Trump’s mental health, his having dementia, in no small part to counter the attacks on Biden.
But even if Biden drops out, a demented, sociopathic, malignant narcissist is not acceptable as our President. Trump is all those things and it should become a major campaign issue.
