Donald Trump: Possible cognitive decline?

Trump's unsettling behavior makes sense, perhaps, if viewed through the prism of possible cognitive decline. This article, IMO, is reckless in the use of the world "Alzheimer's" which comes under the dementia umbrella.  But some of the observations made are worth pondering.  

alternet.org:  The Video that Suggests Trump is Suffering from Alzheimer's

http://www.alternet.org/person...

"(But) in recent years, Trump has become an even more extreme version of himself. The behaviors that accompany that shift could be closely correlated with dementia and a general cognitive decline."

DottyParker said:




"(But) in recent years, Trump has become an even more extreme version of himself.

Well that was kinda true for Sanders as well....  

No, Sanders was always Sanders. It is just that most people had no idea about him when he was an independent Senator from a small state.

I think it is not unusual for people as they gain power to become more extreme versions of themselves. You could say the same thing about Hitler, Stalin, Putin, Mugabe and a whole host of others. But the list shows that is no a good thing.

I'll tell you one thing, there is at least as much to this as there was to the alt-right conspiracy-theory notion that Hillary Clinton was hiding some serious health ailment on the campaign trail.  

I don't know.  When the nitwit was in the private sector and functioned as fodder for the tabloids, you could roll your eyes or just laugh at him.  I just never saw him as sharp minded.  Not sure how to measure or perceive a decline from an already low place.  When you marry someone who is ruthless shameless and amoral to a big fat family fortune,  that someone can go pretty far.  It may be that the grown up complicated scary world of being the POTUS highlights his pre-exisitng cognitive limitations.   

it's not a conspiracy theory.  Objectively, Trump speaks in a much less complex manner than he did as a younger man.  Analysis of his speech on the campaign trail showed it to be at the level of a 10 year old.  The questions about why it is so can vary depending on one's POV.  But it's possible it could be a result of many factors:

• He's actually speaking this way on purpose.  He believes (with some good evidence at this point) that his voters respond positively to blunt pronouncements using very simple words.  They also appreciate his stream-of-consciousness digressions.
• His speaking patterns deteriorate when he's tired and/or stressed.  Campaigning and being president involve high levels of both exhaustion and stress.
• It's the normal degradation of speech that occurs in a septuagenarian compared to his younger self.
• There is some pathology, which could be anything from dementia, Alzheimer's to brain lesions.

I'm not sure it matters what it is or why it's occurring.  His behavior, whatever the cause is in an of itself alarming.  He's acting impulsively, emotionally, and erratically.  Regardless of cause, it should concern all of us.  Hopefully his administration's apparent incompetence will keep him from doing too much harm.

An elderly female friend, now passed on, use to say:  You only become "More So" as you get older!

-Ron Carter

don't justify his behavior by trying to attribute it anything other than him being a horrible human being

conandrob240 said:

don't justify his behavior by trying to attribute it anything other than him being a horrible human being

FWIW, there are many of us in the industry who recognise the patterns; it's not normal decline, ml1. It's not necessarily dementia but there is sharp cognitive decline (prob damage in the prefrontal cortex, and in other areas); it's evident in gait, facial expression, posture, gestures as well as speech. Lots of possible causes, and don't forget there's a family history. 

(I haven't read the linked article, it's probably saying the same thing and comparing his vocab now to several years ago) But he's your President, and I don't want to be disrespectful. 

ml1 said:

• His speaking patterns deteriorate when he's tired and/or stressed.  Campaigning and being president involve high levels of both exhaustion and stress.

I'm not sure it matters what it is or why it's occurring.  His behavior, whatever the cause is in an of itself alarming.  He's acting impulsively, emotionally, and erratically.  Regardless of cause, it should concern all of us.  Hopefully his administration's apparent incompetence will keep him from doing too much harm.

As the Watergate investigation wore on, President Nixon increased his routine use of alcohol and prescription drugs.  It wore him down to a nub; his ordinary paranoia and other personality defects increased.

The then Secretary of Defense secretly asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to advise him first if Nixon ordered them to take any military action.  I knew that their training requires them to carry out the direct orders of the President, the Commander-in-Chief.  Period.  No short cuts or calling the wife and kids first to say "good-bye."  We never realized how much we worried about this until the day that Nixon resigned.  The relief was incredible.

My ace-in-the-hole is National Security Adviser McMaster.  I don't care much what he says, I just want him to be around.  I need McMaster to be the guy with the tranquilizer pen should Trump be wanting the codes after a bad night of binge watching cable news in the thicket of the investigation.  It may never likely come to that. I hope.  But it's a fantasy that helps keep anxiety at bay.  

Undoubtedly, the Russiagate investigation will be far more intense than Watergate in its scope; it will be a cloud over Trump for his entire term. Robert Mueller, the special counsel, is just getting warmed up.  The word is that he's looking at the entire cast of characters -- Manafort, Flynn, Kushner, et al -- going back well before the presidential campaign began.  

joanne said:


(I haven't read the linked article, it's probably saying the same thing and comparing his vocab now to several years ago) But he's your President, and I don't want to be disrespectful. 

Don't let that stop you.

ml1 said:

it's not a conspiracy theory.  Objectively, Trump speaks in a much less complex manner than he did as a younger man.  Analysis of his speech on the campaign trail showed it to be at the level of a 10 year old.  The questions about why it is so can vary depending on one's POV.  But it's possible it could be a result of many factors:

• He's actually speaking this way on purpose.  He believes (with some good evidence at this point) that his voters respond positively to blunt pronouncements using very simple words.  They also appreciate his stream-of-consciousness digressions.
• His speaking patterns deteriorate when he's tired and/or stressed.  Campaigning and being president involve high levels of both exhaustion and stress.
• It's the normal degradation of speech that occurs in a septuagenarian compared to his younger self.
• There is some pathology, which could be anything from dementia, Alzheimer's to brain lesions.

I think it is the first three, and in that order.

Of course what I really think is

conandrob240 said:

don't justify his behavior by trying to attribute it anything other than him being a horrible human being

this pretty much sums up my feelings:

"I'm not going to speculate on the mental health of the president. I'm not qualified, and ultimately I'm not certain it matters whether these extraordinary lapses in judgment are the result of dementia, pathological narcissism, sociopathy or just a ****** personality. What matters is what the president of the United States is saying publicly, every day, and the extraordinary damage he is doing to the nation and its people. There is only one sensible reaction to Trump's antics: for members of Congress and influential conservatives to demand he resign."

http://www.rollingstone.com/po...

ml1 said:

this pretty much sums up my feelings:

"I'm not going to speculate on the mental health of the president. I'm not qualified, and ultimately I'm not certain it matters whether these extraordinary lapses in judgment are the result of dementia, pathological narcissism, sociopathy or just a ****** personality. What matters is what the president of the United States is saying publicly, every day, and the extraordinary damage he is doing to the nation and its people. There is only one sensible reaction to Trump's antics: for members of Congress and influential conservatives to demand he resign."

http://www.rollingstone.com/po...

Yep.

@joanne, please. Disrespect away.