Yeah, Donald Trump is senile
If it were the only instance of this kind of thing happening, Donald Trump’s reference yesterday to his wife “Melanie” would be eyebrow raising, but it wouldn’t be a sign of a medical condition. But let’s be real here. This isn’t an isolated incident. Nor is it limited to one method of communication. For that matter, it’s rapidly getting worse. So let’s call it what it is: Trump is senile.
There are degrees of senility, and it would take an actual medical professional to determine just how far gone Donald Trump is – which of course is why he hides behind compromised people like Dr. Ronny Jackson and Dr. Harold Bornstein, who are willing to cover for him. Trump clearly hasn’t lost the ability to grasp who he is, or where he lives. He’s certainly not that far gone. But he’s pretty far gone. Let’s take a look at this worsening pattern.
Two months ago, Trump began ranting on Twitter about “Alex Baldwin” when he meant “Alec Baldwin.” Some have assumed it was an autocorrect fail, just as they’re now assuming that “Melanie” was an autocorrect fail. But Trump has gotten Alec Baldwin’s name correct on Twitter before, meaning that his phone’s autocorrect has likely learned the name. And Trump has certainly typed “Melania” more times than he’s typed “Melanie.” So it’s difficult to write this off as mere smartphone hijinks – particularly when you consider that Trump recently tweeted “Wendy Wasserman Schultz” when he meant “Debbie Wasserman Schultz.” He can’t blame that one on his phone. It gets worse.
Donald Trump spent a rally repeatedly referring to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as “Ron.” So we know he’s doing this out loud, and not merely when he’s typing, which means we can’t blame it on his semi-illiteracy. But what if he’s merely bad with names? Joe Biden has been randomly misspeaking in weird ways for decades, and there’s nothing wrong with his cognitive abilities. The difference here is that Trump didn’t used to have these kinds of problems, yet now he has them all the time.
During the campaign, Trump’s remarks about North Korea made clear that he understood that the late Kim Jong Il and his son Kim Jong Un were two different people. But late last year Trump let slip that he thought Kim Jong Un had been in power for at least twenty-five years, which would be remarkable, considering that he’s in his early thirties. In other words, Trump is rapidly losing the marbles he used to have. Now he’s struggling to get his own wife’s name right. How much longer, in all seriousness, before he forgets he has a wife? These kinds of conditions get worse, not better.
