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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDonald Trump and his mental disintegration
There are two major issues: Donald Trump and his proposed policies -- and Donald Trump and his mental deterioration in front of us. I wish to examine the latter. It comes from personal experience.
My father was weeks away from turning 92. A widower living on his own terms in his house. He eschewed my offers of assistance, even when I moved in with him.
In his past life, he was a commendable physician, a cardiologist. He kept his patients alive into their 90s. He could do the NY Times crossword puzzle in pen. Articulate. Read books constantly.
By the time he was in his 90's, there were definite changes in mental capacity.
First, he stopped paying his bills. There were a multitude of stacks on the dinette table. I offered to cut the checks and have him sign them. He refused. I asked what his plan was and he responded that his estate attorneys would pay them after his death. And they remained unpaid.
Next, he had to have a dog. Not take care of it, but just wanted a dog. He drove to a puppy mill, chose a puppy, and came home. He didn't walk it. He had a neighbor walk the dog, but the dog held it in and shit all over the house. His dog ruined a $40,000 Persian rug that my mother had treasured. I bent over to pick up dried shit and he actually yelled at me and told me to leave it where it was. Well, you get the idea. And he didn't feed the dog a recommended diet; she got whatever he didn't finish eating. And he left the dog in his car in the summer when the interior temperature was in the high 90's. Bystanders in parking lots called the police and he told them to mind their own business; his dog was fine.
Finally, his driving. He shouldn't have. He got into a multitude of fender-benders. The reason why he flew under the radar with the DMV not taking away his license was he paid off the other drivers in cash to avoid tickets and insurance. And fixed his car. His driving was atrocious. I personally watched him back out of our driveway and position himself the wrong way in the lane and stayed there for minutes. I was holding my breath. His driving was his undoing, literally. He rear-ended a van at a gas station. No seatbelt, no airbags. His chest hit the steering column. He refused medical attention and got three tickets. And kept it a secret for a week when he sustained a heart attack from an undiagnosed partial aortic tear from the accident. And he died. I had to do detective work to discover all this.
My point: my father was in no shape to live alone, have a dog, and/or drive -- and certainly not to run a country as complicated and powerful as ours.
Even if Trump promoted my views and positions, I wouldn't want someone who exhibits all the confusion and mental detachments that he does to run the country, period.
It's not because he's old. He just isn't competent.
Emile
(30,113 posts)He had 2 handlers yesterday who looked absolutely alarmed and were guiding him to where he needed to go. He seemed lost in space and time.
mahina
(18,958 posts)Walleye
(35,902 posts)MiHale
(10,813 posts)Election loss
sentencing on his crimes
trials looming
his mind will be shot
body follows shortly after.
Watching the garbage truck video
.misjudged the distance to the door handle
dragged his leg up into the seat
watched it a couple times he only used his right leg to boost himself up left got dragged up. Not doing well.
yardwork
(64,495 posts)I suspect he spends most of his time offstage in bed or a chair. I would not be surprised to hear that he's sometimes in a wheelchair.
NNadir
(34,723 posts)FakeNoose
(35,816 posts)Even in his "prime" he never had a clue. As a result he ruined a lot of people's lives.
He's been bad news his entire life.
Bernardo de La Paz
(51,028 posts)Martin Eden
(13,516 posts)The Fascist Grifter was never competent, nor a decent human being.
He wasn't even a competent businessman, evidenced by 6 bankruptcies. His only real talent is that of a con man.
keithbvadu2
(40,235 posts)speak easy
(10,554 posts)dalton99a
(84,488 posts)DFW
(56,691 posts)No matter what the outcome of the presidential election on Tuesday, Trump will not be president one year from now.
It will be either Kamala Harris or JD Vance.
multigraincracker
(34,149 posts)Never mention his father died with Alzheimers. I'm sure he shares more genes with dad than an uncle.
Farmer-Rick
(11,461 posts)Whatever form of dementia he has, it has become so apparent and glaring that I wonder if the guy has much time left.
Altered gaits are common with people with dementia and he clearly is walking funny.
He's completely disinhibited in his language....if he's able to find the word. He'll saying anything.
He'll talk about penis size, putting people in front of firing squads. He would have said firing squad when he was threatening Cheney but he couldn't find the word. So, he described the nine rifles lined up. If he thinks it and can find the words, he'll say it.
He's calling the country he wants to control garbage. Because he doesn't really want to be president. He wants to be king and be free of all possible criminal charge. And the idiots on the Supremes are going to try to get this demented fool in the white house.
yardwork
(64,495 posts)I went through a similar experience with my mom, although it stretched out over more years and was less dramatic than your experience.
Your story makes an interesting point. When people are highly intelligent or highly skilled, the presence of dementia can be masked. Your father was a highly intelligent, capable man, so he was able to function in certain ways long after it was safe for him to be independent. My mom was similar.
Trump is not an intellectually curious or educated man, but he is very skilled at entertaining people. He knows what buttons to push. He's a carnival barker. The baseline skills are the last to go. The fact that he's now visibly falling apart on stage implies to me that he's probably close to non-functional off-stage.
Other people are running this campaign and they're hiding Trump's true condition from us.