Trump: These things were coming cylinders, no wings, no nothing, and they’re coming down very slowly, landing on a raft in the middle of the ocean someplace with a circle, reminded me of the Biden circles that he used to have.. then I heard we lost pic.twitter.com/5rtC7wJH00
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 10, 2024
I found this transcript on Facebook:
He was speaking to the Detroit Economic Club, in Detroit — and bashed Detroit. At one point he called Detroit a “once great city.” At another point, he warned his audience that if Kamala Harris becomes president, the whole nation will be Detroit. “It will be like Detroit. Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president,” Trump said. “You’re going to have a mess on your hands.”
I take it this did not go over well. I suspect he didn’t entirely understand where he was. Early stage Alzheimers would account for this. If I’m right, at this point the man is on autopilot. He isn’t entirely certain where he is, but his handlers can put him in front of a microphone and he can still do his free-association rambles. He still knows people and things he’s known for a long time, but he can’t retain new information. And the old stuff probably gets jumbled. He may have notes or a teleprompter in front of him reminding him that he’s supposed to talk about the economy. But if I’m right, he’s going to forget how to read soon. And I’m betting his children and his top campaign advisers know this is happening and are working to keep it hidden, at least until after the election..
If I’m right, there won’t be any more one-on-one interviews of Trump, or forums in which Trump has to answer more than one question. That would lay bare his inability to take in new information. He may not be able to follow multiple questions or remember what he just said. The only exception might be if he talks to a partisan interviewer who understands the situation and gives him prompts to keep him on topic, and who would allow the video of the interview to be edited.
There are still people, like this guy, who think Trump’s verbal strangeness is part of some master plan. I don’t think so.
Note that Trump, having dropped out of the 60 Minutes interview, now wants CBS to lose its license for going ahead with the Harris interview.
In recent days, the former president has lambasted the Harris interview, accusing CBS News of editing the sit-down with correspondent Bill Whitaker. On Thursday, Trump used his Truth Social platform to again take aim at what he alleged to be “a giant Fake News Scam,” accusing “60 Minutes” of replacing Harris’ answers with another to “make her look better.”
“60 Minutes is a major part of the News Organization of CBS, which has just created the Greatest Fraud in Broadcast History,” Trump wrote. “CBS should lose its license, and it should be bid out to the Highest Bidder, as should all other Broadcast Licenses, because they are just as corrupt as CBS — and maybe even WORSE!”
Um, this isn’t rational. But it’s consistent with Alzheimers. People with Alzheimers sometimes imagine wildly random threatening things. And giant faucet, anyone?
See also Michigan newspaper issues correction after Trump claims he won man of year award. More evidence Trump is seriously confused.
Other Stuff to Read
ProPublica, by Robert Downen and Jeremy Schwartz. In Texas’ Third-Largest County, the Far Right’s Vision for Local Governing Has Come to Life
Slate, by Dahlia Lithwick. John Roberts Has Lost the Public. Does He Care?
The Atlantic, by Jim Nichols. The Moment of Truth. Lovely essay.
One nit, it isn't early stage Alzheimer's, it's far more advanced than that. As a caregiver to a family member with moderate dementia/Alzheimer's who can still function fairly well I can tell you she's far more coherent and aware than trump is.
He's pretty deep into his dementia and coupled with his being a narcissistic sociopath I think that's what is producing his rambling, forgetful, rants. Falling back on the familiar is common behavior for dementia patients and the worse the dementia the more they live in the past and repeat themselves because forming new original, coherent thoughts and ideas is just too difficult.
Trump has both ethical and cognitive deficits. The ethical deficits are lifelong and should not be medicalized.
I have a family member with dementia.
Lately, her paranoia is severe. For example, she insists "some people" came into her house while she was in the hospital, and pulled down her ceiling. They sold her ceiling for cash, and then replaced it with a poorly constructed, cheaper ceiling.
She also believes people are living in her basement. We showed her the basement door is securely locked and covered with cobwebs. It hasn't been opened in years. But her paranoia tells her people are living down there and rearranging her stuff.
Whatever pathology trump's brain is manifesting, it seems his paranoia is increasing as well.