Donald Trump doesn’t appear to recognize Melania when he sees her
Over the past months, Donald Trump’s words and behavior have suggested that he’s suffering from worsening cognitive failures. He can’t complete a coherent sentence. He gets confused and wanders off repeatedly. Even his friends have begun publicly pushing conspiracy theories to try to explain away his deteriorating condition. Now it appears Trump may have even forgotten who Melania is. No, seriously.
Melania Trump introduced Donald Trump during a public event today, while he was standing about six feet from her. He then walked over to her and extended his hand for a handshake, which is not how anyone ever greets their spouse. She momentarily appeared to be taken aback by the fact that her husband was trying to shake her hand instead of embracing her. Watch the video of the bizarre incident below (link):
The US First Lady introduces her husband on stage at an event at Joint Base Andrews. He thanks her with a handshake. pic.twitter.com/fPQNoMpnWa
— Caitriona Perry (@CaitrionaPerry) September 15, 2017
Some will suggest that perhaps their marriage is in such bad shape, they’re no longer even willing to share something as intimate as a hug. But that notion would seem to be nullified by Melania’s confusion when Donald tried to shake her hand; she was clearly expecting a different kind of embrace. Moreover, even when public figures are struggling in their marriages, they tend to have the sense to fake it in public. Instead, this simply came across as Donald Trump forgetting that Melania was his wife, and reaching out shake her hand as if she were any other staffer introducing him. This fits into a larger recent pattern.
Donald Trump no longer makes even the slightest bit of sense whenever he deviates from the teleprompter during his speeches. He’s wandered off in the middle of bill signings and press conferences. He wandered away from his motorcade. His friends like Roger Stone and Alex Jones are now absurdly insisting he’s being drugged, as they scramble to explain away what’s clearly wrong with him. And this time around he no longer even seemed to recognize his own wife.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report