Donald Trump’s mental lapses rapidly worsen
Beginning on Monday
morning, Donald Trump was involved in a bizarre incident in which he took a hat
from a kid, autographed it, and flung it into the crowd instead of handing it
back to him (video link here). The kids yelled out to try to correct his
strange behavior, but instead he responded by doing the same thing to another
kid’s hat. This was in the same timeframe in which he couldn’t remember to put
his hand over his heart during the National Anthem and had to be visibly nudged
by his wife. But these minor incidents were merely warning shots.
By Monday evening,
Trump had unwittingly revealed during a Fox News interview that he didn’t know
the name of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, the one he’s been threatening to
blow up for the past week. He also revealed that he believes thirty-two year old
Kim Jong-Un is the same guy who’s been in power since the nineties. Trump
doesn’t know that Kim and his late father Kim-Jong Il are two different people
(Talking Points Memo). Worse, as recently as a few
months ago, Trump’s words during the campaign made clear that he did know
that these were two different leaders. In other words, he’s completely
forgotten the key things that he previously knew about North Korea. And even if
his advisers have tried to remind him, it appears he’s now incapable of hanging
on to that information.
But
perhaps Monday was just a singularly bad day for Donald Trump? As it turns out,
he traveled to a political rally today in Wisconsin, the home state of Speaker
Paul Ryan. The two Republicans don’t always get along, but they know each other
quite well. And yet Trump kept referring to Paul Ryan as “Ron” during his
speech today (Bipartisan Report). On their own, any one of these incidents
could be seen as a mere gaffe, an absent moment. But strung together, they
paint a picture of a man who’s become mentally vacant.
Throw in the incident last week Trump he
claimed that he had launched Tomahawk missiles into Iraq instead of Syria, and
didn’t seem to understand his mistake after the interviewer pointed it out
(link), and it establishes a clear pattern. Donald Trump’s mental lapses are
rapidly worsening by the day. Only a doctor could tell us if this is something
like dementia or Alzheimers or the mere effects of worsening situational
stress. But no matter the diagnosis, it’s clear Trump is objectively incapable
of doing the job or holding the office – and he must resign.
