Copyright The Daily Beast
He spoke about people being forced to flee “South Africa” due to communism, when he meant to say “South America.” He recalled getting “indicted” over allegations he improperly sought help from Ukraine, when in reality he was “impeached.” “DOZY DON IS BACK!” California Governor Gavin Newsom declared in a post on X on Thursday. Ten months into his second term, 79-year-old President Donald Trump now finds himself facing the same kind of scrutiny that haunted his predecessor, Joe Biden. Over the past 48 hours alone, the Daily Beast has counted at least a dozen times when Trump has either confused names and dates, mixed up facts, or even appeared to drift off in public, prompting the obvious question: Is the president OK? The confusion over his first impeachment, and his South Africa/South America mix-up, took place while Trump was in Miami addressing a business forum on Wednesday. At the same event, the president declared communism began “1,000 years ago” (which would be 1025, when Vikings roamed the Earth) and that America’s electricity grid is “200 years old” (it was mostly built in the 1950s and ’60s). He also claimed that the U.S. economy would be “in a depression” without his tariffs (history shows that is not the case), and bragged that the U.S. has “never lost a war” (apparently forgetting the Bay of Pigs invasion against Cuba, or America’s retreat in Vietnam, Korea and Afghanistan, to name just the most prominent examples). In some cases, it is hard to know whether Trump is merely confused, deliberately lying or simply unaware of the facts. On Thursday, for example, at a dinner with Central Asian leaders from the C5+1 forum, Trump told them how “previous American presidents have neglected this region completely.” The diplomatic forum was launched by the Obama administration to engage with the region. On Friday, during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the president insisted cost-of-living pressures were “way down” and claimed the price of a Thanksgiving meal at Walmart was 25 percent cheaper this year. The reality for Americans is very different. Psychologist Dr. John Gartner believes that Trump is exhibiting growing “clinical signs of dementia,” which is contributing to what he says is the president’s “malignant narcissism”—a personality disorder underpinned by a grandiose sense of self-worth, a need for admiration and lack of empathy. Speaking on the Daily Beast podcast this month, Gartner argued that Trump’s nonsensical speeches, repeated confusion, and frequent lapses in memory are flashing signs of his “immense cognitive decline.” “Because of his cognitive decline, [Trump] is focusing on things like the [White House] ballroom and the paper that he writes things on,” said the former Johns Hopkins professor, who has diagnosed thousands of people over the years. “He has the worst personality disorder a human being can have but now as he cognitively deteriorates, he expresses it in ways that are more impulsive, more coarse, more disorganized.” The White House, however, insists Trump is in excellent shape, pointing to his rigorous work schedule, his near-daily press events and his domestic and international first-term achievements as evidence. But questions emerged last month after Trump let it slip that his latest medical check-up on Oct. 10 included an MRI, which can highlight symptoms associated with conditions such as strokes, brain issues, or tumors. The MRI was not disclosed in the report of the president’s latest visit to the Walter Reed Medical Center, and the White House has so far refused to explain why it was needed. Asked about this by the Daily Beast on Friday, along with a request for an update on the president’s health given this week’s events, the White House declined to answer. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was also evasive during her latest briefing on Tuesday. “As the physical itself stated... and as you all know because you are all witness to it every single day, the president is in optimal physical health,” she said. The mystery surrounding Trump’s health is not unusual for presidents: Woodrow Wilson, for example, hid details about his strokes. John F. Kennedy did not disclose his back problems. And the extent of Biden’s cognitive decline was covered up by his closest aides and family members. But the president has been under scrutiny for months, particularly after he was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency—a common condition in older people where the leg veins fail to pump blood to the heart, resulting in the president’s often-seen swollen ankles. Trump also has a tendency to hide dark bruising on his hand, which aides say is the result of frequent hand-shaking and an aspirin regime. Despite this—or his recent world salads and occasional naps—the president insists he’s “in great shape,” both mentally and physically. “Nobody has ever given you reports like I give you,” he told journalists recently in relation to his medical results.
