Showing posts with label Trump dementia. Show all posts

November 18, 2025

The Trump dementia question: Does Trump have some screws loose? This is a serious subject. The illustration is meant for stress relief both for me and for my readers.

Mary Trump (article above) thinks her uncle has dementia. She may be correct, but she’s not an expert.

Donald Trump stated that he had an MRI as part of a routine physical and described the results as “outstanding,” although he admitted he did not know what specific body part was analyzed during the scan. We don’t even know if he had a brain MRI. If he did, it should be noted that an MRI cannot directly diagnose dementia, but it can reveal brain changes associated with different types of dementia, such as brain atrophy or lesions. It is often used to rule out other conditions that may cause similar symptoms. Reference 1 / Reference 2

Let’s get one thing straight. Neither Mary Trump, a clincial psychologist who only did psychotherapy with patients in her one year internship, nor I, a clincial social worker who diagnosed and treated patients for 40 year, are qualified to diagnose dementia. Neither is Duty to Warn founder Dr. John Gartner who has seen numerous psychotherapy patients. He says Trump has dementia (see, Trump’s ‘cognitive decline’ putting U.S. at ‘grave risk’) and is often quoted.

The experts at diagnosing dementia are neurologists, neuropsychologists, and some gerontologists.

I asked Chat-GTP whether neurologists think. Trump has dementia and this is what I got:

Do Neurologists Think Trump Has Dementia?

Opinions among neurologists and mental health professionals regarding Donald Trump’s cognitive health and potential dementia vary significantly, often influenced by political perspectives.

Current Evaluations and Opinions

Cognitive Screening Results:
- Donald Trump has publicly mentioned taking the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a test designed to assess cognitive function. He has claimed to have received perfect scores, suggesting normal cognitive abilities. However, experts point out that this test is not intended to measure intelligence or IQ.
Expert Opinions:
- Some neurologists and psychologists express concerns about Trump’s mental fitness, citing observable behaviors. For example, neurologist Dr. John Gartner has explicitly stated that he believes Trump shows signs of dementia, including memory and behavioral decline, particularly in comparison to earlier years.
- On the contrary, Trump’s physician reported comprehensive evaluations indicating no abnormalities in his cognitive or neurological functions during his annual physical.
Public Perception and Media Commentary:
- Public discourse often reflects divisions in opinion. Supporters may interpret Trump’s cognitive assessments positively, while critics cite instances of strange behavior or speech as indicative of cognitive decline.
- Comments from figures like Cornell University psychologist Harry Segal have suggested that erratic behavior can signal “accelerating cognitive decline.”
Dementia Assessments vs. IQ Tests:
- The confusion surrounding cognitive tests often arises from Trump’s characterization of them as “IQ tests.” Experts clarify that assessments like the MoCA are specifically designed for identifying cognitive impairments associated with conditions like dementia, not for evaluating general intelligence.

Summary of Concerns

While official tests show that Trump performs well on cognitive assessments, many experts raise alarms about his behavioral signs that could suggest cognitive decline. These assessments lead to ongoing debates about his mental health, particularly in the context of his political career. Given the sensitive nature of cognitive health issues, the discussions are often politically charged, reflecting broader divisions in public opinion
Note that Dr. Gartner is referred to in this.
article where he’s called a specialist.
Dr. John Gartner, a specialist in the field, has observed that Trump, now 79, appears to be slowing down, with potential impairment in his motor skills. This observation follows sightings of Trump allegedly wearing a catheter under his right pant leg, which Gartner suggests could indicate the president is suffering from a specific type of dementia known as frontotemporal dementia.
Unfortunately, as far as I can tell the actual experts in dementia who have come out to suggest there are signs Trump has dementia are few and none have become prominent. One whose name was not familiar to me until I began to research this Substack is Dr. Narinder Kapur, a consultant neuropsychologist and visiting professor at the University College London. He said that “the president’s behavior over the last six months has been ‘quite odd and strange,’ as reported by Express, UK. (Reference) In this article once again John Gartner is referred to as follows:
Psychologist Dr. John Gartner, formerly of Johns Hopkins University, has tracked what he describes as a “major deterioration” in Trump’s language skills, motor skills, and impulse control. “If you go back and look at film from the 1980s, [Trump] actually was extremely articulate… now he really has trouble completing a thought and that is a huge deterioration,” Gartner told The Guardian.
What we basically have is a number of mental health professionals from the neice of Donald Trump to well known names like John Gartner, with a smattering of actual experts in dementia, weighing in with speculation that Trump has dementia. So has psychologist Harry Segal (here) and here. This is based on their observations of behavior that is often seen in people with early dementia.
Mary Trump has an edge because she can compare his behavior to his father’s.
Nobody is able to put a percentage on the likelihood he has any kind of dementia. This much is certain:
Trump claimed a quick test called the MOCA proves he has no cogntive impairment. This test cannot diagnose dementia with any degree of certainty. It can suggest someone might, but even passing it doesn’t prove they don’t. It also should be noted that if someone is so inclined they can take sample tests online. It’s possible someone close to Trump knew he’d be given this test and made sure he practiced taking it.
Trump says he passed his MRI with flying colors. A brain MRI cannot rule dementia in or out.

Neurologists, especially those who specialize in treating dementia patients, neuropsychologists who are also qualified, and many gerontologists, have had ample opportunity to observe Trump on television.

One expert to go public with an assessment of Trump’s possible cognitive impairment is neuroscientist Bobby Azarian. He explained how Trump and Biden’s cognitive impairments were different here. (See his website.)

He wrote:

As a neuroscientist myself, the question I’m mulling is whether Trump’s suspected brain damage is only in the area associated with speech production, known as Broca’s area, or also in the region associated with language comprehension, known as Wernicke’s area. The kind of paraphasia Trump is demonstrating, which does not involve a nonsensical pattern of words, is more likely to be a problem related to speech production, which is a less serious cognitive impairment.
The Trump-related gaffes that are much more concerning to me involve Trump confusing one person for another, in a way that is not just the result of a name slip, but an actual confusion of one person for another.

Even if a hundred of them issued a statement that urged that, based on what they have been seeing of him, they urge in the strongest possible terms that he undergo a complete assessment for dementia, it wouldn’t make any difference.

Here’s a Chat-gpt4 description of what this would entail:

Complete Dementia Assessment Components

A complete dementia assessment typically involves a comprehensive evaluations to determine cognitive function, behavioral changes, and other health issues. This process often includes several key components:

1. Medical History Review

Patient History: Gathering information about cognitive decline, memory loss, and any other symptoms.
Family History: Investigating any family history of dementia or neurological disorders.
Current Medications: Reviewing all medications to identify any that may affect cognition.

2. Physical Examination

Neurological Exam: Assessing reflexes, coordination, sensory perception, and motor skills.
Vital Signs: Measuring blood pressure, heart rate, and other essential health metrics.

3. Cognitive Assessments

Standardized Tests: Using tools like the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) or the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to evaluate memory, attention, and problem-solving abilities.
Functional Assessments: Evaluating the ability to perform daily activities, which can provide insight into the extent of cognitive impairment.

4. Neuropsychological Testing

This may include a more in-depth analysis of cognitive functions such as memory, language, and executive functioning, often conducted by a neuropsychologist.

5. Laboratory Tests

Blood Tests: To rule out other causes of cognitive impairment (e.g., vitamin deficiencies, thyroid issues, infections).
Imaging Studies: CT or MRI scans may be used to identify structural changes in the brain, such as atrophy associated with dementia.

6. Psychiatric Evaluation

Assessment for Mood Disorders: Evaluating for depression or anxiety, which can coexist with dementia and complicate the diagnosis.

7. Caregiver and Family Input

Gathering insights from family members or caregivers about changes in behavior or cognitive decline over time.

I wrote the following in January:

The crucial words are “may not have.” What has chnaged since then is that I see ore behavioral indications he may have dementia that I did in January. However, I continue to want to be tentative and not go out on a limb and say he probably has this tragic disease. If he does as I worte previously, time will tell since the disease always gets worse.

As long as there are other explanations for his behavior some consider indications of dementia like stress or even a manic psychosis all we can do is wait and see.

July 19, 2025

How some old Trump drawings could lead to Vance becoming the 48th president, by Hal M. Brown

“I never wrote a picture in my life,” he said in a rebuttal to the accusations made in The Wall Street Journal as he vehemently denied having anything to do with the Epstein birthday card. I won’t delve into the syntax of this sentence suggesting cognitive decline since this is so obvious.

In fact, Trump does “write” pictures. Some of them have been sold at auction. The signed sketch shown below sold in 2017 for $16,000, according to The New York Times.

One has to assume that those sold at auction had their provenance verified. If this is a basis of Trump’s defense it is weak sauce. If it is all he has, he ain’t got bupkis.

He can’t say he never knew Epstein. He could try to say that it’s impossible to find an unbiased jury since I expect we will see pictures like the one below not just in the UK but all over the place (read article):

Trump may hope that Rupurt Murdoch settles, folding like others have, trembling at the thought of being taken to court by the Mighty Donald Trump. He very well be underestimating the man that built a media empire and is now worth around $20 billion. Trump is worth about $5 billion.

I have a feeling Murdoch relishes going up against Trump in court. I think the first order of business for him would be to do everything possible to assure the trial was televised. If he could do this he’d fire any Fox News personalities who tried to take Trump’s side and the trial would have wall to wall coverage on Fox News.

We should remember that Trump got his start with a major leg up from his father. He got $413M from his dad, much from tax dodges (article). Murdoch got his start when he inherited a small newspaper, The News, in 1952 following his father’s death.

Murdoch rightfully can claim that if any one person can claim that they greased the wheels of Trump’s ascendence to the presidency it is Rupurt Murdoch. Nobody can say that without Fox News Trump wouldn’t have been elected twice but their influence can’t be underestimated. If Murdoch cares about how history views him once he’s gone, he may want to be depicted as someone who meant well in supporting Trump, but eventually realized he created a monster and decided to bring him down. He could use this trial to begin the unraveling of Trump’s aura of invincibility.

This could lead to J.D. Vance deciding the time was finally ripe for initiating the 25th Amendment due to Trump’s impossible to plausibly deny dementia.

Vance has every motivation to do this since if successful he would become president. He needs a majority of the Cabinet to turn on Trump and vote to send this to Congress. This is where Vance has leverage. If he became president he could replace any Cabinet member. He could promise to keep enough of them so he’d get the votes he needed. You can bet he will be following national polls carefully.

Then there’s the most difficult part. A two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate is required to remove a president under the 25th Amendment. Assuming all the Democrats voted for removal obviously enough Republicans would have to look to their own futures to gauge the sentiment of the voters.

Here’s where Elon Musk comes in. If he backs the removal of Trump he can pour massive amounts of money into any candidate’s campaign who will run against a Trump supporting member of Congress.

J.D. Vance could become the 48th President of the United States.

Trump has normalized a president wearing a red baseball cap. If Vance really want to stick it to Trump he could wear a hat like the one below once he became president.

This post is public so feel free to share it.

July 18, 2025

When will it be time for Vance to invoke the 25th Amendment to begin the process of pulling Trump's driver's license? By Hal M. Brown

The RawStory article title is 'Yikes': Ex-Tea Party lawmaker sounds alarm on 'cover-up' of 'Trump's cognition. The lawmaker it’s about is Joe Walsh.

Here’s the excerpt that made me think of my grandfather’s cognitive decline:

"As all of this is playing out, Trump’s health and cognitive fitness are in the spotlight again. White Housephysicians report that he is suffering from chronic venous insufficiency, which has resulted in his unsightly ankle swelling," Walsh wrote Friday. "Not a terribly shocking development for an obese 79-year-old man."
However, he said, "A bigger concern is his cognitive decline."
Drawing attention to a previous allegation Walsh himself made, he added Friday, "As you know, I’ve said there’s a cover-up going on in the White House with respect to Trump’s cognition."
"There was more proof of his decline this week, as Trump publicly questioned why Joe Biden hired Fed Chair Jerome Powell—even though he appointed Powell during his first term. Yikes," Walsh wrote.

My maternal grandfather lived with us all of my life until I went off to college. My parents moved into his and my grandmother’s house when they got married and my family continued to live there. My grandmother died when I was four and I ended up moving into their room which had two full-sized beds.

My grandfather was a kind man. He was self-effacing, easy going, and rather passive. Prior to retiring he was a salesman in the families men’s clothing store.

His one passion aside from doting on my younger sister and me was dancing at the Y’s senior canteen where he was something of a ladies man.

Aside from liking the ladies after his wife died, he was absolutely nothing like Trump.

In many ways my grandfather was a surrogate father since my own father worked 6 ½ days a week, left for work before I woke up and came home just in time for a 6 PM dinner. After eating he was too tired to do much more than fall asleep in front of the TV.

My father never got a driver’s license. He took the bus to work. Thinking back, I wonder if he had some kind of phobia about driving.

My grandfather and mother were the drivers in the family and my grandfather sometimes chauffeured my father around on various errands.

By the time my grandfather began to succumb to dementia I’d already gone off to college but heard the following story which relates to Trump from my mother.

He was driving my father someplace and turned onto a oneway street going in the wrong direction. He drove for a short distance without encountering any other cars but then several cars approached and had to pull around him to avoid a collision. They were honking their horns and gesturing frantically at him.

His reaction was to happily say to my father “they know me, they know me.”

My father got him to pull over and turn around. When they arrived home he told my mother about it. They decided it was time to pull his driver’s license.

Some years later, after my mother died, he moved to Miami, Florida where other relatives had retired and he lived happily into his late eighties.

I assume you figured out the point of this story since it is my title.

When will it be time for Vance to invoke the 25th Amendment and for the process of pulling Trump’s driver’s license to begin so the elderly demented president can retire? Trump can then live out his life in Florida where he can play with his little putter and have people treat him like royalty.

This post is public so feel free to share it.

April 11, 2025

Am I the only anti-Trump shrink who thinks Trump may not have dementia? He may. But he may not. By Hal M. Brown, MSW I was a psychotherapist for 40 years but didn't learn about dementia until I moved to a senior community and saw it in dozens of residents.

Sometimes Occam’s razor can have two sides. When it comes to Trump’a increasingly bizarre behavior there are two, not necessarily mutually exclusive, simple explanations. His behavior is certainly consistent with his psychodamics, but how much of it is influenced by dementia? There are those who have jumped on a bandwagon of looking for evidence that he has dementia. They certainly have found it. However, there are other simple explanations for his unhinged behavior.

This morning Sabrina Haake wrote this in her Substack “Trade chaos wuth a side of dementia”:

Last year we had articles with titles like 'Without any doubt': Experts say Trump shows 'staggering' signs of 'cognitive diminishment' . They didn’t leave any room for doubt. I had my doubts then and despite a chorus of people, some self-described experts and lay people, saying Trump has dementia I am have my doubts.

I am posting this as counterpoint to Sabrina Haake’s Substack and to the argument of Dr. John D. Gartner, founder of Duty to Warn, who she uses an expert source. Gartner, Wiki tells us, specialized in the treatment of borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder and depression. Haake’s other expert source is psychologist Suzanne Lachmann who wrote in Newsweek “Donald Trump Dementia Evidence 'Overwhelming.” Dr. Lachmann, per her website, works with adults and late adolescent patients with conflicts including relationship issues, trauma, struggles with self-esteem, body image, trust, depression and anxiety.

In my practice I worked with adults with a variety of common psychiatric disorders, but have had experience working with those with complex dissociative disorder (multiple personality disorder) and Vietnam combat vets with PTSD. I never treated anyone with dementia, though (as noted below) I did correctly diagnose two patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.

I wrote the following on Jan. 3rd, 2025. I have not significantly changed my opinion.

Most mental health professionals who are saying this are not neurologists, let alone neurologists who specialize in dementia.
Many mental health professionals are absolutely, positively convinced Trump has dementia. I seem like a lone voice among them saying we need more evidence.
I am not an expert, but because I live in a continuing care retirement community I have seen a lot of people with dementia in all stages.
In my training there was no mention of considering dementia in making a differential diagnosis. In my 40 years of practice I never treated anyone with dementia. I did, however, have three clients who I thought had temporal lobe epilepsy which I knew about having read the book “Seized” by Eve LaPlante. I referred them to a behavioral neurologist who did sleep deprived EEGs with them and it turned out two of the three did have this disorder. When I began practice nobody was conversant about another brain disorder, the autism spectrum. My point is that mental health professionals must be aware that there are sometimes physiological and neurological explanations for behavior. This certainly applies to trying to discern explanations for what seems to be aberrant behavior in Trump. The unanswered question is whether is this behavior psychological, physiological, or a combinaiton of the two.
I have seen the photos and illustrations of Trump’s leaning forward posture countless times as if this was absolute proof of dementia. Lots of people his age stand that way at times.
His word salad could be an indication of mania, not dementia, or it could be, as he claims, a kind of improv which he calls the weave.
Many mental health professionals are digging in on the Trump dementia position. I think this is, in a way, wishful thinking couched in science.
We, meaning shrinks, have all the evidence we need to say Trump is a malignant narcissist, but then perhaps desperate to find more to justify saying Trump is unfit, they added dementia to bolster the argument that he was dangerous. I think mental health professionals need to be more self-critical and open minded in our judgments and not succumb to confirmation bias. It is easy to cherry pick from all the evidence when there’s so much Trump, Trump, Trump just about every hour of the day.
Is anybody keeping track of every bit of Trump’s behavior to find indications that he doesn’t have dementia?
We have ample examples of Trump going on for one or two hours without exhibiting any unambiguous signs of dementia. Much of his extemporaneous sidetracking can just as easily be considered a manifestation of his malignant narcissism as of dementia.
There’s currently a Change.org petition online “Our Diagnostic Impression of Trump is Probable Dementia: For Licensed Professionals Only.”

The petition begins:
We, the undersigned licensed medical and mental health professionals (INCLUDE YOUR ADVANCED DEGREE IN YOUR LAST NAME WITH NO PUNCTUATION) concur: From our years of training and experience, we are convinced that, while a definitive diagnosis would require further testing, Donald Trump is showing unmistakable signs strongly suggesting dementia, based on his public behavior and informant reports that show progressive deterioration in memory, thinking, ability to use language, behavior, and both gross and fine motor skills.
I highlighted the part that jumps out at me. First, the “years of training and experience” should apply to those who were in fields like neurology, particularly behavioral neurology, and neurosciense. It is true that a definitive diagnosis would require testing, however the use of the word “unmistakable” along with “strongly suggesting” shows a bias. Leave that word out and I can accept this sentence.
The petition then goes on to list diagnostic indices in these categories:
1) Decline from baseline
2) Memory:
3) Language
4) Motor:
5) Behavior:
The list reads like someone went over a text on dementia and then found things in Trump’s behavior and managed to make a case that he had this disorder. It wasn’t that long ago that splotches seen on Trump’s hands during the E. Jean Carroll led to rampant speculation that he had syphillis. Even before that the syphillis theory was in the news and no social media. This was from 2017: Trump’s ‘Unhinged’ Behavior Could Be Due To ‘Untreated Syphilis,’ Expert Claims. There is a reasonably good case to be made that Trump might be suffering from some stage of dementia. However, reasonably good isn’t good enough as far as I am concerned.

I think the list lacks the scientific rigor necessary to reach a foregone conclusion. This being said, I agree with the conclusion whether or not he has dementia:
This represents a unique danger because of Trump’s pre-existing Malignant Narcissistic Personality Disorder. As he continues to deteriorate he will become even more erratic, impulsive, paranoid, and aggressive than he already is. A demented malignant narcissist as president of the United States would have unimaginably catastrophic consequences.
Not only is Trump unfit, but he cognitively incapable of carrying out the duties of president. Under normal circumstances, relatives of such a patient would be seeking consultation with experts, and considering long term care, as he continues to deteriorate.
We feel an ethical obligation to warn the public, and urge the media to cover this national emergency.
The media must report objectively on anything that suggests Trump may have a cognitive impairment and bring in true experts from the appropriate fields. We can’t allow another Goldwater Rule fiasco to occur. When there were obvious examples of his being a malignant narcissist and mental health professionals spoke up about this they were debunked by many and accused of breaking some sacrosanct professional rule.
Anti-Trumpers who make the news warning about the dangers of Trump wielding the power of the presidency have been accused of having a psychiatric disorder the name of which has been used to discredit them. You know what it is: Trump derangement syndrome. We must not feed into this narrative.
When mental health professionals go public about the possiblity that Trump has dementia they must do this by emphasizing that this is a possiblity not a certainty. They must write or speak with gravitas and always allow for the chance that they are wrong.
Time will be the ultimate decider regarding this since dementia always gets worse. There may come a time during his presidency that his symptoms are so obvious you don’t need to be an expert in dementia to reach this conclusion.
This is when the 25th Amendment becomes a real possibility. Then we will be dealing with J.D. Vance. Nobody has suggested he has dementia.
More of my thoughts on this subject:
If Trump has dementia it might be a kind doctors have never seen. Call it weaveheimers. If not, the weave may be as brilliant as he says it is.

This was in Salon (I’m the clinical social worker in the title): Clinical social worker: “With the Trump Bible, one must consider dementia”

I also wrote I’m not the only mental health professional who says that Trump needs a rigorous neuropsychiatric evaluation to rule out a cognitive illness.

—————————————————

Note:

I was one of the first members of Dr. John Gartner’s Duty to Warn group and an early signatory to his petition to remove Trump (Version One) under the 25th Amendment. This was because Trump clearly met the criteria for being a dangerous malignant narcissist, or as the titles of the books edited by psychiatrist Bandy Lee, indicate, that he was a dangerous case.

Trump, newly empowered, has emerged as an even more dangerous case. He is dangerous to democracy and the established social and legal norms which are the bedrock of our society. He has gone from being an exemplar of the Dark Triad to being one of the Dark Tetrad. This has sadism added to psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism of the Dark Triad. I wrote about this here:

When I look at Trump and try to understand him I do so through the lens of psychoanalytic theory. For example “Trump's tweets are a royal road to his unconscious. As usual Trump was up tweeting last night. Psychoanalysts gain insight into someone's unconscious, and the way their mind works by analyzing their dreams. We look at his tweets.”

Can Trump be showing signs of dementia. Of course this is possible. Can we be sure? I don’t think so. Since dementia always gets worse, if he has it, in time we will see it.

Read my previous Substacks.

Hal Brown's Substack (fomerly Hal Brown's Blog)