The elephant in the room - Donald Trump's physical and mental deterioration

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1192182744996036608

I'm not sure what's going on here, nor do I really want to. I'm just going to put it in this thread and carefully back away.

[T'Chenka]

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1192182744996036608

I'm not sure what's going on here, nor do I really want to. I'm just going to put it in this thread and carefully back away.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Book by ‘Anonymous’ describes Trump as cruel, inept and a danger to the nation

“I am not qualified to diagnose the president’s mental acuity,” the author writes. “All I can tell you is that normal people who spend any time with Donald Trump are uncomfortable by what they witness. He stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing information, not occasionally but with regularity. Those who would claim otherwise are lying to themselves or to the country.”

New book by anonymous op-ed author details difficulties staff had in briefing Trump

When briefers did attempt to give Trump a traditional memo and it didn’t end well, the author writes.

“’What the f*** is this?’” the president would shout, looking at a document one of them handed him. ‘These are just words. A bunch of words. It doesn’t mean anything.’”

Continuing, the author completes their thought, writing “sometimes he would throw the papers back on the table. He definitely wouldn’t read them."

[Progressive Pessimist]

Book by ‘Anonymous’ describes Trump as cruel, inept and a danger to the nation

“I am not qualified to diagnose the president’s mental acuity,” the author writes. “All I can tell you is that normal people who spend any time with Donald Trump are uncomfortable by what they witness. He stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing information, not occasionally but with regularity. Those who would claim otherwise are lying to themselves or to the country.”

New book by anonymous op-ed author details difficulties staff had in briefing Trump

When briefers did attempt to give Trump a traditional memo and it didn’t end well, the author writes.

“’What the f*** is this?’” the president would shout, looking at a document one of them handed him. ‘These are just words. A bunch of words. It doesn’t mean anything.’”

Continuing, the author completes their thought, writing “sometimes he would throw the papers back on the table. He definitely wouldn’t read them."

So, it's a book compiling the world's most obvious information?

[GP270watch]

 Trump was this petulant and non-attentive decades ago. I think people give Trump an out when they talk about his mental decline. Anybody who's followed this guy knows he was always these things.

[Mr. Smith]

Trump was this petulant and non-attentive decades ago. I think people give Trump an out when they talk about his mental decline. Anybody who's followed this guy knows he was always these things.

Except he wasn't. Not to this extent.

If this whole Presidency were a sitcom, what we have here would be what is called colloquially Flanderization.

[GP270watch]

Except he wasn't. Not to this extent.

If this whole Presidency were a sitcom, what we have here would be what is called colloquially Flanderization.

 You haven't been paying attention. Read what Tony Schwartz the ghostwriter of The Art of The Deal that made Trump a household name says. Read what people who worked for him say going back decades. Watch any serious interview with him from years ago. Read about how he ran Casinos with the most inane management style ever. Read about how people who made The Apprentice struggled to put a coherent show together because Trump was so bad.

 People are really uniformed about Trump.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Except he wasn't. Not to this extent.

If this whole Presidency were a sitcom, what we have here would be what is called colloquially Flanderization.

 You haven't been paying attention. Read what Tony Schwartz the ghostwriter of The Art of The Deal that made Trump a household name says. Read what people who worked for him say going back decades. Watch any serious interview with him from years ago. Read about how he ran Casinos with the most inane management style ever. Read about how people who made The Apprentice struggled to put a coherent show together because Trump was so bad.

 People are really uniformed about Trump.

He's always been a petulant, egotistical, lying ignorant moron. But his vocabulary and sentence structure have declined from what they were even two years ago. Go grab an interview from 2010 or 2011 and the difference seems obvious.  He's always liked repetition, but now its all he does, clinging to a handful of talking points. He doesn't even respond to questions much anymore. Where it used to be you could watch him making up BS on the spot, now he just goes back to the familiar handful of garbage: calling names, "the call was perfect", "Biden is corrupt", "hoax", "witch hunt". Like any cold reader, he keys of what he's fed, but there's no there, there.

[Mr. Smith]

Except he wasn't. Not to this extent.

If this whole Presidency were a sitcom, what we have here would be what is called colloquially Flanderization.

 You haven't been paying attention. Read what Tony Schwartz the ghostwriter of The Art of The Deal that made Trump a household name says. Read what people who worked for him say going back decades. Watch any serious interview with him from years ago. Read about how he ran Casinos with the most inane management style ever. Read about how people who made The Apprentice struggled to put a coherent show together because Trump was so bad.

 People are really uniformed about Trump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAgJAxkALyc

This is from 1980, when he was 34.

The positions and diction are quite simplistic certainly, but it all is comparatively very well articulated nonetheless and more importantly stays on the given topic for some time.

And the point about what TV has done and whom will and won't run for President is also very on point, or at least still very clear.

Demeanor wise, he's very serious and calm.

All of this is quite the far-cry from the constantly angry, impatient, word-salad breather currently in The Oval Office.

[GP270watch]

He's always been a petulant, egotistical, lying ignorant moron.

 Yes so now he's all those things but older and also besieged by his own misdeeds. Trump's problems are his own making. Trump is not persecuted. His unraveling has more to do with his personality and illegality than his mental decline. He expects Presidential power to make him untouchable and his power unquestioned, anything that challenges that worldview angers him.

 Trump has always been a vindictive loon. Just ask anybody that criticized him in the New York tabloids or didn't do a business deal he wanted. Ask them about the poorly scribbled letters they received. Now we're seeing those bizarre letters sent with a Presidential seal and it's a cop out to blame mental decline for his poor behavior, a total cop out.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Towards the end of an often slurring speech from his safe space, Mr. Trump recounts the (slightly mangled) story of Master Sergeant Roddie Edmond's heroism in a German prison camp during WWII , which Mr. Trump concludes in the following fashion (the transcript does not accurately reflect Mr. Trump's recorded words)
https://www.c-span.org/video/?466280-1/president-trump-delivers-veterans-day-remarks-york-city&start=1370

At that point the German put a gun to Roddy's head and demanded, you will order the Jews to step forward immediately or I will shoot you right now through the head. Roddy responded, Major, you can shoot me, but you will have to kills us all -  something.

Mr. Trump then pauses, gets scattered applause, sticks out his tongue and finally resumes the story.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

An incoherent Trump twitches and leans on the podium, while reading a speech with the delivery of a bored, drunk teenager.

"I knew that our destiny was in our own hands -- that we could choose to reject a future of America, and really look at a future of American decline, unacceptable. And to build a future of American dominance, which is what I wanted. It couldn't be any other way.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1194324885750898688

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

The President Trump Remarks at Economic Club of New York (mentioned once above) are just insane. For example,

MR. GALLOGLY:  Mr. President, all the folks in the room are business leaders.  Business works hard to think through and mitigate risk.  How do you think about risk as it relates to trade policy and to, really, big issues like climate change?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, you know, climate change is a very complex issue.  I consider myself to be, in many ways, an environmentalist, believe it or not.  When I build buildings, I did the best environmental impact statements.  I was — you know, I know the game better than anybody.  And I used to go and see my consultants that I was paying a lot of money — environmental consultants.  They’d be up in Albany.  And I’d say, “What are they doing up here?”  Well, they were trying to make it more difficult so we’d have to hire them and pay them even more money than we were paying them now.  And I know what it is.

But to me, it’s clean air and crystal-clean, clear water. And we have now the cleanest air we’ve ever had in our country, meaning, over the last 40 years.  I guess, 200 years ago was cleaner, but there was nothing around.  Right?  I’m not sure that it was much cleaner, if you want to know the truth.  (Laughter.)  But I want clean air.  I want clean water, environmentally.

If you take a look, we discussed the Paris Climate Accord.  That would just put us out of business.  We’re sending money all over.  We’re doing things that are unnecessary.  It would’ve been a catastrophe.

So I want — I’m very much into climate.  But I want the cleanest air on the planet and I want to have — I have to have clean air — water.  And, you know, when people ask the question — your part of the question about climate — I always say: You know, I have a little problem.  We have a relatively small piece of land — the United States.  And you compare that to some of the other countries like China, like India, like Russia, like many other countries that absolutely are doing absolutely nothing to clean up their smokestacks and clean up all of their plants and all of the garbage that they’re dropping in sea and that floats into Los Angeles, along with other problems that Los Angeles has, by the way.  Isn’t amazing it ends up in Los Angeles?  (Laughter.)  Oh, what a — what a mess that is.

But when you see this happening, it’s — nobody wants to talk about it.  They want to talk about our country.  We have to do this.  We have can’t have planes any longer.  We can’t have cows any longer.  We can’t have anything.  I said, “What about China?”  I don’t think they’re going to subscribe to a poor student coming up with 12 — you know, I actually heard the other day, some pretty good politician.  I’ve seen him around for a long time.  Nice white hair.  Everything is like central casting.  You could put the guy in a movie.

He was talking.  I don’t know if he believes this — but he was a Democrat — he said, “We have 11 years.”  It’s the first time I’ve heard it; I heard 12.  But now, see, it’s been a year, so now they think we have 11 years to live.  (Laughter.)  I don’t know, folks.  I think these people have gone totally loco.  (Laughter.)

But we are — you know, they will kill our industry.  They don’t want oil.  I mean, go to Texas.  Tell Texas there will be no more drilling, there will be no more oil and gas.  We’ll put hundreds of thousands of people out of work.  We won’t fuel our factories.  And now you’re talking about millions and millions of people, and you’re talking about a country that couldn’t even exist.

These people — I almost don’t know.  Is this politics?  Because I think it’s bad politics.  I think it’s bad politics.  But we have to be very careful.  And, you know, recently I walked into a meeting and I was with a group of people that I’ve, you know, generally I didn’t like.  I never liked them. It’s a certain group of people.  I have my likes and dislikes, and my — (laughter) —

And I walked into a room.  There are a couple of hundred people — very substantial people.  And I said, “Listen, I don’t have to make a long speech.  Here’s the story: I don’t like you. You don’t like me.  You have no choice but to vote for me.  And you will do whatever you have to do.”  And they said, “Yes, sir. We will.  We will.  We think you’re doing a great job.”

The truth is, look, you have no choice, because the people we’re running against are crazy.  (Laughter.)  They’re crazy.  (Applause.)

And I have to say this: I don’t think there is that much.  I think the biggest risk is the election, I’ll be honest.  I think the biggest risk — because I actually believe some of these people mean what they say.  I really believe that.  And it’s just not — it’s just not acceptable.  We have a very important election coming up.  I think we’re going to do very well.  I think we’re going to win it.  I think we’re going to win it, hopefully, easily.  But it doesn’t matter as long as we win it by a vote.

But it’s going to be something very important for all of you.  I have to say, I have great respect for what all of you have done.  I know so many of you.  And we want to keep it going that way.  Our country is strong.  Our country is great.  Our economy is probably the best it’s ever been.  And we want to keep it that way.

Thank you all very much.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END

This checks out at somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade level. It's full of very short, single-syllable words, with words of three syllables and more mostly absent.

While Mr. Trump initially keys off the word "environment" and remembers, eventually, that the question he was asked had the word "risk" in it, there is no actual attempt at an answer, nor is there any demonstration that he understood the question.  Sure, there's the usual recitation of his pre-programmed favorites and kid-who-didn't-do his homework answers, but there is zero content,  comprehension, or even coherence. While there are few real standout bits (the United States is "a little bit of land" for example) the real horror is in the total incoherence, and the audience who are either playing along, or themselves so utterly unthinking that it doesn't even register. This is not communication. It is viral noise.

[emailking]

Except he wasn't. Not to this extent.

If this whole Presidency were a sitcom, what we have here would be what is called colloquially Flanderization.

 You haven't been paying attention. Read what Tony Schwartz the ghostwriter of The Art of The Deal that made Trump a household name says. Read what people who worked for him say going back decades. Watch any serious interview with him from years ago. Read about how he ran Casinos with the most inane management style ever. Read about how people who made The Apprentice struggled to put a coherent show together because Trump was so bad.

 People are really uniformed about Trump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAgJAxkALyc

This is from 1980, when he was 34.

The positions and diction are quite simplistic certainly, but it all is comparatively very well articulated nonetheless and more importantly stays on the given topic for some time.

And the point about what TV has done and whom will and won't run for President is also very on point, or at least still very clear.

Demeanor wise, he's very serious and calm.

All of this is quite the far-cry from the constantly angry, impatient, word-salad breather currently in The Oval Office.

This is such a big difference from what he is today.

[T'Chenka]

The President Trump Remarks at Economic Club of New York (mentioned once above) are just insane. For example,

MR. GALLOGLY:  Mr. President, all the folks in the room are business leaders.  Business works hard to think through and mitigate risk.  How do you think about risk as it relates to trade policy and to, really, big issues like climate change?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, you know, climate change is a very complex issue.  I consider myself to be, in many ways, an environmentalist, believe it or not.  When I build buildings, I did the best environmental impact statements.  I was — you know, I know the game better than anybody.  And I used to go and see my consultants that I was paying a lot of money — environmental consultants.  They’d be up in Albany.  And I’d say, “What are they doing up here?”  Well, they were trying to make it more difficult so we’d have to hire them and pay them even more money than we were paying them now.  And I know what it is.

But to me, it’s clean air and crystal-clean, clear water. And we have now the cleanest air we’ve ever had in our country, meaning, over the last 40 years.  I guess, 200 years ago was cleaner, but there was nothing around.  Right?  I’m not sure that it was much cleaner, if you want to know the truth.  (Laughter.)  But I want clean air.  I want clean water, environmentally.

If you take a look, we discussed the Paris Climate Accord.  That would just put us out of business.  We’re sending money all over.  We’re doing things that are unnecessary.  It would’ve been a catastrophe.

So I want — I’m very much into climate.  But I want the cleanest air on the planet and I want to have — I have to have clean air — water.  And, you know, when people ask the question — your part of the question about climate — I always say: You know, I have a little problem.  We have a relatively small piece of land — the United States.  And you compare that to some of the other countries like China, like India, like Russia, like many other countries that absolutely are doing absolutely nothing to clean up their smokestacks and clean up all of their plants and all of the garbage that they’re dropping in sea and that floats into Los Angeles, along with other problems that Los Angeles has, by the way.  Isn’t amazing it ends up in Los Angeles?  (Laughter.)  Oh, what a — what a mess that is.

But when you see this happening, it’s — nobody wants to talk about it.  They want to talk about our country.  We have to do this.  We have can’t have planes any longer.  We can’t have cows any longer.  We can’t have anything.  I said, “What about China?”  I don’t think they’re going to subscribe to a poor student coming up with 12 — you know, I actually heard the other day, some pretty good politician.  I’ve seen him around for a long time.  Nice white hair.  Everything is like central casting.  You could put the guy in a movie.

He was talking.  I don’t know if he believes this — but he was a Democrat — he said, “We have 11 years.”  It’s the first time I’ve heard it; I heard 12.  But now, see, it’s been a year, so now they think we have 11 years to live.  (Laughter.)  I don’t know, folks.  I think these people have gone totally loco.  (Laughter.)

But we are — you know, they will kill our industry.  They don’t want oil.  I mean, go to Texas.  Tell Texas there will be no more drilling, there will be no more oil and gas.  We’ll put hundreds of thousands of people out of work.  We won’t fuel our factories.  And now you’re talking about millions and millions of people, and you’re talking about a country that couldn’t even exist.

These people — I almost don’t know.  Is this politics?  Because I think it’s bad politics.  I think it’s bad politics.  But we have to be very careful.  And, you know, recently I walked into a meeting and I was with a group of people that I’ve, you know, generally I didn’t like.  I never liked them. It’s a certain group of people.  I have my likes and dislikes, and my — (laughter) —

And I walked into a room.  There are a couple of hundred people — very substantial people.  And I said, “Listen, I don’t have to make a long speech.  Here’s the story: I don’t like you. You don’t like me.  You have no choice but to vote for me.  And you will do whatever you have to do.”  And they said, “Yes, sir. We will.  We will.  We think you’re doing a great job.”

The truth is, look, you have no choice, because the people we’re running against are crazy.  (Laughter.)  They’re crazy.  (Applause.)

And I have to say this: I don’t think there is that much.  I think the biggest risk is the election, I’ll be honest.  I think the biggest risk — because I actually believe some of these people mean what they say.  I really believe that.  And it’s just not — it’s just not acceptable.  We have a very important election coming up.  I think we’re going to do very well.  I think we’re going to win it.  I think we’re going to win it, hopefully, easily.  But it doesn’t matter as long as we win it by a vote.

But it’s going to be something very important for all of you.  I have to say, I have great respect for what all of you have done.  I know so many of you.  And we want to keep it going that way.  Our country is strong.  Our country is great.  Our economy is probably the best it’s ever been.  And we want to keep it that way.

Thank you all very much.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END

This checks out at somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade level. It's full of very short, single-syllable words, with words of three syllables and more mostly absent.

While Mr. Trump initially keys off the word "environment" and remembers, eventually, that the question he was asked had the word "risk" in it, there is no actual attempt at an answer, nor is there any demonstration that he understood the question.  Sure, there's the usual recitation of his pre-programmed favorites and kid-who-didn't-do his homework answers, but there is zero content,  comprehension, or even coherence. While there are few real standout bits (the United States is "a little bit of land" for example) the real horror is in the total incoherence, and the audience who are either playing along, or themselves so utterly unthinking that it doesn't even register. This is not communication. It is viral noise.

No mention of the Do Nothing Democrats or the Chinese Hoax. He's forgetting his own talkimg points now.

[Santander]

An incoherent Trump twitches and leans on the podium, while reading a speech with the delivery of a bored, drunk teenager.

Teenagers aren't bored and drunk at the same time.

[Progressive Pessimist]

An incoherent Trump twitches and leans on the podium, while reading a speech with the delivery of a bored, drunk teenager.

Teenagers aren't bored and drunk at the same time.

Maybe not teenagers, but I have seen plenty of bored, drunk adults in my lifetime.

[Santander]

An incoherent Trump twitches and leans on the podium, while reading a speech with the delivery of a bored, drunk teenager.

Teenagers aren't bored and drunk at the same time.

Maybe not teenagers, but I have seen plenty of bored, drunk adults in my lifetime.

Sounds like me.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Per press pool reports no yellicopter sessions with Mr. Trump today, either going to or returning from his Nazi-esque rally in Louisiana. The rally itself was shorter than usual for one of Mr. Trump's American Hitler roleplaying sessions. Whether that is due to growing incapacity, or fear of facing up to the reality of impeachment hearings, it is impossible to say.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Surprise physical at Walter Reed. (Walter Reed is under executive branch contol and appears willing to lie for Mr. Trump.) White House is putting a "nothing to see here" spin on it.


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-undergoes-part-of-his-physical-months-ahead-of-schedule/

[Crumpets]

I eagerly await the next public appearance of President "Donald Trump."

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

I eagerly await the next public appearance of President "Donald Trump."

Per the pool reports, Mr. Trump's schedule today consists of being shown pictures at 2:00 pm, and then yelling at Secretary Pompeo at 4:15 pm. No press availability, nor potential for yellicopter sessions.

(The pool also reports a conversation with President Macron yesterday, but since we now know such call readouts are complete fictions, it doesn't really seem relevant.)

[Torrain]

I eagerly await the next public appearance of President "Donald Trump."

Per the pool reports, Mr. Trump's schedule today consists of being shown pictures at 2:00 pm, and then yelling at Secretary Pompeo at 4:15 pm. No press availability, nor potential for yellicopter sessions.

(The pool also reports a conversation with President Macron yesterday, but since we now know such call readouts are complete fictions, it doesn't really seem relevant.)

Trump is supposed to hand out the National Medal of Arts and National Humanities on Thursday, but can't see anything else before then.

https://publicpool.kinja.com/subject-president-donald-j-trump-to-award-the-nationa-1839913880

I guess the real test of whether there is anything to this story is whether he pitches up to that event, and in what form. If he's still under the weather a week on, or if someone blows the whistle, then we might have an interesting story on our hands.

But if he puts in an average performance, then the media will most likely move on, regardless of his health.

It took Bernie's camp a couple of days just to disclose the heart attack, so, given the cynicism of Team Trump, I don't imagine we'll hear anything unless there are symptoms that they have to address/spin.

My guess though, is that it's just chest pains, angina or something similar. Uncomfortable, but not something dangerous or impeding. I imagine we'd be hearing Axios/Politico stories about heart specialists in DC getting mysterious calls, or Ronny Jackson skulking around the White House if that was the case.

[President Johnson]

Surprise physical at Walter Reed. (Walter Reed is under executive branch contol and appears willing to lie for Mr. Trump.) White House is putting a "nothing to see here" spin on it.


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-undergoes-part-of-his-physical-months-ahead-of-schedule/

According to the White House, it's "Phase 1" of the regular examination. However, I'm not really buying it after seeing various reports on this.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/EricLiptonNYT/status/1196622787164745728