There is absolutely no guarantee that Trump will allow an election in 2020, or that he won't "win" again if there is one.
Given this, and the apparent likelihood that if there is a 2020 election, it will offer voters a choice between two white old men, we should be sure that Biden has agreed to name one of the other 22 Democratic candidates as his running mate, and to appoint the remaining 21 to positions for which they are qualified in the Cabinet or Judiciary. (OK, we would get to choose between one white old man and one orange old pathological liar. None of this "I can't tell the difference" whining, and then not voting or voting for someone else, which might as well be a vote for the orange fraud.) Progressives should be sure to have Biden's ear if we can't have any of our candidates.
15
Biden's getting the attention now, so Trump responds in a futile and ridiculous manner, particularly by reviewing these two and their age. In terms of lousy presidents , there's no one who could be compared against Trump from the long-ago past to the present, including the two Jacksons, Pierce: who else? The rise of Trump from the field of candidates he ran against and the Russians and the FBI, aka Comey and his last-minute stumble with the so-called email controversy has resulted in this mess of the present. Democrats are running a large field, too, with many capable men and women. Let's check them out and concentrate on finding the one who can restore our sanity, infrastructure end the medieval situation at the Texas/Mexico border, and perhaps find an adult who knows how to behave in national and international affairs (not in the sexual sense) and spend some time in the office.
7
He is our very own Agent Orange. And just as toxic for us, but not for his patron.
14
The Donald is probably the most unfit president since William Howard Taft, seems to have a reading disorder, is of limited intellect, & is seriously unbalanced. Naturally he tries to make an issue of Biden's health & intelligence.
16
Just so people are clear on the Electoral College: it was formed PRIOR to the Civil War, in an attempt to assuage plantation owners whining about losing votes to denser populates non-slavery states. It allowed the plantation slave owner to count his vote added with his slaves toward his vote.
It used to have some ethics, and was citizens. It now, in FL, contains currently sitting GOP Representatives, our prior FL AG, the Director of the Port of Jacksonville, and even someone simply named as "Jim H." Check out WHO is on your state's electoral college. It is outdated, unnecessary, and corrupted. (I mean c'mon, prior to the Civil War???? In favor of slave owners???)
8
When Trump starts attacking during the inevitable debates, I hope whoever is debating him has the strength to look straight at him and say: "Go back into your corner, little boy and sit in the Time Out chair."
Rubio's insults were stupid and, um, impotent.
One needs to be dignified when insulting an insecure egotistical bully -- in other words, deliciously condescending. He won't be able to handle that.
15
Joe Biden has never looked better and is performing at the top of his game. Trump, on the other hand, is a disaster area...weak minded, confused about everything, incapable of stringing together an English sentence and don't forget his pathetic spelling. He's either incompetent, mentally deranged or both but somehow he musters the nerve to call others "weak" or "something". We can't call the pot black but we can call it orange!
9
Bottom line, it's not just trump that's a sicko. All Republicans following, endorsing, enabling and obstructing on behalf of trump and Russians are sick people - sick in the head; Sick in their morals; Sick in their beliefs and ideas.
Indeed, one has to be sick to endorse and enable the destruction of our environment at a planetary scale; cage children abducted from their desperate refugee parents; steeling healthcare repeatedly to transfer the cash savings to the wealthiest who already hoard more wealth than God and the rest of us combined; inflict their perverse religious-cult dogma on the rest of us especially on women and LGBTQ; stealing from the poor to lavish corporations, etc.
Perhaps trump's confusion between Barr and Mueller will result in Barr getting locked up under a confused trumpian tweet.
Great pose by trump in the headline photo with his hands up - as in hands-up (Club Fed style), you're under arrest. Regrettably even though hands-up ensures he has no weapons in his tiny hands, his worst weapon remains unrestrained - his mouth - though it can be used against him for the first time in his life in a court.
Biden can still use Reagan's famous debate comeback (against Mondale) that he won't exploit his younger rival's youth and INEXPERIENCE - or is it IMMATURITY - for political gain. Besides, when he's not tweeting he's sleeping during his so called executive hours.
Wonder why none of his offspring have the same orange hue as daddy? Speculate on that!
6
When you're a completely clueless jerk, and everybody knows it, apparently the only path forward is to continue reinforcing your most visible clueless, jerky quantities (he has no qualities) louder and louder. I'd keep shaking my head, but he's not worth wasting time doing even that. Hopefully the inevitable delicious smackdown of this useless, greedy, lying, n'er-do-well child will be epic and complete.
8
But it’s fine to do the same to Trump, right?
Liberal idiocy 101
1
If all you can say is that Biden has medical problems, then it does show the desperation of Mr. Trump. There are no statements or tweets criticizing his policies or proposals. This is very telling.
300
@NYer in WI Yes, telling about Trump and his base. Trump is not capable of having a policy debate on substance and his base doesn't care. They (T and his minority of the electorate) prefer name calling, hyperbole, and outright lies as long as its fun and they can be in charge.
83
@NYer in WI
Yes, this is very telling—to the majority of the country (heck, the world); however, his supporters don't care.
24
@NYer in WI
No kidding!!!!
6
It's time people started playing the same games Trump does. It's time for Biden and others Dems to openly talk about Trump's obvious mental and behavioral issues. They should replay videos of his speech and behavior gaffes over the last years and have the crowd roar in laughter at the mad king. It's time to start playing dirty.
537
@Sid Ghosh Nobody can win a mud fight with Trump. Biden knows better than to try.
10
@Sid Ghosh Oh, they will, just as soon as a candidate is chosen and the general election is what we're focusing on.
6
@Sid Ghosh
Right you are.I don't know why Hillary didn't go 24/7 with that video of trump in the wrestling ring with his face planted right into another wrestlers' gigantic behind.
14
It's interesting that Trump can't call Biden ill but you can label him sick.
3
Kettle, meet kettle.
2
I'm a few months younger than the Dear Leader. If my cognitiv skills were like his my family would be looking into the "next step."
8
It kind of winds down to this.
If you had never met Trump or Mr. Biden before but had heard of their reputation, which one would you likely introduce your kids to.
Which would you prefer to have taught your kid in a classroom setting, or have a conversation with on a park bench?
If you didn't know Trump was a reported millionaire and had buildings named after him, which would you want your family to sit at the table with?
We often want to protect our most precious commodity, so how would you protect yours?
Trump or Biden?
5
And if Warren is smart, when she is inevitably attacked for her admittedly terrible mistake she made about her fractional Native American ancestry by dismissing it by saying:
"My grandma told me that story. She likely heard it from her grandma. So it's back in there somewhere. Meanwhile, didn't the Drumpf family change its name to Trump? So what's going on here?"
12
Well said, Frank Bruni! As we know the Republicans will sully any candidate the Democrats pick, doesn’t matter who. Republicans have a long-standing strategy: lies, hate, fear and division. Oh! Obstructing the vote! Only by cheating and doing vile things can they con America into voting for them!
I am committed, as are all Democrats to getting the vote out in ‘19 and ‘20! We must unite and vote to save our democracy, save healthcare for all Americans, and most important of all .....save the Earth!
5
It may be more a question of psychology than physiology. Who has more stamina: the Happy Warrior, Biden, or the angry warrior, Trump? The buoyancy of serenity or the resilience of revenge? The bonds created in a cancer support group can length the patients' lives. I'd put my money on Biden's longevity: Nice guys finish longest.
7
In a hypothetical perfect world, Biden runs for the nomination only long enough to see or make Trump implode (Over impeachment? Over obstruction? Over his lies?) in an unrecoverable fashion so fraught with rage and spittle-flecked fury that Trump has to step down before 2020; then, Democrats could recognize that they don't need Uncle Joe to beat bad Uncle Donny anymore and could vote for an actual Presidential Democratic candidate fit for the job who, unlike Biden, isn't a neoliberal shill held up by megadonor money, credit-card company quid-pro-quos and the failed triangulation policies of the Clinton-Obama Democratic Machine. I want Joe Biden only in the race long enough to drive Trump insane; I don't want Biden to actually win the race.
2
These truths regarding Trump were known by many before he was elected President. To the voters who should have known better - I compare the experience of choosing the wrong boyfriend or girlfriend (husband or wife) when all the signs were evident - “you” just weren’t paying attention. Fault lies with the voters not Trump. Just saying......
4
I might observe that #45s jab at Biden, by claiming Biden is not well... is more likely a mental projection of his own 'unwell' status. Always onto other's medical... I find it an admission of his own poor health.
13
The more I see Capt. Bonespur's face, the more I am reminded of Oscar Wilde's Portrait of Dorian Gray, except the portrait is his own aging, bloated, wrinkled, choleric face. What Dugout Don needs is diet and exercise, and he would be a new old man, as trim and energetic as Joe.
7
Trump is overweight, eats BigMacs, and rides in golf cart. Biden looks shrunken with age and shifts his ideas with the wind. For an oldster opportunity, I hope to vote for long distance runner (in his youth) Bernie Sanders, with essential, FDR-for-the-times ideas, who sprints for airplanes with great vigor.
4
As long as campaign contributions remain unlimited, the possibility and even the probability of another dictator like Trump is quite possible. Unfortunately money wins elections and trump's money may well win the next one.
1
Sorry, Frank, put Biden and Trump's schoolyard name-calling, a distraction, on the back burner for the moment. We are light years away from 2020. Let's concentrate on the immediate, clear and present danger of Barr, whose agenda, left unchecked, will be mortal to the very idea of democracy that these United States up until 2016 represented in the broadest possible terms. In power is an Attorney General who will stop at nothing to redefine the DOJ so that it green lights a nascent autocracy spearheaded by a narcissistic, law breaking puppet the GOP is more than content to have as silly putty in their hands. The laughably incoherent Trump may well look jaundiced with a memory impaired but that in no way minimizes the potent Republican intent to stonewall at any cost the legitimate access to unabridged, unredacted documents which would doubtless shed an unforgiving light on punishable behavior committed by their loose cannon tool.
4
Trump saying that Biden is "too old" is absurd. I'd bet money that Biden who is not obese and probably lives a much healthier lifestyle outlives Trump. I'd also bet that Biden would do better with an independent health examination. Trump has no ethics and was obviously unfit to serve from day one.
12
I know that many don't like Biden on the left. At least the progressives, which have taken over the mic for the party. But remember this, most elections one votes for the one the dislike the least, not the one they really like. Truth is, non are perfect or even close. But Biden has a record of working across the isle, something we really need in this country and around the globe. Seems most countries are suffering right now from extremism; extremism is NEVER good, regardless of whether it's far right or far left. Even those terms seem ludicrous today. Both extremes are fascist.
Biden offers some hope to people that are independents or moderates. The rest of those running on the left offer no hope, just government growth and an expansion of entitlements that we've seen have too many unintended consequences. Our government increase by over 100 agencies under Obama. This is not good. The administrative staff grew by 50% over the last 10 years. This is not good. Inefficiency in government agencies is at an all time high as they trip over each other in their efforts to create more bureaucracy in the inevitable effort to prove that these jobs are 'important.'
Biden is not for smaller government (i.e. fewer agencies doing real work and being held accountable). But I don't believe he is radical and his history tells me he's capable of working to get things done with compromise.
2
Best essay of the month. Best overview of trumps psychology in 2019.
6
Mr. Bruni you are preaching to the Choir. The rational world , most of it outside the USA , agrees that the Trump-Kushner crime family should never have let near DC let alone the WH.
My solution is to get an additional 6% ( ~18 million) eligible US voters to vote in 2020. They will vote overwhelmingly for the Dems and this will be a Blue wave that removes the crap from DC and some state legislatures. Trump & the GOP will lose the popular vote by 20+ million votes.
I think/hope that America is better than the Trump-Kushner crime family and their abettors.
15
Trump was very clever. He set the bar for coherence so low during the 2016 campaign, it's impossible for it to get much lower.
7
I want to see a Democrat candidate who knows how to punch back. That person will aggressively point out to the public what we can see with our own eyes; Trump's physical shortcomings and mental failings. And those observations need to be repeated over and over. The message that Trump is physically and mentally for office is a winning message. Say it loud and say it clear over and over.
10
Thanks once again Frank for the lucidity.
But note....Trump turns 73 next week, making "Don the Con" about 3 years younger than Joe Biden.
And Biden is light years ahead of Trump's when it comes to providing sane policy and understanding real issues.
13
The Media vs. Media
Everyone knows how adolescent Trump behaves as well as how much his circle protects him by telling as many lies. Yet the media gets upset when Sanders does not hold a press conference. And some of the questions asked of Trump by them are just to make him look as unintelligent as he really is and unable to tell the truth. What would happen if the media fail to say or publish anything about him for a week? What would happened if they didn't repeat his tweets? You mean they could not find news to report other than about this sorry person for a President?
Reporters are so busy trying to get the "STORY"....."THE BIG STORY" that they lose their professionalism hunting something on Trump. Everyone wants to be famous and win awards but at the expense of the American public? An example last week during time on MSNBC, the talking heads needed to fill the space, so they jumped on Biden 's change of heart about abortions as if society, people and circumstances don't change. Trump not only changed parties, but his thinking on many things, including abortion since he decided to run just to play to the ignorant of our communities. It's a strategy for him to win votes from hidden racism. Biden caused President Obama to change his mind about same sex marriages. And a lot of black churches fell out with President behind that change. So to make such drastic comments about Vice President Biden to cause harm to his campaign.
4
Trump calls Biden 1 percent Joe. Biden should say, "OK, I'm the ONE, and he's the zero."
6
Biden wants you to believe that he is “good old Joe”. Yes, he is old, but good for our country, not so much! He wants us to go back to an economy where millions had to have food stamps, couldn’t get a job, lost their homes, couldn’t pay the deductible on their Obamacare insurance. Want to go back to that economy with “good old Joe”? Now we have more jobs available than people to work these jobs. More blacks, latinos, women, high school graduates are employed than have ever been employed in America. Our manufacturing jobs, our steel companies have come back to the USA. Turn off the propaganda, turn off CNN. MSNBC, NBC,CBC, ABC, PBS and read the wall Street Journal. You will see that America is good for all Americans. This is positive Trump economy.
FYI: the Great Recession was brought to us by Bush II! Obama came along a cleaned up the mess! BTW Trump inherited the thriving economy! But with Trump Tariffs wait for the .......coming Trump Recession!
7
When one is totally ignorant about everything, one can't engage in intellectual debate on issues of substance. Trump has no context for actions. His "decisions" are not informed by knowledge of history, geography, politics, etc. Trump's belief system is primitive, based on gut instincts and a dystopian view of life. Since Trump can't express the mature opinions of a 72 year old made wise by a life well lived, all he can do is lash out like an emotionally disturbed pre-adolescent. For some, this is perceived as "winning."
12
The most shocking statement by trump in this piece - and not shocking because of its stupidity, or its cruelty, or its recklessness - is shocking because of what it actually reveals about this President.
The statement is, "I like running against people who are weak mentally.”
Now he might think by saying this he's come up with yet another "witty" zinger against a political rival, but what he's actually revealing is that he needs to compete against someone who is "weak mentally" - precisely because he is incapable of shining when put up next to anyone with intelligence & strength.
I relish the notion of seeing someone like Mayor Pete Buttigieg figuratively hog-tying trumping a debate, not only with his sparkling intellect but with his wit and moral clarity. I will buy the popcorn; someone else can bring the mop.
10
Trump's form of slander always seems to be in a sense indirect: "People are saying ... I don't know ... that's just what I hear ... A lot of people think..." It's often like that, or like Joseph McCarthy's list of communists in the State Department, or Nixon's secret plan to end the war in Vietnam, never actually produced. "Investigating" Obama's birth certificate: "My investigators are in Hawaii... and you wouldn't believe what they're finding!" What's amazing is that it often works.
8
“Political correctness for me...but not for thee” is printed on Trump’s calling card, right below his name and title, “Donald J. Trump, Con Artist.”
Let a tv pundit or columnist say the obvious, that Trump suffers from narcissistic personality disorder, that his disregard for the vulnerable is sociopathic, that he is a compulsive liar, and Trump and his defenders will excoriate them for recklessly making a medical diagnosis without a license or training.
One does not need a degree to recognize aberrant behavior, pathologically variant from the expected norm. It may not be advisable for Biden or the other Democratic candidates to call out Trump’s mental state, as stooping to his level justifies his behavior. But the print and tv media need to have the courage to describe Trump as they see him: a self deluded egomaniac.
6
I don't pay attention to Trump's name-calling. The headline "Trump Lashes Out" is not news anymore. In fact, it ceased being news at least 18 months ago. When watching the news on TV, if Trump appears on the screen I immediately hit the mute and do something, ANYTHING else.
10
I am amazed Trump has survived this long without a major health breakdown. He’s overweight, aging poorly, and clearly stressed out. In fact, I think he’s the unhappiest man I’ve ever seen.
Biden, on the other, has never seemed better. I don’t know who will get my primary vote. But if I could meet Biden, I’d shake his hand and thank him for running—from the bottom of my heart.
7
The tragedy of all of this good sense writing and commenting is, that Trump may be revolting to the nth degree and you can wonder about him and what makes him tick (and despite the odds, he does keep on ticking, like a vampire who lives on hate, or the picture of Dorian Gray) ... but there are millions and millions of people in this country who believe him, and LIKE it when he talks like that.
These are my national neighbors, and something in them is hateful, and I can't get away from them because of the Constitution.
6
This op ed startled me. Let me explain:
I remember talking with my wife and my friends already in the early days of Trump’s presidency, as more and more of his personal traits appeared to the public. Let it be clear, I am not a psychiatrist by training (just a surgeon and epidemiologist) but what I can state is the following: in med school we were taught over and over again that syphilis is the great impostor, and that (tertiary) neurosyphilis must be considered in every puzzling case where there is some gradual change in behavior. To not include a WR (Wassermann reaction) test as part of diagnostic workup when faced with a patient having the characteristics of Mr. Trump would have been unthinkable in the late 70s. But times and prevalences have changed, of course.
But then again: with all of ”Donald Trump’s Vietnam war” in the press about his bragging about his many women affairs during the 60s.
As a doctor, wanting to help, I wonder: Has anybody considered a WR test, once a screening tool in medical practice?
8
As long as we're voicing suspicions about Trump's health, what about Theresa May having to hold his hand and help him descend two steps. If that's not a sure sign of a physical impairment, perhaps he's got a phobia of steps, to go along with his other personality disorders.
Great to hear what finally had to be said about Trump's behavior. And I for one remember, and can never forget or forgive, when during the campaign, Hannity had 5 physicians on his show (Dr. Carson being one of them) where he showed them a two second clip of Clinton and wanted them to diagnose her with a life-threatening neurological disorder. Amazingly, each one of them refused to say so, based on the "evidence".
3
Trump always projects his own faults onto others. Living in his skin, he finds it easy to describe all his shortcomings and thus directs them onto others in an effort to separate himself from his own failings. If it weren't so utterly dangerous (and real), it would be good fodder for a true Greek tragedy.
5
Our political situation is tragic-comic, and
I suppose it is inevitable that it's occurring.
Our contradictions are doing us in, and the fate of humankind is death by absurdity.
The GOP's control of most States and the federal government--except the House of
Reps--is catastrophic, as we can only cry/
laugh at our desperate cemetery like witticisms & facetious comment.
As If the master of Jim Morrison's "The End"
were melted in the Universal cultural
catastrophe reported the other day, though
it happened in 2008.
2
One of the best and cleverest articles Bruni has written. Of course, he describes Trump's strategy accurately: Trump never arguing issues but hurling ad hominem insults at his competition.
But in reality if Trump were to lapse into dementia (full blown dementia, because I suspect that he suffers from some dementia now)--it might be good for America. He would no longer recognize his family and we would get rid of Don Jr. Eric, Ivanka , Jared , who now are messing up the government an d foreign policy. Trump could no longer push policies to change the world--like tariffs to stop global trade---or enabling brutes like Kim to build bombs--or exacerbating climate change---or torturing the migrants at the southern border. He would just amble around in his golf cart in his own personal cloud and not mess up the world any longer. And his podiatrist-friend who got him out of military service could vouch for his no longer being bothered by bone spurs and being in perfect health.
7
Biden's response to the "Sleepy Joe" nickname might be:
"No, Mr. President, I'm not 'sleepy,' I'm tired. Tired of the lies; tired of the self-dealing; and tired of the incompetence that has marked your stewardship of the most powerful nation on earth. Am I sleepy, Mr. President? No, I'm not. In fact, like tens of millions of my fellow Americans, I'm not going to sleep through the night until I know our country is back in safe and stable hands.
1372
@Dayton D. Dog - bravo!
68
@Dayton D. Dog
Well done, D. Dog. If only Joe Biden had it in him to say those words, and mean them. If only you could speech-write for Elizabeth Warren, maybe she'd have more than my vote...
49
@Dayton D. Dog
You need to get into the DNC as an consultant. This is the way to fight back at people whose idea of an rebuttal is "Oh, yeah? You're a Loser"
77
There is no reason to listen to a man who can't remember, doesn't respect, and whose administration expends most of its time trying to keep him from doing himself a political injury.
Trump's emotional, physical, and mental instabilities are legendary. Each day brings new revelations of how a man can lie, forget, misremember, and bamboozle. Sanity be gone. He is inept and compromised and familiar with all these symptoms so he projects them on his perceived enemies.
802
All of this is so true
and yet he still has
the support of his “base”.
I just don’t “get it”. What
will it take for people to
realize he is a “mad man”,
corrupt, opportunistic, and
completely out of his mind...
He praises despots, degrades
the environment, does
nothing to work to end drug
addiction, economically destroys
farmers, aims to remove affordable
health insurance, destabilizes
our European allies, lies, contradicts
himself....he is a
disaster for the world.
Sane people do not want
to stoop to his level and yet
calling him an “existential
threat” is too kind. We really
must be smart and strategic
to get him voted out.
29
@Karen
1) His base is not as extensive as you may suppose.
2) The GOP considers him an evil to be tolerated only so long as he signs legislation and appoints judges that fit their agenda.
3) Internationally he is recognized for the doofus he is and is mostly ignored while global leaders wait for the US to return to sanity.
4) Nobody who voted against Hillary thought he would be this horrible. They will not make the same mistake twice.
5) Unless the Democrats nominate another unelectably flawed candidate, the election should go their way for the White House.
22
@Honey I totally agree and I know that he will be taken down. I am for Biden 100%.
4
Trump is the most alive, the most energized, the most imaginative, when he's engaged in these slanders and attacks. He knows he's really good at it, in the sense that it's effective with his base, and he clearly relishes it. But it reveals him as well to be a sort of sadist. He's never more appalling as a human being that when he's performing this part.
1495
@Greg Weis
Don't we all get energized when we're doing what we like the most? Just saying.
50
There is nothing even close to human in Donald Trump unless you believe that all humans are base, defiled, self-involved narcissists. He and the other anti-Christ McConnell will be held accountable. Unfortunately it will probably be later rather than sooner.
149
@Greg Weis - Yes, plus attacking people is so easy to do. He can just get up on stage and wing it.
If only the complex duties of the president of the U.S. were so easy. But things like negotiating complex trade deals take attention to detail, concentration, consistency, willingness to defer to trusted and capable subordinates, and so on. It is these basics of his important job that he's so awful at, which is why when he's trying to do those tasks he messes up awfully and looks so pitiful.
119
Frank Bruni vents his anger at Trump because he thinks it is simply unacceptable for anyone other than his ilk, other than Democrats & Leftists to have the right to verbally attack an opponent. For someone to criticise Trump for doing what these people spend their lives doing, insulting their opponents, is staggeringly rich.
Trump insults Biden & people like Bruni think that is ugly & beyond the pale.....unbelievable, it really is. For the last 3 yrs we have seen Trump be verbally insulted & abused on a level that no-one else is. The likes of Biden have spew their venom on Trump, often with disgusting levels of viciousness, & yet if Trump returns the insulting language then somehow it is all down to him.
In London last week Trump insulted Mayor Khan & the usual demonic individuals were rolled out to say how outrageous this was of Trump. Yet Trump was responding to a far far more personal & vile attack on Trump by Khan & yet this wasn't criticised by these people.
In a nutshell.....if people like Biden or Frank Bruni can't stomach having a bit of their own medicine then don't engage in personally insulting other people to begin with.
13
@kojak
You do remember that Trump initially attacked Khan in 2017 for "mishandling" the terrorist attacks in London.
This was his vicious presidential response to an attack on our allies.
6
Kojak, Trump insults are based on his imagination, on his interpretation of events (which usually is not like most sentient beings), on fake news...
These other-people’s (ex, Democrats) insults are based on reality, common garden-variety interpretation of events, perception all reasonable people agree on.
That is, Trump’s insults are not to be taken seriously. Other’s are worth your attention because they are based on reality.
3
@kojak The reason why Bruni is so incensed is that Trump is spot on.
Moreover a lifetime of live TV shows taught Trump how to concentrate everything in three words or so. While Biden talks about "existential threats"...
The real problem is that the Democratic Party abandoned the working class. Hillary Clinton was a disaster. Bill Clinton was also as he went to the right in order to become elected
If Joe Biden and anyone else running can convince Americans that the Democrats aren’t really the ones who care about the working class they will get elected
3
@BERNARD Shaw
"The real problem is that the Democratic Party abandoned the working class."
This line has been repeated so often and I haven't seen anyone challenge it. So, does it follow that it is the Republicans who care about the working class? How exactly does the charge against Democrats on the working class make any sense here? Just repeating the charge does not explain anything.....
79
@BERNARD Shaw
“The real problem is that the Democrats abandoned the working class.”
Well, it’s not like the Republicans found them.
7
@BERNARD Shaw - Hogwash. It's been Democrats trying to provide affordable health care, a higher minimum wage, affordable education etc.
The real problem is that the working class refuses to read and be informed about the issues.
10
Despite what he says to the press.. he is deathly scared of Biden... and this is probably because his campaign is feeding him internal polls showing he get's his clock cleaned against Biden. When you see him execute a rambling rant and name calling in impromptu at the podium.. it is a clear sign he is afraid.
So.. he falls back to smack talking as a form of distraction about his fears (more to himself I think, then to others) and as an attempt to de-legitimize Biden.
800
@Chuck
"...his campaign is feeding him internal polls showing he get's his clock cleaned against Biden."
But will it matter? The press is making the same mistake it made in 2016. The polls you refer to are popular vote polls. The same ones that correctly predicted Hillary would win - the popular vote. He might be afraid but I don't know why. He can ignore the vote of the people and craft a strategy to win enough electors the remain in the power oval and craft his dark reality.
Let's get rid of the Electoral College.
34
@Chuck
I’m not so sure his handlers show him accurate polling. They tried to move a military vessel just so he wouldn’t have a temper tantrum. Can’t imagine what legit poll data would do to him.
31
@JB
I don't think Trump is "scared of Biden." In fact, I think Biden is actually the candidate Trump would like to run against. By attacking Biden so aggressively, Trump keeps raising Biden's profile. The press keeps covering the back-and-forth between them, rather than focus on Biden's record and shortcomings.
Biden is a candidate who generates little enthusiasm. He's leading the polls, but largely based on name recognition and the belief that he's the most "electable." He has a history of taking positions that are now unpopular with liberal voters. The contrasts between him and Trump are less sharp than those between Trump and most of the other Democratic candidates.
Biden's a good face-to-face communicator, but on the stump, he's pretty uninspiring. I don't think he'd do much for voter turnout, and I think this will be a turnout election. We're counting on voters to show up in droves to vote against Trump, regardless of the candidate we select. That may happen, but I wouldn't count on it. Didn't work in 2016 or in 2004, when everyone thought GW Bush was so awful that it didn't matter that John Kerry was uninspiring.
If Biden in the candidate, I'll RUN to the polls to vote for him. He's a million times better than Trump. I just think he might not be the best choice for the Democrats.
34
Well, the Democrats don't need carefully edited and doctored video, cable news speculation or whispering campaigns to make the case that Trump is unfit for office.
Their secret weapon is Trump himself, who has made himself into the most visible President ever. If you read his tweets and retweets, listen to him yelling his answers to reporters and if you can stomach it, listen to his ranting speeches, the answer is obvious before you even fact check his countless fabrications.
Unfit for duty.
1691
@Look Ahead
Well said. Opposition campaign ads will be almost too easy to create. Keep it up Mr. President!
54
@Look Ahead Many of us drew the conclusion he was unfit for office during the 2016 debates. He acted very un-presidential then. His insulting of Rosie O'Donnell was just one example then which showed he does not have the moral character to lead the nation. It didn't keep him from getting elected, however.
Impeachment, you'd think, would be a sure fire way to get opinion going in the right direction, but it probably would not change anything. Any facts surfaced as a part of the process are probably either not going to be heard by his base because the right media won't publish or discuss it, or will be discounted as fake news by his devotees Giuliani, Conway, or Huckabee Sanders.
I think it is going to take a missile strike from North Korea, resulting in widespread death and destruction, followed by Trump claiming that Chairman Kim Jong Un sent him "a very, very beautiful letter saying he was sorry and he won't do it again" to maybe cause his base to reconsider. And even then, I wonder.
120
@Look Ahead Yes, Trump has made himself into the most visible President ever. He always seems to be on camera and, of course, the press is always there to ask him questions and allow Trumps to tell a few more lies. I just wish they would ignore him.
84
This is exactly why Donald Trump is not fit to be president. This is why we have to do everything we can to elect someone else as president in 2020. We teach our children to be polite. Not to bully. Not pick on people with disabilities. His wife’s signature campaign is Be Best. But the President is at his worst. What example is he setting to the people of this country leave alone the kids. Donald Trump is not a good man. Leave the politics aside. Is he someone who you will invite to your home for dinner with your family ? He is crude and foul mouthed.He lies at every opportunity. He exaggerates and boasts. He has defrauded people. Not paid his bills. But it’s never his fault. He casts doubt on his opponents’s health. Not backed by facts. But by insinuating various health problems with Hillary Clinton and now Joe Biden. He stoops to the lowest levels. Just to sow doubt in people’s minds. He used this tactic 2016. Dirty tricks he is repeating again. Does anybody in the so called religious conservative Republican Party have courage to stand up to him and call him out on his behavior. I don’t think so.
At Senate hearings Joseph Welch asked senator McCarthy “ Sir have you no decency at all ?” We should pose the same question to Donald Trump. But we already have the answer to that question. A resounding No.
Some might say he shows results. Regardless if that is accurate or not, you need a decent honest person to lead the country.
1128
@Rohan I think you've unwittingly hit the nail on the head in identifying the two diametrically opposite ways in which people choose whom to vote for.
You ask "Is he someone who you will invite to your home for dinner with your family.... Does anybody in the so called religious conservative Republican Party have courage to stand up to him and call him out on his behavior".
Many people believe that the most important function of a president is not to be a polite dinner guest or a noble role model, but rather to pass laws which support their views on the most important issues.
Those voters who want fewer abortions, fewer regulations, lower taxes, and a tougher stance on non-legal migrants are willing to accept Trump's childlike tantrums
35
@Doctor A But to what end? Fewer abortions--but higher deaths from back alley abortions? Fewer regulations at the expense of polluted air and water--which BTW causes more deaths in this country than diabetes. Fewer non-legal immigrants--who will Trump and his family hire to man his resorts and properties? Trump's tantrums have consequences--he is dangerous to the country in more ways than one and people should be careful of what they wish for. Germany learned that lesson --history has a way of repeating itself--if we let it.
147
@Rohan "We teach our children to be polite. Not to bully. Not pick on people with disabilities."
Do we? By "we", I mean all of us? Is this what Trump's most rabid supporters teach their children? Or do they teach their children to game the system, get ahead any way possible, including using other people to do so and cheating, rather than the virtues of hard work and acquiring useful skills? Where do all the schoolyard and cyberbullies come from? Aliens from Mars? Who demonstrated to them that bullying is a way to get ahead? Do the people we see sitting behind Pres. Trump ornamenting his rallies applaud for him when he is polite? If so, there would be a lot of silence from the crowd during his rally speeches (if they can be called speeches, rather than rants). Rohan's "we" does encompass most Americans, though. How do we know? Most Americans didn't vote for Donald Trump or accept his view of the world. Those who voted withheld their support for him by a margin of about 73 million to 63 million. That meant that he received the support of only 46% of voters and about 26.5% of adult Americans. Let's not forget that Donald Trump does not represent anything close to all of the USA. Well, no president does at the time of the election because of our lousy turnouts. This one, however, has made no effort to do so since his election either. He should be rewarded for his behavior with a loss engineered by a large majority of voters in 2020.
109
Four years ago, Mr. Bruni, you wrote a column about all the Republican presidential candidates. There were 17. I was amused and thought I would post an amusing comment. I announced my candidacy for president. I told readers that I had no experience in politics, that I was just past 70, in good health and that, with all the other lightweights out there, well, why not me? How worse could the United States do with me at the helm? I think a lot of people laughed and some gave me some love.
Now, with 75 closing in, I'm feeling older than 70. Stuff creeps up on you. My mind is right (although some acid commenters might suggest otherwise). But when you're past a certain age (I say 60), things begin to slow down, not speed up. Of course, a president has advisors for just about every topic. But minds, as they get older, wander. Senility is not a rumor. I was never a doctor, but I have read that Ronald Reagan, almost overnight, went from a light bulb to lights out. That's not good for a president and it's even worse for the nation. Who the vice-president is begins to matter. Really.
As far as Joseph Biden goes, I'd vote for him in a New York heartbeat if he is matched against Darth Vader. Old Joe may be pushing the big 8-0 but Donald Trump, 73 (born in 1946) seems never to have graduated from adolescence. It's clearly indicated by his visceral verbal retaliations and his insults, all directed at getting the final word in.
When insults don't matter anymore, you're home free.
956
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18: I recall having read that during the second term of Woodrow Wilson, he suffered a debilitating stroke, and for the remainder of his term, his wife ran the country! If that is true (don't believe everything you read!), how in the world was it kept from the American people? Now every twitch of the face or hand or whatever is chronicled and analyzed in exhaustive and banal detail.
17
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
Time does take its toll on the body and mind, no doubt.
But emotional maturity is something Donald never had and never will.
Any sitting president who heralds his arrival in another country by mocking a Mayor of their capital city as, inter alia, “a stone-cold loser,” is simply a failed human being. Sick would be too generous for Trump.
187
As a counter example I present Ruth Bader Ginsberg: As sharp as ever!
187
Trump is the kid at the park who keeps throwing sand at the other kids even when they are walking away. He knows only to attack. While his father made life SO easy for him, his stance toward life has been to attack everyone else. It's a pathological disorder. Biden will inevitably have to attack Trump to "refute" these insinuations but it demeans the whole political process. Biden will be chagrined to have to engage at this level. To Trump, there is no shame in going low. It's what he has done his whole life.
333
@Michael V.
Trump never throws sand when they’re walking away. He’s a coward who waits until they’re gone or gets someone else to throw the sand.
36
Americans need to decide whether elementary school nonsense is leadership or not. And whether a sane, stable, thoughtful, respectful adult is perhaps better suited for the highest office in the land.
Get out the vote, folks. That's it in a nutshell.
3
"Electoral Suicide: Death by a Million Tweets"
The book is writing itself. Find it in the "Non-Fiction is Fiction" and "Fiction is Non-Fiction" sections in your iBrary.
1
Donald Trump has employed insulting and infantile nicknames to almost 600 people, places and things on Twitter in the period between 2016-2019. How low the bar has been set for this president who has degraded the dignity of the office and cemented in the minds of the great swathe of the citizenry derogotory connotations of others which will remain in their minds devoid of anything concrete policies they may represent.
The remarkable success of the bully's monikers are often descriptions of the very man who is creating and uttering them. This is just a small sampling: "crooked, slimy, lyin', low IQ, dumb, failing, unpatriotic, crazy, weak, criminal, creepy, dumb, treasonous, fake, lowlife, corrupt, disastrous, wacky and deranged (the last is one of the most telling and what should be of most concern for the American people)."
The complete list of names has been compiled by the NYT.
"The 598 People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List as of 2019."
https://nyti.ms/1PWpSUr
Projection can be a dangerous psychological condition. This person posing to be president is not well and in fact, is declining in his mental capacity to lead. What will it take to stop his destructive rhetoric during the next 17 months as he begins to brainwash his supporters with the constant repetition of new names for his 2020 candidates? Using them as marketing tool certainly had effective staying power in 2016. Just ask "Crooked Hillary."
3
President Trump loves to project his own faults on his rivals, and this is what he is doing every time he or his followers insist that he is the "healthiest President ever," while his political rivals are all at death's door.
Unfortunately, this is not the worst of it. The real problem is not just that Trump is sick, both mentally and physically. It is that he has become a true reflection of the Republican Party, which, through its ceaseless grasping for power, has lost sight of its own core values.
By casting its lot with a mountebank like Trump, the Party is placing itself in mortal danger.
3
Fact is, Biden does look different. Could be a few facial nips and tucks.
But the real issue is Trump’s condition. What if it turns out he’s in better shape mentally than he is physically?
So I continue to be very concerned about Trump’s health.
All we can do is hope.
1
Interesting that Trump isn't picking on Warren or Harris or Gillibrand. It can't be chivalry on his part. I think it's another way to denigrate the previous administration. He does like to decide things on the basis of "Anything but Obama". Biden is the best way to do it. He was the v.p. and did support Obama.
I'd really like to see a sustained attack against Trump by the entire band of presidential hopefuls. I don't think Trump could withstand such an onslaught if it was coordinated and focused on what Trump has done to America. There's no need to call him names or call his supporters names. Just use the facts to point out that nearly every claim he makes is a lie. Don't even engage in a back and forth with him or the GOP. Neither is worth it.
As for medical issues, oh yes, he's got them. His vocabulary is limited. He re-uses several phrases in almost every appearance involving a speech or questions that need to be answered. He rambles far more than he should. He may not drink but he does not have the appearance or the mien of someone whose mind is clear. Then again, where was the GOPs collective mind when they decided to support this con artist?
6/12/2019 12:11pm
5
i just hope that whoever gets the Democratic nod has better instincts and talent for street fighting than HRC, who had none. the election can't be all about Trump but neither can the Democratic nominee ignore him the way Hilary did. Rather than get down and dirty with him, she smiled benightedly while he circled like a shark, called her a crook and vowed to lock her up. I want the candidate who is going to say to Trump -- to his face! -- you make Richard Nixon look like George Washington, and to tell him that if his teenage son called people names, or sexually assaulted them, the way he does and has bragged about, he'd be suspended from school. I want the candidate who will say to Trump -- again to his face -- that his bowing to the NRA has cost lives, and have Parkland or Sandy Hook parents strategically situated in the front row. Let's stand for something.
4
Trump said of Biden on Tuesday: “I like running against people who are weak mentally.” I bet Biden likes running against people who are weak ethically."
I cannot believe Trump said this. He just admitted that Biden likes running against people who are weak ethically."
Biden is running against Trump, so Trump just admitted that he himself is 'weak ethically.'
The more that Trump runs his mouth, the more fun the next 16 months are going to be.
Trump's name-calling, nicknaming, exponential narcissism, and transparent lying expose a severely damaged psyche crying out for help. Hopefully, his future residence facility will have mental heath professionals on staff.
5
Fantastic column.
Keep up the good work, sir!
1
It's surely no accident that Sean Hannity (and others at Fox News) are picking up Trump's insinuation campaign against Biden.
In a Vox interview in March with Tom Rosenstiel, media scholar and executive director at the American Press Institute ("How Fox News evolved into a propaganda operation," https://www.vox.com/2019/3/22/18275835/fox-news-trump-propaganda-tom-rosenstiel), Rosenstiel notes that, between Trump and Fox and Friends, there is "an active collaboration, and it’s conscious and direct;" and that this is true "even more so" with respect to Hannity: "Hannity and the president reportedly talk almost every day. Hannity advises Trump on messaging. Hannity then echoes much of that messaging on his program."
This is the collusion to be worried about: a collaboration between the U.S. president and the hosts of a cable network's talk shows to launch whisper campaigns against the president's political opponents.
3
Irony, thy name is Trump.
Trump doesn't always mix up days and years, call horrific defeats victories, claim mastery of a language that might have originated in Andromeda, ask what state Nebraska is in, publicly drool over his own daughter, lie when he doesn't need to (just to keep in practice), maintain a black hole where most of us store our knowledge of history, and... (just about anyone can take it from here if he has the afternoon off and can tear himself away from Fox.)
It should be no contest, but it appears to me. How did that happen? Was our country always this way, and it only took a Trump to bring it to the surface for all to see?
2
I would like to say that I think some candidate should simply prepare the list and simply slam Pres. Dumpster Fire to the mat with his own tactic. There is plenty, I mean plenty of material. I know they do not want to go there, to stoop to that level but the correct words could roast, deflate and humiliate the boarish husk of an intellect.
Good one. You nailed it. I only hope that this cycle we have enough folks who will finally see the emperor is naked. And vote to reflect that.
1
As George W. Bush would say, you misunderestimate Trump at your peril.
Although a neophyte as a politician in 2016, Trump had national name recognition and perhaps a mystique about his wealth. He honed in on each of his fellow Republican challengers and destroyed them, one by one, with name-calling that branded each of them.
Then he turned to Hillary Clinton. Who can forget the resonance of "Crooked Hillary?"
Now, he's faced with a bray of Democratic challengers, most of them with next to no national recognition except for Biden. True, Senators Warren, Harris, and Booker have some national exposure and Governor Hickenlooper too.
Whether Trump's strategy is to weaken his most likely opponent or to promote someone he thinks he can beat, his antics should not be dismissed easily.
The moniker "Sleepy Joe" doesn't have a ring to it but one can be sure that Trump will come up with some other name.
How should Biden deal with this? That is the question that calls for more exploration.
I was once told by a very wise person, "When someone is criticizing another, it strangely looks like the person themself!" So listen carefully to Trump's criticisms of Biden and Pelosi - do they not describe him perfectly???
1
Frank, all of this would have been much more convincing, and certainly the jokey innuendos much more pointed, if your column did not appear in the same opinion pages in which have been printed myriad columnists' opinions, guest editorials, faux-psychiatric analyses, etc. on the state of Donald Trump's physical and mental health, this beginning before his election and continuing on to this day. My God, do you ever actually read the New York Times's editorial and opinion pages? If you did, you would surely recognize the pure laughability of your finding fault with adverse opinions of Joe Biden's mental or physical status as voiced by his adversaries (including in his own party, although you don't mention that at all in your piece)!
1
The behavior described here is gaslighting, a technique used to keep others off balance and insecure , to make themselves feel powerful by diminishing others. Now think of his trade war intimidation tactics and his on again off bromance with a cruel dictator or two, his behavior in Europe last week pretending to be America’s royal family while making D-Day Donald Day. Add to all of this and more his heartless and cruel immigration maneuvers and you can come up with a textbook set of symptoms from the DSM, the book that the therapy community uses for diagnosing psychopathology.
3
A man who rambles incoherently and can't remember where his father was born shouldn't be casting aspersions on anyone else. Most of the nicknames that Trump assigned to others would fit him perfectly. Low IQ, low energy, and most of all crooked.
4
I hate it when Trump is compared to..as he is in thie article ,a child..this is an insult to children everywhere. Yes an 7 year old sometimes has tantrums..they are also often caring...thoughtful..empathtic..very willing to help..curious..Donald Trump is just a very bad adult..
4
More rants from Crazy Donald. There he goes again. It's really getting old.
2
Ever see "Sunset Boulevard"? Trump is Norma Desmond.
My diagnosis? I believe Trump has a gambling addiction and we as a nation are going to end up paying his debt. Tax payers will be responsible for bailing him out of his biggest bankruptcy -- the US Treasury. Trump's one-note tariffs solution to every conflict demonstrates his complete lack of problem-solving tools. Even scarier is that Mitch McConnell is so drunk on power that apparently he will binge-support Trump until the U.S. is in the gutter begging for a dime. An unlikely hero to emerge from this is Utah Sen Mike Lee in his fight for the balance of powers. Where is Romney?
4
Trump likes running against people who are weak mentally because that's all he can compete with. Of course, if you are mentally weak, you don't realize you just said that about yourself.
3
My 28 year old grandson just brought up this very topic in a phone discussion last evening, telling me how Trump/Fox/Repubs are doing "the same thing to Biden they did to Hillary" making up claims of physical disability.
Who ever heard of a President of the United States publicly saying such stupid, mean, totally asinine comments about people on a regular basis. This isn't normal!
2
Trump may be an idiot but he's really, really good at making his opponents seem weak. Don't take this for granted. Jeb Bush, Clinton, Rubio and so many others for the most part had no quick comebacks when Trump went AWOL schoolyard bully on them in the debates. Expect much more of that, the man has no moral compass. Only Chris Christie had the bulldog instinct, simply because that's his natural state. And the sweetest, tamest candidates are now in Trump's cabinet, go figure. Trump cannot be allowed to get away with even one comment. How many people still think of Elizabeth Warrenas his 'Pocahontas'? And how about 'low energy' Jeb? One label, repeated at rallies, on national TV and tweeted a dozen times, will stick like super glue. Fire needs to be fought with fire, and it's the rare good candidate who can pull this off without diminishing their own moral values. Political strategists, get your horns out.
1
Our president can run his mouth all he wants. It won’t help him.
The new Quinnipiac national poll released yesterday demonstrates that after only two years — ‘Trump Fatigue’ is a settled fact.
Normally, it takes eight years for us to get tired of our president and his party.
Too bad we can’t hold the November 2020 election today.
3
Frank Bruni has done a great service to the nation by alerting it on the deteriorating physical condition of President Trump. I want to go a step further and alert it on his mental condition.
I am sure his enablers and his children and son-in-law are aware of what we have observed from a distance. They know how he conducts himself when he is “unobserved and unobservable,” as Bruni puts it. Maybe, afraid of losing the privileges and importance they are enjoying by being close to the most powerful position in the world, they don't want to remind him of his deteriorating physical and mental condition. But the country can afford to ignore it only at its own peril. More than his physical condition, it is the mental condition that the country must be most concerned about.
There is something mentally wrong with a person who changes his opinion about people and things faster than a chameleon changes its color. People with normal mindset would apologize and correct themselves, or at least blush, when they are reminded of their abnormal behavior. Has Mr. Trump ever done it?
Frankly, he often behaves like a schizophrenic. Only a psychiatric evaluation can definitively prove whether he is suffering from it. If he is, he should be forced to undergo treatment. Until that is cured of it, he should be divested of all presidential responsibilities. Remember, we are talking not just of any president, but of one who presides over the most destructive nuclear arsenal in the world.
3
@M. P. Prabhakaran
This looks very much like the kind of commentary Mr. Bruni was railing against. Hey, Frank, I'll bet you find nothing at all wrong with M. P. Prabhakaran's take on the president's physical and mental condition. I'll bet your readers don't, either.
1
In all comments I file today that have to do with Donald Trump, I first or last note that for 17 days I am living in Cedar Shelter in Mount Philo State Park as I have done for at least the past 5 years on my annual visit to the country of my birth.
Why note that? The history of that park stands for everything that Donald Trump opposes - access to natural environments, public works (CCC) during the Franklin Roosevelt era, government action in the interests of the public, an atmosphere that made that biota possible.
Now to the beating heart, mine and Mr. Trump's. In the silence of my shelter I can hear - yes hear - my heart beating at a steady 60 bpm thanks in part to the free stents provided by Swedish Universal Health Care (LADA 2. Circumflex 1).
How does DT's heart beat and how will it be beating in 2020? We will never know the truth from his physician. Are the American people going to carry out the great experiment, re-elect him to see if his heart will beat for those 4 more years?
He clearly has DSM V problems, what about cardiologic problems?
His followers deserve to know. So do I.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
3
I just wish Biden would find a better term than "existential threat" to describe Trump.While it certainly is accurate,it won't catch the attention of much of the American electorate.Biden can't and shouldn't try to match Trump's childish name calling but he needs more of a marketing based approach in describing him. I can easily remember "sleepy Joe" but "existential threat"? I hope Biden learned something from Hillary's defeat.
5
What. No mention of the Don's tiny hands?
4
We elected William Howard Taft and he out weighed and outplayed Trump. We elected FDR to a fourth term and he was near death. Ike had a couple of heart attacks. W kept falling off his bicycle. Ford just kept falling. Unfortunately Hoover kept living forever.
I am 83 and I eat about like Trump so don’t count on diet killing him. Actually because of all the travel and state dinners he probably eats better than I do. Clinton ate the same and he is still alive and making money.
Biden, nor anyone else can not defeat Trump in word games. Rubio and others tried and lost. They were criticized for getting down to his level.
1
I think this article is interesting, however it doesn't go far enough or deep enough.
I recently tweeted the following, regarding Trump's cognitive and psychological state. This was in response to a statement questioning what the President's mental state is.
"Actually, there is no question. Refer to DSM-5 from American Psychiatric Association. https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm …. Do the observational evaluations, and don't leave out DES-B-Modified, (Severity of Dissociative Symptoms). Also consult, Minnesota Multiphasic. Personality Inventory."
The reality is that the American people are listening to rhetoric, not thinking about the analytical evidence that litters the landscape. Apropos of the tweet, I would urge everyone to do their own evaluation of Trump, using the tools and methods available. I have, and the results were more chilling than I thought possible.
Our President is in a state of severe decline. He exhibits clear and irrefutable patterns of psychopathy, attendant with rapid reduction of cognitive executive function.
Being angry or frustrated isn't enough - take the time to get informed through your own study/research.
4
trump can't walk far and has great difficulty with stairs. He needs a lot of rest and is incapable of concentrating for more than 5 minutes which is why his speeches wander all over the place. He can contradict himself in the same sentence.
He has nothing to do with policy making and is only good at attacking other people, a craft well honed from his career.
5
If Biden and Trump were to have a foot race, whom would you bet on?
2
The Presidency is determined by electoral votes and Biden doesn’t have them.
@Rich Murphy--It's a little early to be counting electoral votes, don't you think? Biden isn't even the candidate yet. Let's reserve jumping to conclusions until we at least know who it is that will be on the ballot. The choice may surprise you.
2
As a lawyer, I can tell you that when your opponent can only engage in ad hominem attacks, that means that on substance, he has not comeback or answer.
When an expert witness is on the stand eviscerating you with expert opinions. And in cross examination all you can muster is to question how much the expert is getting paid and that he is just a "hired gun", that means that the substance of what the expert said is irrefutable, that is, the message is sound coming from the expert, so we must attack the messenger.
Biden should take this tack in responding to Trump's name calling. Trump has to name call, like a 5th grader because he is either to incompetent or too ignorant to respond on the substance and the merits of Biden's criticism of him.
Biden said that Trump is an existential threat to the US. Trump responds that Biden is a "dummy." That was the word the President used, "dummy". That means that Trump agrees that he is an existential threat to the country, or it means that Trump does not know what "existential" means and he is not curious enough, intellectually, to find out.
7
@Beiruti Unfortunately most of Trump’s base doesn’t know what “existential threat” means either.They probably think it is a compliment....a sign he’s shaking things up.His base is not an informed jury exposed to all sides of an issue.What might work in the courtroom won’t work in the election.Hillary was a smart lawyer.Where did that get her?
"“I look at Joe — I don’t know about him,” Trump told reporters in late April. “I don’t know.”"
Several months before the election, he told an evangelical group that Hillary wasn't very religious, then added "I don't know". Fact-checkers determined that she works on projects at her (Methodist) church.
Later Trump ridiculed evidence for climate change, and added "I don't know".
The purpose of "I don't know" is obviously to give himself deniability if he is caught in a lie.
6
@Charlesbalpha
When it comes to not knowing anything, Trump is in a class by himself.
6
The only way to handle a bully is to stand up to him. The philosphy of when "They go low, we go high"-did not work.
4
What I have noticed about trump is that he projects onto others who HE is! I have noticed it time and time again. He is unable to face who he really is, so he projects himself onto others by demeaning and debasing them. It makes him feel better about himself! So, when he demeans, debases, attacks others, listen to his words. They define who trump is!
4
A little over a month ago a friend and I went to have lunch in the cafe of well known supermarket in Greenville, an attractive and upscale suburb of Wilmington, DE. While we were eating my friend saw the former Vice President walking around. There were no secret service agents and the Vice President was alone. My friend, Karen Weldin Stewart, the former Insurance Commissioner of Delaware, walked up to the VP whom she had known for years and started talking to him. I joined them, introduced myself and was amazed at how fit, trim, tall, athletic, primed and young Mr. Biden looked. Frankly, he didn't appear a day over fifty. I am quite certain that whatever anyone's political views, if you have seen the Vice President up close and personal you will agree with my observations. I can just hear Melania telling Donald
after seeing Joe Biden, "Why can't you look like that?!!"
11
JFK was the first President I was old enough to pay attention to - overflowing with vim and vigor (“get out and walk”), lofty goals (put a man on the moon), charity towards our own & the world (Special Olympics & Peace Corps), civil rights progress, and embracing our allies. The next decades were a series of leaders who paled in comparison until Obama elicited that same aura of hope and change. Too bad gerrymandering, voter suppression, and Mitch McConnell were roadblocks, putting their own power and monied backers above the best interests of the country, while severely limiting Obama’s effectiveness (then blaming Obama for “not getting much done”). Trump is the worst thing that has happened to America in my lifetime - and a natural product of today’s corrupted GOP. We have sharp, smart, ethical Democratic Presidential candidates that can return us to our proud JFK/Obama legacy. And - we will need a Democratic majority House of Representatives AND Senate to achieve these goals. We the People need a better future for ALL of us, not just for the top 1%.
11
Whatever negative thing trump says about someone else is inevitably the thing that most closely describes himself. He's basically telling his supporters who and what he, trump, is - and they applaud him for all his negative character flaws. Sad, oh so sad.
4
Vague accusations should not sway anyone, yet they help Trump's supporters continue their support. In the most recent polls of Trump versus anyone else, his support was a steady number, no matter who he was up against. Trump's antics will keep his base loyal, but this time, others outside that base will not see a reason to take a chance with Trump, they know already that he is not going to advance their interests, not matter his claims.
6
I find this article insidious. Despite your funny — and apt — insinuations, you’ve granted Trump another column of free coverage, repeating and thereby further spreading his claims. Meanwhile Biden isn’t even quoted. You’ve amplified Trump’s drumbeat by trying to excoriate him.
4
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and not lose any voters." DT
To add insult to injury, given his unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle, it's a medical miracle that he appears to have no major health issues. T seems to have a constitution of steel and a hide as impervious.
1
The mentally weak are those who ; believe Trump's lies , innuendos , and mean girl accusations . Joe Biden is in far better shape , mentally and physically than Trump is in his wildest dreams . A teeter topper over that vacillates back and forth , spewing venom and nonsense ; whatever pretense and alternate facts will eventually catch up with him . He's a boor and a bore and will say outrageous things to get attention ; definitely threw away the mold (thank god) when they made him . God Bless America .
2
Why are you so focused on giving Trump’s ranting airtime. Trump talks trash and should be ignored. I tune him out. You should too. There is real news out there!
5
I don't know, can't say for sure, but some people say that eating lots of cheeseburgers can be bad for your health, could even lead to death. I think some of the people who say eating lots of cheeseburgers can be dangerous claim to have scientific evidence. Maybe true, maybe not. I don't know, but that's what I've heard.
5
I am so tempting to join the name-calling. The bullying. The lies. It seems as if that’s all but required just to break even.
Trump is just the worst. I still remember when, with the ‘esteemed’ Dr. Oz’s approval ‘grew’ two inches so he would not be classified as obese.
Democrats should just come up with one name for him and use it every time, every chance they can - so that it’s ubiquitous with his name. All Democrats, all the time. Something pithy, but not quite mean.
Not quite ‘that liar Trump’, although it’s close. How about recalling another liar and loser ‘Tricky Trump’? Not bad. Alliterative too. ‘Delusional Drumf’? A bit obscure. I’m still working on it...
Maybe then we can get back to our government governing.
3
That Trump is mentally ill is established by now but 60 odd-million people chose to elect this man because he was a Washington outsider who ‘tells it like it is’, reveled at his every name calling, cheered when he insulted opponents at home and abroad should tell us how sickness has pervaded the American psyche.
3
Great "standup" Frank. Made me think that maybe we ought to pick the best standup in the candidate bunch to go up against Trump. Nasty and dull against sharp witted and funny (and thick skinned). Obama would have been a natural, but Biden is neither.
2
You know, I read about Trump every day and follow his pathetic tweets. But it never occurred to me that what sounds like the crazy ranting of a madman is actually a calculated political ploy aimed at destroying his closest rival by implying that he's mentally weak and physically suffering from a medical condition. I guess that's because you have to be of a certain cruel and evil mindset to conceive of running a political campaign this way (a campaign Trump has yet to officially launch - although, who am I kidding? Trump's been running for re-election since 2016). I fear that there is much more evil to come. What a nasty, small, vile human being Trump is.
2
What's the difference between Donald Trump and Rodney Dangerfield? The Donald wants notoriety; Rodney wanted respect.
Rather than feeding Trump's ego on a 24/7 basis, here's a challenge to the NY Times: Don't mention Trump by name in print or on the web site for 24 hours, no exceptions. Do a 'Find and Replace' on every story, remove 'Trump,' and replace with 'the president.'
Actually, this would be good for NYT circulation, as people complained or applauded and Trump tweeted about the failing New York Times.
4
All is can say is BRAVO!
Trump couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag and is at least 40 lbs overweight, but suddenly he's the picture of health. If anyone ever deserved a heart attack...
4
Ah, so a man who is deep into what, stages of dementia, adderall addiction, can throw stones? I look at him before he got into office and now. The physical transformation is jarring. I guess trying to keep up with all the lies finally catches up with one, that plus knowing that the noose is coming somewhere down the line, metaphorically speaking of course. Ah, all that stress, can a gran mal be far behind. We can hope.
When Dems call each other names, that's COOL! Frank pretends to have forgotten the 7-candidate process that hnded up nominating Bill Clinto in 1992.
Oh, good news, NY Times readers!
Reportedly, CNN is opening a new outlet JUST to report real events that actually happen.
Trump markets himself as a "counterpuncher," when in fact he is nothing more than a third-rate cheapshot artist who relies on a half-dozen or so juvenile insults aimed at anyone who questions, criticizes or casts doubt his way. Given that he exagerrates, misleads and outright lies dozens of times a day, his "counterpunching" is an industry in and of itself.
1
Trump is dying. Of that you can be sure. Tell your friends and neighbors. Ask the question "Do we REALLY want a president whs is dying? Who could die at any second?"
What would happen if he dropped dead at a meeting with Putin? Would that start armageddon with nukes flying everywhere? Are you willing to risk your family for a dying man?
P.S.: You're dying too. So am I.
1
There's something very SICK about Trump--HIMSELF.
2
There are plenty of psychiatric commentaries that Trump suffers from several mental illnesses. He displays one or more of these serious mental issues every day. He also is probably starting to show some signs of dementia. Hopefully, he will continue to deteriorate over the next year so it is blatantly obvious to even his rabid supporters.
You go Joe Biden! Don’t let him win with bullying and insults. Knock the mean spirited clown down with his own tactics. Whatever it takes to save our dear America.
In life or death politics, Experience counts.
Well, Donald Trump tops Joe Biden in the number of chins department. Donald has about six chins to Biden's one. And Trump's skin tone seems to cover a spectrum from orange to salmon pink to peach. That being said, Joe Biden might be a few years older than The Donald but he appears to be in far better physical shape and he wears nicely tailored clothing that compliments his leaner physique rather than looking like he is wearing a circus tent. If Biden is the Democratic nominee and debates Trump, the physical appearance of the two on the same stage will be a study in "yuuuge" contrasts.
3
@Jeff
So the next presidential debates will be between Laurel and Hardy? Is that how we will choose the next president, by which septuagenarian looks more "fit".
I still can't believe Biden is running and considered the front running Democrat. Why? Trump is a disgrace and unfit for office. But Biden? Is that the best the Democrats and America can do to replace Trump?
1
@Stefan Ackerman
"Is that how we will choose the next president, by which septuagenarian looks more "fit".
No - We want to choose somebody based on their intellect, character, leadership ability and fitness for office. Unfortunately, a significant segment of American voters don't care about those things anymore and simply want to be told what they want to hear and be entertained and have their biases confirmed. It would be helpful if younger voters would stop expecting ideological perfection in candidates and stop with the "I'm taking my ball home if I don't get my way" petulance with regard to voting.
Joe Biden has not received the nomination, and there is over a year to go until the nomination is made. A lot can happen until then. And if Biden does receive the nomination, I'll vote for him, even though I have by own concerns about his age, because he is an experienced legislator who has devoted his life to public service. After four years of Trump's narcissistic fecklessness, America will need an experienced leader again.
@eheck
I'll vote for Biden too ... but as again the lesser of two evils. My whole point.
Frank, I believe that "exaggerated flush" mentioned in your first paragraph is called "hamburger face."
You have written a truly point on column. Well done.
3
Democrats could go high and retain their dignity. Regrettably, Trump has been very effective at dispatching his opponents by using simple, but lethal name calling: “Sleepy Joe”, “Pocahontas”, “Low Energy Jev”, etc. As a very insecure bully, the only way to successfully defeat him is to fire back in kind. Understanding that this approach is beneath a great nation like the US, the fact is that we are fighting a domestic guerrilla war against those who want to destroy the nation’s institutions by all means possible. Just look at his cabinet (it turns out Sec. Elaine Chao -aka Mrs Mitch McConnell- is a China mole) and the Senate leadership, not to mention Rep. Jim Jordan. While Trump turns our stomachs every day by the barrage of his stream of consciousness Tweets, the public only remembers the last thing he tells them. So, let’s get creative and baptize him with a fitting label that, as noted, will discombobulate him and save the Republic.
“Little fingers, con man”? “Treasonous little fingers”? “Thug lover”? Creative people can come up with effective appellations. A traditional campaign won’t work.
1
This will be the ugliest of campaigns ever and Trump is just getting warmed up. Democrats have a prize jewel in their hands called impeachment or the threat of it but, no, that's not very nice and it will upset some people and it will make the country more divisive and, well, it's just not nice. Meanwhile Trump bares his fangs and we still have almost a year and half to go til the election. He thrives on ugliness. Democrats are soft when the correct response is brass knuckles. Good luck in this next election Democrats, you'll need it.
Trump cannot drink water without using both his hands. This fact is a tell of his current physical health.
As for his mental health, everybody knows he is insane. Even the First Lady/Third Wife. But no one cares to have his head examined.
1
Mr Bruni:
I agree entirely, he is "a waffle iron."
Or, he could be a hammer-head.
Regarding health factors, don’t forget Trump’s atypical growth spurt that was revealed when he and his doctor announced in 2016 that he was 6’3”. This was up from a height of 6’2” on his 2012 NY license and various other official records. Being taller also improved his body mass index. Truly a win win.
Most people lose an inch or more as they age, but Trump somehow grew taller in his 60’s. How’d he do that? Would he care to share his secret? It could be worth real money to the Trump Organization.
Our current president may be mentally ill, that is quite possible, and there is sufficient evidence of his mental instability. However, one thing is perfectly clear, if he were not president, he would be indicted for obstruction of justice.
I agree with many that he may fight hard to get re-elected just to stay out of prison. I, like Nancy Pelosi (if she actually DID say the following), would like to see Trump in prison for the rest of his life rather than impeached. We deserve a better president, and we deserve to move ahead with the business of the nation (fixing our medical insurance, dealing with global warming, rebuilding our alliances, repairing our infrastructure, instituting common-sense gun laws, etc.). So many issues need to be addressed. Trump has exhausted us all with his petty name-calling, destructive innuendos, and outright lies. Thousands of them. Time for new leadership. Vote in 2020.
5
OMG! I look forward to the end of this nightmare of a presidency.
3
I so love you, Frank Bruni. Keep it real, keep writing. And yes, go Joe!!!
1
Cognitive tests, anyone ? who got "Tim Apple" right on the quiz?
Desperate people do desperate things.
If we thought trump, was a disgusting piece of work, tearing apart the social and moral fabric of our country, just wait until he is really desperate and he knows that he will lose power, just to see how evil he can really be. Ditto that for his entire party. Things will get uglier, if that is even imaginable
I am fearful. But there is a solution. Vote for humanity and human beings. Anyone but Republicans.
4
Trump has, from very beginning of his 2016 race, shown clear signs of longstanding, malignant sociopathy.
In addition, he increasingly shows indicators of onset dementia.
My god, the man can barely string together a cogent sentence.
As this election cycle heats up, he will be increasingly unable to read from a teleprompter ,and will instead go off on an incoherent stream-of-consciousness diatribes.
And his profoundly Ignorant Base (sorry- not mincing words anymore) will go all "yay-rah-rah-maga-woo-wo"..
Sad
On every level.
3
Mostly sick because there is something really wrong with Trump.
I am not sure if a psychopath is a word to describe someone with no empathy for persons not related to him or her or, just being in a world of "alternative facts" qualifies for confinement or electroshocks.
There is indeed something very wrong to pointing malignant fingers to someone that can beat you in 2020 just because you do not know what an honest competition is.
Always play dirty. Always resemble organized crime with a crowd of wannabes "relevant" modern Mafia. Nixon is like Snow White compared to our Liar in Chief.
2
"Seventy-two is not the new 18, even if your penchant for name-calling and tantrums puts you somewhere in the vicinity of 6 or 7"
This is just a fantastic line by Frank Bruni. Funny and oh so true.
Thank you.
3
Is it any sicker than licensed psychiatrists claiming that Trump is insane without ever having interviewed him in a medical setting...
No...It is less.
The psychiatrists are engaged in unethical malpractice.
@The Owl
Human beings are, for the most part, able to recognize the obvious signs mental illness when they see them, especially when they're as blatant as Trump's. Psychiatrists trained to recognize mental illness can see it a mile off. Trump projects crazy.
3
Well Mr. Trump did look fit as a fiddle in his maitre d’hotel costume attending that diner in England. That image should be blown up and put on billboards across American. I mean he does manage hotels, doesn’t he ? Guess he will get the busboy vote.
4
The best thing the Democratic candidates can do is to ignore Trump's childish barbs and inane prattle - nothing will crack his fragile shell more than ignoring him altogether. Stick to the issues, develop platforms and refrain from making this campaign a repeat of the last disgrace of a marathon of insults where boorish, ignorant and arrogant Trump sidestepped issues and adopted a playground bully mentality. So please, enough of this buffoon's charade - don't stoop to his reality tv level, stick to addressing problems and issues he's avoided for all of his presidency.
1
I have often thought Trump is a drug addict. Maybe we will find out in the future.
1
Do most Trump supporters in the south, rust belt or down coal mines think (probably not) "our favourite President" is unfit for the highest office in the land? These same people voted for a professional wrestler as governor and white supremacists as senators. Heck, Trump "says what he thinks." God help us!
1
At some point, Trump's brash candor and swaggering vulgarity will stop sounding bold, authentic and populist to his base.
Like Welch's crystallizing moment ("Have you no decency, sir?) that toppled Joe McCarthy- Trump will sour... like old milk.
We will scrunch up our national face and spit him out.
4
"I'm rubber. You're glue. Everything bounces off me and sticks right back to you".
Accuse your opposition of everything you are guilty of. Just say it first and loud and repeat it over and over.
Joe Biden is not the answer to Donald Trump. I just watched a Trevor Noah segment yesterday on Elizabeth Warren. She was asked to give testimony at a Congressional hearing on Credit Card debt, interest percentages, and banking regulations in general. Biden was still a Senator and on the Committee.
Biden has a problem with women, especially intelligent, informed women who oppose his over the top support for deregulation of those industries (Delaware is a virtual off shore tax haven for corporations).
He spoke to Warren in a way he would never speak to a man. He was sickening to watch.
Biden is not the answer to Trump. Biden is not the one to tackle the immense challenges we face as a Nation, and Planet.
5
This is the Trump playbook. His imagination is limited, but his tactics are effective, or at least effective enough.
2
When I hear Trump accuse his rivals of misdeeds or shortcomings, it reminds me of the the cheating spouse who accuses the other of having an affair. It throws them off and into a defensive posture, at least temporarily.
3
Joe Biden should challenge the president* to a stair climbing contest. I notice this playground bully trump has noticeable difficulty negotiating stairs- both ascending and descending.
I have never seen our current president* bounce up the steps to a podium- but I have seen Joe Biden do that.
3
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. The more you keep Trump’s behavior the focus of your writing, you follow his game plan. Ignore him and he’ll continue to self destruct.
1
Donald plays dirty. Who knew? And Fox's prime time lineup provides the "reporting." Donald lives for ratings.
I'm surprised at Fox. I thought they made a lot of money criticizing Obama, so I presumed their business model favored the Democrats. I was wrong.
I didn't understand they assumed the role of state TV. Like Russia and China and North Korea.
The next president will need the support of congress to put Humpty back together again. Let's vote that way.
1
Trump's utterances have become ever simpler, ever more repetitive. Longer sentences are ever more mangled. Both are signs of something going wrong in the left parietal lobe. And probably elsewhere too.
3
What a world. We need to remember the true villain in this drama. The GOP. The Greed Over People party has sold out every Constitutional principle and their souls to have a crazy puppet as president. They think they can just let him rant and rave and make executive orders and it has no real effect. It's just bluster.
They are incredibly wrong. Our whole society is suffering with this onslaught of stupidity and insanity. Maybe the upside is we get to see how dementia looks and we can determine it's a bad thing that needs to be fought.
Thanks, Mr. Bruni. Why shouldn't we feel free to talk about how Trump's tiny fingers affect his health? For sure cheeseburgers and fish filets don't help. He does look bad. I noticed his makeup looked layered...heavily. And bronze/orange. He probably has multiple health problems, beyond dementia.
3
It's clear that all you have to do is take Trump's slurs and apply them to him. After all, when all the world leaders were walking in Europe, Trump was in the geriatric golf cart (the type that chauffeurs the few remaining veterans from WWI in public commemorations).
And, if you hear or see his actual speech rather than the edited versions in news.....because too much of what he says either is a lie, unclear or simply repeating the words "big, beautiful, terrible, etc." His direct quotes sound either mentally deficient or from a non-native English speaker......surely signs of real mental deficits as his words from years ago do not.
1
It is standard operating procedure for Republicans to accuse Democrats of what they fear will be their greatest weakness.
The most corrupt Republicans accuse their opponents of corruption. The most lascivious call their opponents perverts. The multi-divorced Republican adulterers claim that the Democrats are anti-family and anti-religion. Although Obama did not make an issue of it because it was absolutely irrelevant, John McCain was really born in Panama (on a US Military Base), but Obama's citizenship was questioned.
3
I believe the SpellCheck function on Mr. Bruni's created an unintentional word substitution in this otherwise excellent piece. In this sentence: "And why should I hold those in check when the president and his enablers make no effort to?" the software substituted "enablers" for "embalmers."
It hippies to all of USA.
1
Reporter: "What do you think about Donald and his insults?"
Dem Challenger: "Take Donald's insults of me and others who threaten him and turn them back on Donald. No one describes him better. Classic projection by a frustrated bully. Now lets tackle policy!"
Reince and repeat.
2
The inscription under the future statue of President Trump will have to be:
"I know you are, but what am I?"
3
“The tired old man”. That is how GOP described FDR in 1944 as he ran for a now-unconstitutional 4th term. How prophetic.
1
The possibility that Trump is using male hormone replacement therapy must be considered. If so this is a very risky behavior especially for POTUS.
2
I am throwing a big party the day this man is voted out of office.
1
As with so much of the embarrassing noise emitted by Mr. Trump, his attacks on Biden are textbook projection.
3
And have you ever noticed that sometimes he has the sniffs? That was very prominent during the 2016 debates with Mrs. Clinton. Ask a substance abuse counselor if they have heard those sniffs before. Just asking, you know.
1
With all the talk about the candidacy of Bernie, I had no idea that it was the dead guy from Weekend at Bernie’s.
Anyway, I’d rather vote for him than “you know who.”
3
Trump and his Fox enablers are false patriots, dangerous to our future.
4
There is an evil genius in Trump who otherwise daily shows himself to be a stupid man. As much as I try to ignore him his latest smear on Joe Biden unfortunately made me look again and honestly admit that Joe looks thinner and tired. As if all he has been through with the death of his son Beau has taken a tremendous toll on the man. I truly do not want to believe Biden is not physically capable of being President however Trump sowed a seed of doubt in my mind therefore "mission accomplished". He is a hateful human being and it is going to everything we have to beat him in 2020.
2
Trump doesn't have to attack Joe Biden; in this day and age, he doesn't stand a chance. The ugly truth of the matter is that DJT has tapped into a racist vein in America that all but assures his re-election. Simply said, Biden is neither a racist or a bigot, which is what appeals to today's America.
While praising the intelligence of the American electorate, Trump secretly knows that they can be led around like a bulls with nose rings - only instead of bull rings, he uses their beliefs and prejudices to lead them wherever he wants.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds see the survival of a particular belief as more important than the survival of us all. When we understand all this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
2
All these comments, all the commenters saying, “Yup, Frank, you hit the nail on the head.”
Why? Why comment when you have nothing to add?
Why am I commenting?
Perhaps it is utter frustration that this overweight, unfit (physically and mentally), mendacious, motormouth of moronity somehow manages to disparage everyone else for flaws that he has in spades.
Perhaps it’s also because the media, the White House press corps in particular, seem to pass over the President’s infirmities.
Why wasn’t a media firestorm unleashed when Trump wasn’t unable to keep up with the torrid saunter of other leaders at that Sicily summit? Why isn’t footage of fat Donald Trump riding in his golf cart behind the leaders of the world replayed whenever he comments on someone’s health? Why is anything he says quoted in straight news stories without immediately pointing out his contradictory statements or actions in the past? Why is it up to opinion columnists and the likes of John Oliver and Trevor Noah to ask these questions?
I guess that’s why we are commenting.
We are desperate for some truth-telling, rather than the usual one side/the other side lazy reporting, with the intellectual heft of a helium balloon and the penetration of a brick.
Thanks Frank. And then I turn the page and it’s back to regularly scheduled programming...
5
The Democrat candidates simply must become more direct and outspoken in relating Trump's odd and warped personal and social behaviors to his obvious constellation of mental illnesses.
2
The man, Trump, is obviously ill mentally. His extreme volume works on devoted followers like a witch's spell.
2
There is considerable similarity between Trump and Mullah's here in Pakistan. (Mullah's are priest of Mosque). One thing no one can't beat them is at any argument i.e. logical reasoning. They can throw a curve ball that no one can strike. Reasonable people can't win.
The only way politicians have won against Mullah is when they fall to their level.
Biden can only win, but not him but his supporter, use same language as Trump. For example, Trashy Trump ...
Here Mullah's supporters number less than 2% unlike Trump's 40%.
Trump knows he has his 40% and if he keeps repeating now until elections that night is day, he will find 10% who will vote fir him. Case in point recent doctored tape of Madam Pelosi, even I accepted his word until New York Times exposed the fraud. Again the point is , he was in the driver seat while every Democrat was scrambling to tell that viral video was doctored.
3
@AlphaTrashy Trump? I like it! Toddler Trump, Two-bit Trump, Two-Tone Tan Trump, Two-Timer Trump, Toxic Trump, TrumpTurd, and then there are the Donnies...we need to pick one good moniker and use it constantly. The problem is so many to choose from.
2
As to the skin tone....Trump wears makeup! A manly man for sure.
2
Mr. Trump should undergo a very thorough psychiatric examination to prove his mental health.
Trump is making simple memory errors more often. This past weekend in a joint media conference with President Macron of France in Normandy, he forgot that D-Day was the invasion of Normandy.
Trump's personality quirks altogether manifest him to be seriously disturbed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Trump is demented and disturbed. Underlying his declining intellect and disordered personality is a total lack of integrity. He is a dishonest man.
He has no strength of character. He cannot be depended upon to do what is right.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was right to say that we should pray for him. As best as we can tell, in addition to his behavioral, ethical, and intellectual weakness, Trump has no soul. There is NO God within him. When Trump looks at the man in the mirror, he kisses his reflection -- nothing more.
7
@BigGuy Exactly. I worked for a boss with NPD. I finally got away only because (I strongly believe) that higher ups could see that we were going to kill each other.
Simply put, there is nobody there.
Trump's attempts to start rumors about Joe Biden's health are the typical trash talk that one would expect from the former wrestling promoter. The fact is that Trump has a narcissistic personality disorder, increasing signs of dementia, morbid obesity and a sleep disorder, all of which interfere with his judgment and decision making. If there was any shred of integrity in the members of the cabinet, Trump would have already been removed under the 25th Amendment. In both mind and body, Trump is not well.
7
I think you have his number on his tactic of sowing the seeds of doubt. Trump protests too much. Or in football analogy, he passes too much. Time for the Dems to call an audible and blitz/sack the quarterback.
3
Jeb Bush should have challenged trump to a race. Trump would have had a heart attack. I'm sure Biden could beat trump too. Its embarassing to even suggest such things but this is where we find ourselves.
1
Trump figured out that the most effective way of covering up his faults, lies and ignorance is to accuse his opponent of those same faults, lies and ignorance. This is an old rhetorical trick and it seems to work with Trump's "base".
4
Dealing with Trump is like playing a sport with someone whose abilities are far below your own. It drags you down. Trump has no class, no knowledge, and no shame. What's left? Insults, bravado, and lies. Do other politicians really want to play at that level? Definitely not. Do they have any other choice? That's the hardest question out there.
6
Perhaps it's time for Biden and other Democratic hopefuls to go after Trump's mental health. There are clear signs that Trump is a psychopath, and a dangerous one at that. Check out the characteristics listed on the May Clinic web site. Perhaps the Dems need to go all out on this. Yeah, I know the normal reaction is to focus on issues. But, we are not living in normal times and Trump is certainly not normal.
4
Elizabeth Warren seems to be the only Democratic contender who's put on the boxing gloves. If Trump weren't president, she said, he'd be in handcuffs. And she's put her policies out there, too, while most of the other candidates are tip-toeing around the fact that the incumbent president is a train wreck. I look forward to seeing Warren debate The Biggest Loser.
6
Well put Mr. Bruni - but troubling me are the signs that 2020 will be the mother-of-all 'trash talk' election campaigns given that it's started so early. And don't get me wrong - if ever there was a time and a need to excoriate an individual for his uncontrollable urge to lie, divide, evade, cheat and fake - that time is now and the need is urgent. No candidate's debate involving Trump could be complete without listing his epochal scale of character flaws. Trump is a thug and a liar. He knows it, his wife and children know it, the GOP know it, his Cabinet know it, the Chinese, North Korean and Saudi leaders know it, his lawyers, business partners and financial advisors know it, his bankers know it and it's time his base know it too.
I have a suggestion for whomsoever he ends up debating on National TV in 2020 - bring a high-end precision bathroom scale onto the podium and ask him to step on it.
3
Actually Donald Trump is 73 years of age, his 73rd birthday is in two days so he is actually 73, and will be seeing his 74th summer on this earth this year. He is just slightly younger than Biden but he is also obese so his health will likely deteriorate very quickly after age 75.
3
Frank, please send this column to Joe Biden to use as ammunition against old man Trump. The president could use a taste of his own medicine.
3
Trump, like Putin, is a "bored kid at the back of the classroom," in Obama's memorable description. And those kids have one big advantage over the strivers at the front - they can hit them with their spitballs, and there's nothing the strivers can do that doesn't make them look just a bit ridiculous.
He is projecting again. That's all.
2
Sadly, Trump could go full manic in front of is base, and they would cheer for more---they just can't get enough of crazy.
4
Please don’t tell me that we will have to wait for Lee Atwater-type brain cancer diagnoses and deathbed confessions from Trump enablers before we come to understand what we already know:
Trump dirty tricksters and state media have done immeasurable damage to our Republic.
2
Trump is weak -- morally:
He let the border police separate babies from their mothers.
He oversees a border security operation that is weak -- with children in custody dying of treatable diseases.
Trump is morally weak.
Very weak, morally.
2
One side issue of Trump's behavior is that he knows no one else will go that low: making up diagnoses of serious ailments. I'm not saying anyone should, but he owns the stage with that behavior. Sadly, there does not seem to be a way to deny such claims except to ignore them.
Mr. Trump - I know you look awful but please don't die on the job. First, Pence will be just as bad; second, we need the American voters to reject you en masse. Finally, America needs to hold you to account after you are thrown out of office.
4
It is so amazing to see so many opinion columns and commentators get almost visibly upset with Trump in their writings.
He loves to poke sticks in everyone’s eye. The media and Trump haters are so morally angry!
People are so upset about losing an election and then getting blinded by the target of their hate.
He is and will be President for 8 years. It is fate for this to happen.
Obama had his eight. Now we get our eight.
Build the wall
2
@Pogo: thank you and god bless you!
Build the wall, but please -- mandatory E-verify with mandatory jail time for employers!!!!
And deport every illegal, no exceptions!
1
Are you sure he and his Republican cronies will limit himself to eight years? Besides, Republicans are entitled to NOTHING. Like the last two of the three ‘successful’ elections by these clowns, Republicans are only able to win by stealing them, through gerrymandering, packing the Supreme Court and now a new innovation: helping a hostile foreign power propagandize and lie.
1
It will be interesting to see if Trump agrees to any debates after the Democratic nominee is decided. I would be willing to bet that he will buck tradition and refuse to debate. There is no way anyone in this administration will let him go on stage and make a complete and utter fool of himself. Can you picture him debating policy with wonkish Elizabeth Warren at this point in his mental and physical deterioration?
3
Thanks, Mr. Bruni, for this essay about Trump's bullying nature. I'm probably not the only woman who watched DJT prance around the stage during one of his debates with Hillary. "Stalking" Hillary is not an exaggeration for the way he skulked around behind her while she stood at the lectern and answered questions.
I'm probably not the only woman who wished--at the time and right now--that Hillary had turned around and slugged him. Maybe his wig would have flown off. Maybe he would have slugged her back. Who knows? But boy, wouldn't we have learned a lot about the man if Hillary had stood up for herself? And wouldn't I have been proud of her? You bet!
Of course, we already knew what the man was. A liar, a cheat, a bully, and a poor excuse for a human being. Still--he became our president, and she didn't. Says more about us than it does about him, I guess.
3
How many of Trump's base will read this piece? Exactly zero. While the claims ring so true, these opinions have no effect on the rabid GOP core. Unfortunately, all of Trump's pettiness aside, Biden et al are less than inspiring. So what is the strategy for running the DJT clown show out of town? Vehement accountability and the strictest adherence to factual processes. Brick by brick his facade of lies, cheating and false attacks need to be unveiled by this Congress. C'mon Madame Speaker! The water is warm!
2
Trump demonstrates his unfitness for the office he holds with every utterance. The mystery is that this does not seem obvious to a large number of Americans, nor to Republicans in Congress, who seem willing to tolerate boorishness, incompetence, economic illiteracy and now - with his expressed preference for Kim Jong Un over the CIA - treason.
1
Trump shaking his head and expressing faux concern about the mental and physical health of Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi and of course as we move forward toward 2020 there will be others, is increasingly desperate. What is so despicable isn’t just the lying, it’s that he clearly would like it to be true. There are few things lower than wishing ill health on others to try to make yourself look “good.”
I do agree with Mr. Bruni's assumption that the person calling the kettle black is sitting in the WH now.
We have a man who is overweight, wears makeup and tons of hair spray, eats badly, and most important of all does NO exercise what so ever. If He thinks of himself in better shape than Joe Biden in body or brain he is sadly mistaken.
What with his high school vocabulary and childish comments about any of his opponents I no longer wonder why his college records have been sealed. Talk about parents paying to get their kids in or out of universities.
I think the next physical that Trump has as President should include an intense study of his brain. All these lies have to be coming from somewhere deep in this "stable geniuses" demented mind. If it ever comes to pass and Biden debates Trump I believe Trump will just speak in his usual tongues.
I cannot wait to see when asked real questions on policy and issues he w be able to hide behind his limited vocabulary and just call his opponent names.
To quote from the "Sane.com" medical website:
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is sometimes called pathological narcissism, but it’s different to narcissistic personality type, which is not a disorder.
The are nine key symptoms associated with NPD. To be diagnosed with NPD, a person must be assessed by a medical professional to be experiencing least five of the following:
1) A grandiose sense of self-importance.
2) Preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.
3) A belief that they are ‘special’ and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).
4) An intense need for excessive admiration.
5) A sense of entitlement – that they should get and have whatever they want.
6) A tendency to be interpersonally exploitative – in that they use others to achieve their own ends.
7) A lack of empathy, demonstrated through an unwillingness to recognise or identify with the feelings and needs of others.
8) Envy of others, or the belief that others are envious of them.
9) Arrogant, haughty or supercilious behaviour and attitudes.
I find it hard to choose which 5 of the 9 traits associated with NPD best fit Donald Trump. To my non-medical mind - he embodies every single one. SO - if the Donald has a minimum of 5 of these above traits he has a mental illness - and a serious one.
I can't imagine why the Democrats don't fight fire with fire and stress the obvious.
1
I’m so glad to see Frank Bruni back , his columns are always spot on, thank you.
1
Well, at least he hasn't got his supporters screaming "Lock him up," when talking about Biden. YET!
Certainly not a surprise. Consider the source.
What's amazing is that anyone even listens to the drivel that comes out of Trump. Most of us quit paying attention to that kind of silly, made-up, adolescent stuff after we left middle school. Trump's a well-documented liar. Believe anything he says at your own risk.
This isn't the sort of POTUS most Americans want. We'll see in Nov. 2020.
As noted, Trump suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, NPD. Trump's behavior is indeed 100% Me, Me, Me..... He is the poster boy for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Trump has a god complex believing that he has super intelligence and can make decisions with no previous knowledge or experience. He has a boundless greed, feeling self-entitled to great wealth at the expense of everyone else. Trump cares about no one but himself and violently blames others for the errors he continually makes. NPD is a common disorder among despots and and makes them very dangerous. Trump Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power and brilliance. He believes that he is “special” and unique. He requires excessive admiration. Trump always uninformed, always shoots from the hip, hoping to strike a chord with his low information, angry base of supporters. Trump is who he is and always has been. However, the Republican leadership is and has always been well aware of Trump's disorder but nevertheless, they have chosen to support and promote Trump as our nation's leader despite the enormous risk Trump's mental illness poses to the entire world - despite the global humiliation he brings daily to the United States. The Republican Party is also"sick".
Wait, what! After two years of calling Trump so deranged he is unfit and we require the 25th amendment to remove him from office, we now are going to castigate him for talking about how Biden appears? After calling Trump an existential threat to the nation, we are going to scold him for calling Biden weak?
Puh-leeze.
3
The character assassination and innuendo begins early.
LOVE IT! Expand and extend...
Trump likes running against people who are weak mentally? That would be himself. Janus-faced. Contradiction every other hour - - if he said one thing one hour (the Russians helped me) he will reverse it the next. Reminds one of Smeagol/Gollum.
In short, (my observations) President Trump is insane. An individual that lives in his own fake reality, accuses others of being fake news if they don’t bow down to his craziness, and has to lie constantly to the point that his own timelines get in the way of the actual truth. Well in short, that’s the definition of an insane person who happens to be the current President of the United States.
Another example: President Trump today again sided with the North Korea dictator, against his own CIA, by stating on the White House grounds regarding reports that Kim Jong Un’s half brother had been an American asset:
“I see that, and I just received a beautiful letter from Kim Jong Un,” Trump said. “I think the relationship is very well, but I appreciate the letter. I saw the information about the CIA with regard to his brother or half brother, and I would tell him that would not happen under my auspices.”
Now undermining your own CIA and throwing possible informant assets under the bus is just craziness to the highest form. Yet, his brainwashed base supporters don’t see this as a dangerous traitorous behavior by the president.
That in itself is just insane! How far America has fallen.
1
Consider the source. Every time Trump opens his pie hole? Consider the source. The guy lies like a rug. His record on truth and honesty is pretty clear. Trump is definitely disabled in the truth telling department. The guy simply cannot speak the truth. It's a disease or disability of some kind for sure. And there is observable, empirical ,measurable and palpable evidence to support the diagnosis. So, until he get's his own malady checked out he should not being casting aspersions on Biden's fitness.
Look at the two men side by side. Who appears to be in better shape?
Let Trump and Biden settle this like men. Put them on a one-mile course, and see who finishes first. I’m betting that Trump strokes out or has a heart attack before the half-mile mark.
1
Trump was chosen by many for his entertainment value. For even his diehard supporters the Apprentice schtick may wear thin and the true face of Trump -- freak show rapscallion -- that most of us saw from the get go, may become all too revealing and repelling.
Self-confessed "stable genius...young and vibrant man..." Trump always takes the lowest of royal roads so his Biden denegration only registers an uninspiring "5" on his Unfit meter.
He is well short of the "10" he earned mocking the disabled reporter.
T, President of only part of American , never ever offers words to inspire, enlighten or unify. Unfit to a T.
Joe should remember these attacks, but he won't. He'll continue to play nice with the GOP, then it will continue to trash him, as it did with Obama for eight years.
Heard a comment yesterday that Trump’s handwriting is changing. That’s a symptom of Parkinson’s Disease.
I really thought Trump was describing himself when he was talking about Joe Biden. Everything he said was an apt description of himself not Biden. Trump often projects onto other people what he himself is guilty of.
3
There are so many people over the age of 60 running for president (Sanders is 79, Biden is 78, Trump is 74, Warren is 71 and Inslee is 69) it’s beginning to look like an overcrowded AAPR convention.
If Trump insists on highlighting potential age issues and concerns if contemplating the office of president, voters across the board might wonder if a moratorium shouldn’t be considered for a maximum age requirement, let’s say 65 is the cut off age for anyone wishing to become president.
At the very least, he seems to embody every negative, critical and questionable trait associated with “senior citizens”, i.e., memory loss, lack of sharpness and focus, cognitive questions, etc.
In the end, Trump might be his own “poster child” for why seniors shouldn’t run for president in the first place.
3
Actually Joe looks infinitely healthier than Trump who appears to be a bit of a physical wreck. So put it down to Republican desperation. Trump of course as all the polls are showing is the Democrats greatest electoral asset.
11
Here is my prediction. Once DT is no longer president, he will be able to be prosecuted for, at the very least, laundering Russian money. But he will get off by claiming that he is not mentally competent to stand trial. I call it the Pinochet defense. And the fact is, his lawyers will have boxes and boxes of evidence in the form of Op-Eds, news articles, broadcasts and letters from various professional medical societies to support this position.
3
Remember all of the times when Ronald Reagan responded: “I don’t recall, etc.” and some people subsequently thought that this could have been early signs of his developing Alzheimer’s? We can speculate as much as we wish but generating a strong suspicion of sign to disease association is complex, not to mention making a definitive diagnosis.
From the Alzheimer’s Association home page (https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/10_signs):
Signs of Alzheimer's and Dementia: Poor judgment and decision-making
Typical Age-Related Changes: Making a bad decision once in a while
Signs of Alzheimer's and Dementia: Inability to manage a budget
Typical Age-Related Changes: Missing a monthly payment
Signs of Alzheimer's and Dementia: Losing track of the date or the season
Typical Age-Related Changes: Forgetting which day it is and remembering it later
Signs of Alzheimer's and Dementia: Difficulty having a conversation
Typical Age-Related Changes: Sometimes forgetting which word to use
Signs of Alzheimer's and Dementia: Misplacing things and being unable to retrace steps to find them
Typical Age-Related Changes: Losing things from time to time
We should focus on the general ineptitude of the subject person and not diminish appreciation of the impact of Alzheimer’s and Dementia on folks by making a leap from personality and moral deficiencies, confabulation, and bluster to these serious conditions.
3
Joe Biden to Julian Castro, I don't really care at this point. There is not one single Democratic candidate I would not proudly vote for in the general.
Do I agree with every single stance of each candidate? Of course not. I do feel there's not one single Democratic candidate I believe to be insane. I simply want proof, once more, that our nation is made up of people with a far higher moral character than we are showing at this point in time.
I want a President that doesn't use the term "Impeachment" as a possible positive for his Twilight Zone base of fools.
I'm stressed and tired of up being down and right being wrong and law enforcement being called criminals.
But most of all I'm tired of an entire nation being shoved into an "every man for himself" mode.
Moral of this rant? Vote.
5
It is astounding how little self-awareness Trump commands. After a lifetime and certainly a presidency of remarkably poor analysis and decision making, he seems blind to how his catcalls and mocking of others reflect upon himself. His calling Joe Biden "mentally weak" not only has no empirical evidence behind it. The remark also induces his listeners to reflect on the innumerable occasions when Trump's own words, actions, and decisions give ample cause to wonder about his own mental fitness.
1
@Brian Hill I believe he exhibits what is called transference, where the person is seeing his own faults in his opponent.
If karmic justice were real, Trump would suffer a myocardial infarction halfway through his next attempt to cast health-related aspersions.
1
Trump rarely makes much sense. He portrays Biden as a doddering old fool when he himself is of the same basic generation as Biden. I would agree that we need a younger candidate than either Trump or Biden. I would prefer Mayor Pete. Young minds work better than old minds. When I was a young guy, I even understood Maxwell's Equations. Now it's all Greek.
"I like running against people who are weak mentally" said the very stable genius. It levels the playing field.
3
Frank, what exactly are the oranges of your concerns about Trump?
I mean origins, or is it oranges?
P.S. How do you fold an umbrella while entering Air Force 1? Asking for a friend.
1
So in Trump a diabolical figure is on constant display. That he is the president is, or ought to be of great concern. But there’s nothing ... absolutely nothing ... new about this. Biden’s another verse to the same “song” of disgraced music that Trump “sings” from his greatest depths ... at least apparently. Aggravating? Surely! To be acknowledged continually in rage? I don’t think so because, first, the point’s been made; and, second, this just fuels Trump the more for yet more. And then there’s the obvious possibility we are seeing a sick individual ... in which case the issue of our humanity is begged in terms of what a proper response should be. What is clear is that Trump as our president has not been nor ever will be good for the nation or the world.
1
Trump is simply bringing political rhetoric down to kindergarten level.
1
Why does anyone take seriously anything Trump says? He has shown he is not mentally stable. When he says things like this he should just be ignored. Don't fuel the fire he is trying to start.
Remember that this coming Friday is "don't pay attention to Trump day." One day, a tiny break from his nonsense. Please.
1
Mr. Bruni, you done good! This ploy that Biden is ill is nothing more than a repetition of what they said about Hillary. Here we have a president who is massively overweight, a bit short on the intelligence scale, who is criticizing his opposition for unverified rumors that Fox has been pushing out about Biden's health.
I have this opinion that this "mentally stable genius" is neither. His modus operandi is to keep everyone standing on one foot, a shaky foot at that.
Maybe we need a game of Presidential Jeopardy to settle this. No, not putting the country in jeopardy, just the TV game show featuring Trump and any other candidates.
"Presidents for $100. Who was the second president of the United States?"
Could Trump even answer questions as simple as that?
1
Trump's physical condition may be attributed to the vast quantities of "hamberders" he consumes.
But, His Orangeness, is much, much more fit than any of the candidates vying for the Democratic nomination.
Just look at them. Unhealthily trim, energetic, and no yuuuuge belly like someone else we know.
Yes indeed. Trump found a willing participant that attested to his debilitating bone spurs and found another willing fool to attest to his excellent physical condition and mentally fit-which many of us question-the stability of the genius.
This old school bartender reads the sweating, incoherence, and the biggest tell, the sniffling... as yet another aspect of the 80's that the resident has clung to.
Yes, its not just Koch; he's motivated by the other kind as well.
Also, there are fiscal anomalies like an unexplained 52.9 million in "dividends" in 1989, as well as a major conflict of interest drug case that landed in in front of his older sister the judge's courtroom. Settled in you-know-who's favor, of course.
2
Dare I suggest that Donald Trump's ridiculously long tie may be an attempt to hide an unhealthily large stomach and perhaps a small appendage beneath it. The strange colour of his face and the scrambled speech may be the result of the tie being fastened too tightly around his neck.
2
@Jules Chooky I think it should be MUCH tighter
Just bring on the election so we can throw him out of the White House window.
2
Trump takes advantage of the rest of the world’s good manners. Unfortunately, he brings up the id of some people. In the rest of us he arouses a “zoological embarrassment” (as Ramón del Valle-Inclán would have put it).
3
“I think he’s the weakest mentally,” Trump said of Biden. In Trump's world he is also "Sleepy Joe".
Trump is FULL of rotten names for almost everyone. All it takes is for anyone to be critical or to be in competition and, voila, just like magic, out comes a filthy name or some type of horrible connection.
Nobody honorable is exempt from the abuse. Royalty in England are now 'nasty'. Politicians are fodder. Movie stars are ripe for filth. Immigrants are rapists and drug dealers. McCain was imprisoned and obviously had to be put down.
Of course, Neo-Nazi's are 'very fine people'. Putin can do no wrong. He received love letters from Kim Jong Un.
I wish for the days when we had a president who respected people and wasn't a pathological liar. I'd even settle for one who could speak decent English and uses complete sentences without meandering all over the place changing subjects. Vilification of others is NOT being presidential.
8
Here's the sad, scary truth: if Trump is re-elected in 2020, that IS, unfortunately, who we are as a nation.
6
Sleepy Joe? Nasty Nancy?
How about Donnie Dingbat? Or Degenerate Donald?
1000s can play at that game. But a President is supposed to be above it.
5
Thanks, Frank, I needed this one from you today. Spot on.
Trump -- what a whack-a-doodle. To all: take that however you wish. But I will swear there's scientific proof of this extremely precise diagnostic term somewhere.
One of my all-time favorite comebacks to Trump comes from a years-ago (feels a lifetime ago!) "Stephen Colbert / Late Night" monolog, where he takes Trump's line (paraphrasing, it's been awhile since saw this one live) of,
"I feel so young, I look in the mirror and I see a 35-year old."
and then Colbert deadpanned to the camera: "Sir, that's not you in the mirror. That's Melania."
HA!
I don't know that Joe is 'the one.' But saints preserve us, DJT simply can't be again.
2
It's easy to pick on and showcase someone's age while trying to find fault when you don't have the mental capacity to tackle, learn or discuss important and crucial debatable issues.
The many loud and frequent projections Trump makes about Biden are in all actuality Trump describing himself to a tee.
5
Come on Frank, you are a gentle man. Have a little pity. Trump absolutely needs an enemy to bash in order to function. At the moment, he's got 22 democratic enemies he feels the need to fight even though with his memory issues, it is unlikely he will remember their names let alone their given nicknames if they have them. Lucky for His Orangeness that the debates will begin soon and the winnowing of the electoral field will begin. Look for Dear Leader to conflate the names and the faces or use "sleepy" for candidates other than Biden. And honestly, can't our president, whilst out on the links, use that unfettered time to come up with a pithier nickname that "sleepy?"
The 40% are with him no matter what. I can only hope that the remaining 60% have caught on to the patterns you've identified and will vote accordingly. Our democracy, our planet depend upon it.
4
The old Republicans of Nixon's day took responsibility for impeaching a president gone off the rails. Instead, the leaders of today's Republican party enable a president who is unfit for office and hasn't a clue what democracy is all about. The people who supported Trump are privately disturbed about his radical behavior while putting on a brave face. The Republican party leaders, not so much. It's going to be far, far worse for them if they choose to continue to do nothing. It will be the final death knell of the GOP and maybe something far better will take its place.
8
I would like to command the extreme restraint with which President Trump is treating Joe Biden, by comparison with what Trump has been exposed to. One should be kind to others.
This restraint is strategic, since Biden, as candidate Hillary Two, would make the most convenient countercandidate for Trump.
As to mental acuity, one should question the House representatives who brought Watergate's John Dean. Just as the DNC is in the process of being exposed as criminal for spying on a false pretense...
... but then, the standards for our representatives are very low.
It's projection.What he says about Biden applies to himself. Trump has the lowest self esteem of anyone in public life.
7
The lowest level of argument is ad hominem attack, and of course, it is a fallacious form of argument that is intended to avoid any intelligent, informed discussion of a topic.
Yet, ad hominem attacks are mostly what Mr. Trump does. Why?
Is it because he is so cognitively limited himself he really cannot put together a coherent, logical argument, or is it that he has surmised that this low-level, fallacious attack tactic is what is so appealing and comfortable to Trump's base? Maybe both.
I see plenty of evidence that Mr. Trump is losing it (due to aging and/or disease processes?)--or perhaps he never really did function cognitively much beyond magical thinking and extraordinary emotional immaturity.
At any rate, he is a disaster as president and totally embarrassing on the world's stage.How did he ever get through college and the Wharton School?
And why is it the entire rest of the world knows that Trump is unfit to be U.S. President, but not to 35-42% of Americans?
7
@PB
I remember having to endure people like this during my elementary, junior high and high school years. Ad hominem attacks being used by adults are a sign of arrested development. It's pathetic.
@PB
He was expelled from military middle school. His father purchased the Wharton degree with a large donation. He is completely uneducated; he has trouble reading from a teleprompter.
I abhor Donald Trump. I'd vote for anyone - even Mike Pence or Pompeo - over him.
But he has a point. Biden was never an effective public speaker, and he's miles behind Trump in front of the TV cameras. His video ads are all scripted and polished and very well produced, but Biden himself, at his best, is the Great Incommunicado.
Biden just never has had charisma. Any one of the other 23 would do better against Trump, just as Bernie would have done better than Hillary.
In the end, as Freud said, biology is destiny.
2
@Nat Ehrlich
No, he doesn't "have a point"; He has name-calling. Biden looks infinitely healthier that DJT and can string coherent sentences together quite eloquently, a quality that Trump sorely lacks. Most people don't consider utter vulgarity and over-the-top bluster and non-stop lying "charisma."
Mussolini, Hitler and Nikita Khruschev were "effective public speakers" and possessed "charisma." We require more than that.
@Nat Ehrlich
Bernie might seem to be a good bet up there in Boise, land of the militias; Bernie supports gun manufacturers in VT. He isn't liked on the East and West Coasts. We are aware of his wife's destruction of a poor local university when she forced it to buy her worthless beach front property.
@Linda Miilu
For the record, I was born in Boston, undergraduate degree from Harvard, Ph.D. from University of Michigan, retired from academic positions at UMich and MSU, just moved to Boise from Ann Arbor 50+ yrs 3 weeks ago.
I remain an open-minded independent voter who went for HRC in 1916. Socially liberal, economically socialist.
I'm not saying this metaphorically or as a snark - I am serious. Trump has a bad heart. You can see it in his face, hear it in his voice. This guy has heart failure. I know you thought he didn't even have one to fail, but the ticker is in trouble. He'll be getting a transplant before long - unless he's in denial about his health, which he seems to be. When he starts really drowning in his own body fluid, we might see him disappear for a spell. If he does, it might turn out like Eva Peron did - out of sight, then an announcement that it's all over.
4
Since Joe McCarthy the GOP has been adept at slandering.
In 2016 Trump and collaborators created enough doubt about Hillary to squeak him into the WH.
Biden's response doesn't exist. He wants to be "nice" to his GOP pals, which is why he shouldn't run.
Too much is at stake: environment, Supreme Court, Social Security, and all health care, none of which will affect Joe as he rides into the sunset with secure government pensions, leaving us with nothing.
3
Hillary did not have health issues. Everyone coughs. And, who hasn't worn an all covering wool suit when it's 85F and not suffered a heat episode? She was helped into her gerrie-van, that's all. What senior doesn't need an occasional Boy Scout to lean on when transiting stairs?
Trump's healthy. He said so. And, he said the doctors said so. During the campaign, Trump did 4 or 5 shows a day. They were separated by a couple flight hours. Hillary did 2 per week.
Now, some of the Democrats, maybe not so much. Jerry Nadler had a "spell" 2 weeks ago. The only concern for the EMTs, how many would be needed to hoist Mr. Nadler into the ambulance.
Nancy Pelosi's speech is fine, when the cameras are rolling. And, why does she always look like she just popped a sour apple candy in her mouth?
Maybe the "23 and me" club should asked for a blood sample from Biden. Just to make sure the Botox levels aren't too high. I know I wouldn't want to be on stage when someone expires. Especially if they become their own Hazmat site.
Keep up the good work, Granpa Joe. He probably doesn't even know we were talking to him. Sad.
@Mike
"During the campaign, Trump did 4 or 5 shows a day."
Uh, Mike: they aren't "shows." At least they aren't supposed to be.
1
@Mike
Your referring to Trump's campaign appearances as "shows" is very telling as to the lack of seriousness with which you view the presidency, and you're persistent use of ad hominem attacks are evidence of arrested development. Sad.
@Mike I do jokingly refer to his rallies as shows. The point is, he shows up and does a great job of rallying his supporters.
By the token, Hillary was the highlight at those "wake like" gatherings. Very low turn out, "wake like" gatherings.
Sorry for the confusion.
I'm waiting for Trump to declare a phony emergency and sign one of his "presidential orders" suspending Congress the Constitution and seize unilateral power to keep himself in office without an election. His cabinet and Mitch McConnell will be very happy, as will his corporate sponsors and Putin. As for Barr, he'll find it a vindication for his notion of "unified executive power."
2
I love that rumour- he’s doing kidney dialysis during all that private executive time. For the first time ever I wish I had a Twitter account. Someone, please tweet it!
1
Nastiness is an art form with Donald Trump.By attacking his opponent precisely where he is himself weakest - age and mental acuity - Trump is following an established Republican strategy. Bush Junior's campaign attacked John Kerry, a decorated veteran, for Kerry's war record. The attacks were false but they blunted one of Kerry's potential strong points. Trump's campaign attacks on Hillary Clinton ("lock her up") were a preemptive strike. If the Republican attacks you first, precisely where he is weakest, then when you go after Trump's obvious weaknesses (but he has so many!), your own accurate attack appears simply as self-defense. It is every 7-year-old's strategy: "He did it first."
2
The "degenerative nerve disorder with ambulatory implications" that Bruni suggests (tongue in cheek) that trump may suffer from is almost accurate.
What it really is, is "degenerative nerve disorder of the brain." That's if the man ever had a brain. Tongue in cheek (maybe).
2
And just like last time, Bernie is hitting him from the left simultaneously and telling lies about himself "always voting against the Hyde amendment" when in fact he voted against it 4 times as a stand alone, but voted to continue it 24 times as part of a bigger bill. Where was the self-titled "amendment king", aka The Old Fraud by his actual peers, when the Hyde amendment needed to be stripped from the bill?
And I haven't heard much about "millionaires and billionaires" this time around as Bernie finally admits he himself is a multi-millionaire after yanking down $1.6 million in a single year.
Sick of hypocrisy from both extremists.
1
Uh, the article is about Trump?
If you haven’t heard Sanders talking about millionaires and billionaires, you haven’t been listening. Your hypocrisy is imagined. His stump speech hasn’t changed.
Earning $1.6 million on a book (accepting your number ad arguendum) makes him s millionaire, not a multimillionaire. And what of it? If his new wealth led him to advocate for lower taxes on the rich, you’d have a point. But his proposals remain unchanged, proving the opposite of your insinuation: he believes in them regardless of how they affect him personally, for the good of the country and ordinary Americans.
Maybe you don’t like Bernie Sanders. That’s ok. But don’t attack what’s not there. He’s not all that rich, and he’s no hypocrite.
What’s with all the private “executive time” on his daily White House schedule, when he’s off by himself, unobserved and unobservable?
Brooding is what sentient creatures live for, don’t deny him his chance to be alive just because you’re chained to a desk and a deadline. Where else do chicks come from?
1
Speaking from the perspective of Psychology rather than Psychiatry, Dishonest Donald meets all the criteria for a Sociopath.
As for his fear of Biden, he has managed to get himself into a position where all his actions, illegal and otherwise are being expounded upon, he must defeat any democrat, or will find himself in criminal proceedings, from running a racketeering organization to money laundering and tax evasion. His behavior is one of staying out of the clutches of the law, it is a permanent nightmare for him, he can not escape it.
You can see it in his movements, hear it in his voice, he can not hide it, little by little it is eating away at his self image that he has to maintain, just to function daily, he is trapped in a false universe of his own making, it does not work anymore, and he does not know how to fix it.
4
When Trump sees people who he thinks are a threat him--be it Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi or Joe Biden--he and his supporters portray them as "weak" or "low IQ" or question their health.
It hasn't quite worked with Nancy Pelosi. Trump said Nancy is "losing it." Quite the contrary. Trump is "losing it" because Pelosi is showing that Congress must and can be a check when the POTUS is acting out of control. Pelosi's check is making Trump lose his balance.
Biden is leading in the polls and that makes Trump lose his balance. Nothing new.
3
The NY Times should be a leading voice in advocating for shorter campaign seasons. Not that Bruni is off the mark here; he's not. But we're subjected to months, and months, and months of these adolescent barb volleys, attacks, boasts, conspiracies, policy promises that will only have to grind to halt in McConnell's Senate. Trump began campaigning the day he was elected, for that is all he can do with his lack of governing experience, ignorance and narcissism. We went from that experience to the mid-terms and fresh off the mid-terms the Democrats one by one added their names to a horse race with not enough starting gates. Please spare us. 90 days prior to elections is time enough to here all these used car sales pitches.
It is odd but fascinating to hear the same president who calls into question an opponent's mental aptitude also awarded the Moon to annexation by Mars. This makes Ukraine look like a sandbox spat by comparison.
2
Just to be clear I want Trump out of office as soon as possible. He is terrible. That being said,
This inadequate column is a symptom of why people lose interest in the press. What's the need of criticizing Trump as a human being because his boorish, rude personality. What reason does anybody have to believe Trump is going to act different? Why is Trump's bad behavior worth more than a sentence.? Indeed, the Press harping on on it is one reason Trump was elected to begin with. Mr Bruni should spend his time on policies that the Democratic Field should run and an evaluation of them. Indeed Trump is likely a shoo-in. There has not been an incumbent defeated in the past with a strong economy. Without serious issues i.e. Preventing Climate Change, making Congressional Checks and Balances Potent, Strong Jobs and Healthcare for all. Ending Gun violence the Democrats are likely toast. Writing yet another editorial about defects in Trumps character is not journalism but losing propaganda. This sort of content free name calling is one reason we have Trump to begin with.
When Trump's direct words are written, not the edited version in news that give the sense of them, he barely speaks understandable English.
"China, India, Russia many other nations they have not very good air, not very good water, in the sense of pollution....such countries don't do the responsibility," Trump said in early June. Hard to believe his thought processes are any more coherent.
2
Pelosi insinuated the same about Trump not too long ago.
So have many media liberals. Respect is a two way street.
1
Many are weighing in here on a specific diagnosis of Donald's mental and personality illnesses.
The comment that sticks with me is James Comey's.
He said he found Donald to be empty.
This is the addict's issue and while Donald may not be a classic drug or alcohol addict, he has obvious extreme addictions and obsessions related to money, sex, attention.
And like a drug addict, he pursues more and feels more empty.
2
I have no problem with Biden running even despite his age. He'll pick a good VP, most likely Kamala Harris, and then we're fine even if he needs to step down. Biden is the only one who can beat Trump, unfortunately. His combination of strength among african american voters and among rust belt whites is exactly what is needed to win. Vote Joe... and maybe end up with Kamala. That's my new slogan.
He can't use this tactic against his younger opponents., so he will probably attack their height, gender and name, or anything else that does not remind him how old he really is.
1
This is far from a clever post, it has been inferred one way or the other many times before. We are being forced to watch a reality show complete with a villain, his evil stooges, awaiting a Captain America to come to the rescue.
We don't want to watch but this is our reality, this is our country and our world and this vile man is the Commander in Chief. His words and actions go on every single day and whether we watch or not -----it is happening.
1
Trump can say ANYTHING because he knows there are lots of gullible people in the electorate. THAT is the main problem that can do America in.
2
Twas the NY Daily News a couple of years back that had the chutzpah to address Trump's malignant narcissism personality disorder. This is not about someone who brags a little, it's about an incurable mental illness! I'm still waiting for the Times or other reputable publications to quit reporting on the sick man's every spoken word and demented action and to call for his removal from office due to his deteriorating mental health condition.
1
It is simply sad that so many people love Trump’s lies and bullying.
Psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee: "Trump is an urgent threat to national and international security, and we must no longer hesitate to act." The paranoia and feelings of persecution will not diminish with evidence to the contrary.
Congress and the voters must take action for the sake of public safety. The fragility, paranoia, and disorganization Mr. Trump has lately displayed are rather the safer moments. The more dangerous ones are when the outer layers of the mind create defenses to overcompensate through “toughness” that would manifest in persecution, threats, wars, and attraction to nuclear weapons. We cannot underestimate the dangers.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2019/05/09/looking-mueller-report-from-mental-health-perspective/AaGgMt2Bq7vEHEZc5UKx7H/story.html?p1=Article_Recirc_Most_Popular
1
VP Biden has focused on cancer research since stepping down andf is committed to guaranteeing healthcare for every American.
Trump dropped ranked medical coverage for his nephew when his baby needed extensive medical care. during a tiff over Fred senior's will. Says it all really. Grace v greed.
3
I have read that Trump believes that every person is born with a finite store of energy, and he is not going to waste it on something silly that will waste that precious energy, like exercise.
In the summer of 2016, Hillary Clinton was attending an event at Ground Zero, standing in the blazing sun without any shade. I have been to that plaza, and ALL the shade was occupied; until those young trees get older and larger, there is not going to be enough shade there on a hot, sunny day. When she had to leave early and stumbled getting into her car, oh, my goodness, she was on her last legs. And when she feel at home and her glasses broke and cut her face, she was becoming senile.
Finally, this is so Trumpian: " “I like running against people who are weak mentally.” It reminds me of his statement during the campaign (which was even more offensive than his usual offensiveness), "I love the poorly educated." I'll just bet he does; those are the voters who elected him.
1
Donald Trump enjoys his contrived/impromptu encounters with cameras and microphones in or near the White House. He thrives in situations which he controls completely and where he can focus on reciting false, self-congratulatory history.
These Rose Garden meetings with the media are always filled with nasty insults and insinuations directed at others, mixed in with the president’s inane drivel.
Frank Bruni’s diagnoses of Trump’s mental and physical maladies are funny, and they are an effective way to illustrate Trump’s now-predictable behavior towards political opponents and critics.
As far as the president’s demanding schedule, many of us would be happy to give Donald Trump an unlimited amount of “executive time” for his health needs. Hopefully, those private rest periods will become a permanent respite through impeachment or electoral defeat.
"I don't know" is the operative rule for this entire administration and its "leader." Nobody in the White House knows anything; all apparently make up their reality each morning, depending on the measured mood of Esteemed Leader. Down the rabbit hole they go. Yes, it would be humorous were they not about destroying what's left of the United States and the entire planet we love.
“I like running against people who are weak mentally,” said the man waving a "fully signed and documented" piece of paper that no one gets to read.
Soft polling numbers against six (6) contenders indicate an approaching end of The Reign of the Presidential Tweet. Numbers don't lie. His Royal Genius lies, but numbers don't. Get out the vote.
1
Trump doesn’t drink alcohol nor is he a coffee drinker.
Biden and other pols look like they’ve imbibed heavily. That takes a toll on one’s body and mind. So Trump does look and sound younger. His liver is in much better shape then most.
@Cjmesq0
"...look like they've imbibed heavily?" Generally speaking boozers have puffy faces with bags under their red eyes, they look bloated, and generally unfit. Take a look at Trump in a closeup photo and just see if that doesn't describe him. Just because he doesn't drink doesn't mean he isn't an addict.
Biden and the other polls look infinitely more healthy than Trump.
1
Remember back in the "old days" of 2016 when Trump and Fox News were claiming Hillary Clinton had serious health issues? They played it to the hilt. "Honestly, I don't think she's all there," Trump said, questioning Mrs. Clinton's mental health. Trump and the GOP are doing and will do the same to Joe Biden or whomever is deemed "the enemy." That being said, it is clear to most of us that the sickest person here is Donald Trump. A mentally unstable president is wreaking havoc upon democracy and our way of life! 2020 can't come soon enough to oust him before we become toast as a country. Vote straight "D" across the board. And may prison await Mr. Trump for his autocratic misdeeds and criminality.
1
One of the most disturbing aspects of Trump is how he manages to drag everyone into the gutter right along with him. The tone of this column is an unfortunate such example. Whatever happened to, "When they go low, we go high"?
I found myself driving down the street today when 45 came on the radio with his nonsensical analysis of some issue. For whatever reason, the old Michael Jackson song (Man in the Mirror) came to mind:
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make that
Change!
It's a strange but true fact that the epithets Trump use to describe his detractors are more reflective of himself than the targets of his petty put-downs. If there were ever the pot calling the kettle black, Trump is the champ of taking pot-shots.
The Dems should simply run continuous ads of 45 talking back in the 1980-1990's and him talking now. If that doesn't convince the majority of voters that this man is on a slippery path to dementia (he's already there in some respects), then nothing will. He can do all the name calling and "dog whistles" about the candidates' health, but he should remember that turnabout is fair play. If I was a Dem communications person, I would be having a ball with this!
I hope I live long enough to see all of the Trumps in jail and history books that try to make sense of the dark years when Trump was President
1
A commenter and Ph.D. psychologist, Paul Wortman, has courageously stated clearly that Trump suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, NPD.
Trump's behavior is indeed 100% Me, Me, Me..... He is the poster boy for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Trump has a god complex believing that he has super intelligence and can make decisions with no previous knowledge or experience. He has a boundless greed, feeling self-entitled to great wealth at the expense of everyone else. Trump cares about no one but himself and violently blames others for the errors he continually makes. NPD is a common disorder among despots and and makes them very dangerous.
Trump Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power and brilliance. He believes that he is “special” and unique. He requires excessive admiration. Trump always uninformed, always shoots from the hip, hoping to strike a chord with his low information, angry base of supporters.
Trump is who he is and always has been. However, the Republican leadership is and has always been well aware of Trump's disorder but nevertheless, they have chosen to support and promote Trump as our nation's leader despite the enormous risk Trump's mental illness poses to the entire world - despite the global humiliation he brings daily to the United States. The Republican Party is also"sick".
1
Frank, you nailed it. It is tough to count the ethical transgressions, if not indictments of the Trump appointments. To paraphrase Roger Stone, “it is now Elaine Chou’s time in the barrel” with her clear favoritism to her family’s shipping business. And, we hold this truth to be real news. There was not one indictment during the Obama presidency.Obama had faith in Biden, and we had faith in Barack. There are many that feel a vote for Joe, is a vote for Barack. I am okay with that.
Frank Bruni's view is extremely interesting in bringing back the problem of your President's physical state, side by side with his highly questionable mental condition, and hinting these questions might (and should) be raised by his opponents, what they obviously abstain from doing. Ethical concern ? Why not but in the hand-to-hand savage fight waiting to happen, no weapon should stay in the armoury...
Sometimes I think the truly worst thing about trump is his absolute ignorance. Ignorance of history, geography, current events, and diplomacy. His “personal” remarks about Normandy and D Day to Macron were beyond embarrassing - they were pitiful. I doubt he could have listed five facts on the whole topic.
Five or ten years ago there was a viral YouTube clip featuring a South Carolina beauty pageant winner trying to explain her world views and answer some simple questions. It was cringe inducing. I think she would have done better than trump, however.
So humiliating for our country to have him representing our country.
1
Joe Biden was born on November 20, 1942.
Donald Trump was born on June 14, 1946. In two days he will be 73.
So Biden, at 76, is 3 years, 6 months, and 24 days older than Trump.
Joe Biden and Trump are thus pretty much in the same age group. Biden looks a lot healthier than Trump, who has put on weight since he became president, and as Bruni says, doesn't look very healthy. (That's why we have vice presidents.)
I doubt many people remember how old Nelson Rockefeller was when he died (70), or the circumstances under which he died:
"In a PBS documentary about the Rockefeller family, longtime Rockefeller aide Joseph E. Persico said: "It became known that [Rockefeller] had been alone with a young woman who worked for him, in undeniably intimate circumstances, and in the course of that evening had died from a heart attack" (Wikipedia). "Undeniably" because his death was at climax and the young woman had to get out from under Rockefeller, who was now dead, to call for help.
Sex can be fatal for your heart if you're not in good shape. Rockefeller wasn't. And Trump? My oh my. All those steaks, French fries, and cheese burgers Trump puts away. Can't be good for his cardiovascular system.
Melania Trump (DOB April 26, 1970) just turned 49, which nowadays is considered young. That's a considerable age gap (24 years), unless you're celibate.
Trump better be careful. Death can come at any time.
Disclosure: I'm a good deal older than both men (but not put together).
1
I don't see what the big fuss is about what Trump and Biden say about each other.
Watch a rally of Biden vs a rally of Trump and make your own mind about who is slow and who is not.
Trump's executive time is a euphemism for nap time. Toddlers need naps or they get cranky. In Trump's case the nap doesn't work.
I would love for Joe Biden to challenge Trump to take an IQ test administered to both. Or to take an SAT exam. Or release their college transcripts. Trump claims to have a big brain so he should be up for such a challenge. He should be anxious for such an opportunity to prove to his supporters how much smarter he is than Biden.
What do you say Mr. Big Brain Trump? Show us what you've got.
Trump is undeniably a nasty piece of work. But, I watched Biden's speech yesterday and, while he said the right things, there was a tiredness about him and a lack of spunk that is telling. While we all want Trump gone in 2020, it's important to have someone lead the Democrats who is full of energy, optimism and forward looking. Elizabeth Warren anyone?
2
Since Trump keeps referring to him as “Sleepy Joe,” I wish that Biden would challenge Trump to a 400 meter race, once around a standard track. Then we’d see who’s in better shape. Trump wouldn’t last 100 yards.
Jeez, Frank—you put every possible dig about the Big D into one article. RIGHT ON! Keep up the good work and musings.
All I can deduce is that Trump's supporters love his "sickness," and seem to share it.
how many doctors follow the current president with every step he takes? 5? 10? 15? how many medications does he take? how many medical conditions does he have?
Some think Alzheimer’s is hereditary or a poor diet plays a role which does not bode well for Trump. He tried to rip his father who was suffering from dementia until his sister got wind of it.
We know he likes to project his negative traits onto others. Can you imagine, due to the monsters he surrounds himself with, that he’s lost it?
The tweets alone give me pause.
Unknown to most Americans Trump has been dead for nearly fifty years. His body has been occupied by the Ghost of Senator Joseph McCarthy who also waved sheets of white paper around claiming they contained lists of Communists.
Remember that Fox News is capable of anything and that it's likely that they'll report the death of Joe Biden well before the election. Of course Vice President Biden will be alive and well and working the campaign trail.
But Fox news will say otherwise and . . . well, you ever know :-)
A seventy-two year old on a junk food diet? Come on, PLAQUE, do your thing . . .
3
Say what you will, but who can deny that the President's hands keep getting smaller every day?
Just a little piece of history: Back just before the end of the B.C. Roman era, the The evil emperor Nero reportedly fiddled while the city of Rome burned. Today, Trump twitters while the earth cooks!
@Louis A. Carliner
Actually that was 64 A.D.
Some years ago an experienced clinical psychologist and I had reason to interact with a third party who engaged in a surprising and sometimes shocking level of verbal aggression. This behavior dominated and defined the conversation topics and directed verbal attacks on all present. Afterward, the psychologist explained to me that these behaviors were known markers of a childhood abuse (type not possible to immediately determine) survivor who as a youth had developed a hyper-aggressive verbal attack strategy as a defense.
Verbal hyper-aggression and name calling are not simply "counter punching". They intentionally derail substantive debate on ethics, policy, society and the economy. This behavior likely also resonates with the large numbers of abuse survivors in the so-called voting "base" (abuse survivor rate estimates are straight forward to search on-line).
1
I agree with you. My granddaughters, now 6 and 7, were in tears when the 2016 election did not result in “the first woman president.” They have been raised to be kind and not call names and I am sure they would repond to your comparison of their age group to the current president’s name-calling and tantrums by saying, “That’s NOT nice.” May their voices stay strong.
4
It's not going to get better. Smashmouth politics has taken Trump to the White House and he's going to continue to use these tactics .
It's not just Biden. If Joe were to drop out tomorrow he'd go after the next in line with the same simple formula. Identify a weakness in your opponent, preferably one that many people already suspect and pound it home again and again until his opponent starts to believe it about him or herself.
In this and in this alone, Trump really is indeed a very special genius.
Forget dignity. Forget a high minded discussion of the issues. Sometimes ignoring a bully works but sometimes you just have to humiliate him in front of his followers and grind his nose into the dirt.
I want to see a candidate who can punch back hard in plain language. Who can make fun of Trump--it should be so, so easy. Come on this supposedly most alpha male of men surrounds himself with stuff that looks like he bought it from Liberace's estate sale. tweets from a gold toilet, can't even walk around a golf course for God's sake, performed a dance routine with a bunch of Saudi royalty that looks like something out of Monty Python and looks like he's ready to die from a stroke any minute.
Yes, I hate it as much as anyone else but when it comes down to it the American people despise weakness above all else. A leader who can't project strength and purpose is no leader at all. FDR did it from a wheelchair.
349
@Brooklyncowgirl
Exactly. I have always maintained that Americans would prefer strong and wrong,... to the alternative.
15
@Brooklyncowgirl Republican true believers pretended not to see Ronald Reagan's symptoms of early Alzheimers, even though they were ob ious. Do NOT expect intellectual consistency from human beings.
Trump has already babbled incorently in public on countless occasions, has obviously gained a lot of weight since taking office, and sends out his "doctors" to deliver reports on his health that were so obviously ghost-written for them by Trump that it's comical. We know he bribed the previous White House physician with a promise of promotion to head of the VA, and he'll find ways to keep the next one on script as well. It doesn't matter. The cultists just go and look at Jon McNaughton's paintings and some photosopped pictures and believe what they want to believe, which tracks perfectly with what a malignant narcissist tells them.
32
@Brooklyncowgirl
Trump is a wimp, a snowflake, a preening metrosexual, and demonstrates those facts every day.
He cannot abide anything he perceives as other than purely fawning toward his big, beautiful brain, and wildly overreacts — to the point that an honest observer might accuse him of satire — to even the faintest threat (think of his Mueller carping for months and months).
He goes to a tanning salon, clearly spends a lot and fusses on his industrially assisted locks, is a whiny germophobe, and flaps his appendages like an overheated junior-high school thespian when speaking in public.
What's amazing, given all that, is that so many people still fall for his squint-eyed Eastwood-esque tough guy posturing. He's a wuss, a terrified child whose mummy and daddy didn't praise him enough.
38
Thanks for having the courage to finally bring this issue to the fore, Frank. I don't know about anyone else, but I've noticed Trump's hands are definitely getting smaller.
7
It’s interesting that Trumps regularly tweeted abuse frequently is more personally applicable. For example, he complains of fake news but puts out more fake news than any other official body. He talks about draining the swamp but has created a cabinet filled with real bottom dwellers with constant legal problems. So he says opponents have medical and mental problems, we must consider what this means for the source.
12
Frank, you’re good! I think that my favorite is the bit about the waffle-iron. Keep it up! We need an entertaining voice in what feels like a desperate hour, some promising Democratic hopefuls notwithstanding.
8
Fntastic piece- this has to be my favorite op-ed yet. it was funny but so true! I also feel a bit optimistic for the first time that maybe we can get rid of the current oval office occupant!
6
"But who needs proof when you have suspicions?"
Even if fabricated, those persistent suspicions have been the story of Trump's life. His bag of tricks by now is so familiar that he doesn't have to fill in his sentences.
I was struck yesterday by his waving the "letter" he has from Mexico promising to help Trump stop all asylum seekers. Are people still falling for Trump's props, like those piles of papers on a table when Trump was"divesting" of his businesses?
The actor in chief has started early on Biden, peddling his "suspicions" about his mental status. "I don't know about that guy, he doesn't look the same," says Trump darkly.
Doe he himself ever look in the mirror? They say the presidency weathers one, makes them old before their time. Hair turns white in two, not four years, given its complexity.
Trump's "look" stays the same, because it's so cosmetic (except for the weight); how can he look aged when he does so little except tweet?
Trump measures greatness by how good one looks on the outside. Biden is focusing on Trump's insides, and the moral rot he's inflicted on America for far too long.
23
Sadly, those who continually vent evil and nastiness -like the subject of this piece - generally live long, notwithstanding unhealthy habits. The medical field needs to look into why viciousness seems to be formula for longevity. DJT will be in the White House much longer than the Constitutional 8 year limit, and much longer than medical guidelines would indicate possible.
1
I wouldn't too surprised to learn the POTUS is showing signs of early Alzheimers. His memory is at best sketchy and at times clearly inaccurate. The POTUS stated last week that "Robert Mueller had so badly bungled his congressional testimony that he had to release a sort of do-over letter clarifying what he’d meant", but as noted in the article Mueller did no such thing. Bill Barr was the one who mucked things up. Trump had mixed up the two, ...
In addition, his eating habits and general lifestyle are hardly exemplary. "72 years old, lives on red meat, relishes fast food, abhors exercise and tries to deny the ravages of that lifestyle with a necktie that makes a beeline for his knees."
9
I can’t add much to this. Of course Trump has nothing to run on but tax cuts for the wealthy, a government shut down that tanked the stock market resulting in a loss for all of 2018, a spike in illegal immigration, trade wars and farmer bail outs, a full throated effort to return us to the days when health insurers could deny coverage for preexisting conditions and corruption and crimes. Therefore Joe is ‘sleepy.’
What worries me about Biden is he just keeps talking about Trump. Yes - it is nice to see someone take him on. But - come on Joe - Warren ‘has a plan for that.’ Start planning.
11
While we all may not be drinking the same, false, toxic type of Kool-Aid being freely distributed by our Prevaricator-In-Chief, it’s rapidly become a minute-by-minute dose of industrial strength vitriol we’re all increasingly exposed to. It’s only antidote is the truth and, while it’s still free, its value to the future of our democracy is priceless
Vote.
6
Trump’s so-called executive time is another way of saying that he simply isn’t working, isn’t doing the job. From what I have read, even the supposedly disengaged Reagan took briefing materials home at night to read. And Trump of course doesn’t read anything. All he is is the star of a reality TV show and all he cares about is ratings.
25
"It takes one to know one" is what my mother always used to say.
11
Medical people I know, were skeptical at Trump's reported weight of 239 lbs.. Their educated guess was that it was more likely 339 lbs.. The mortality rates for men over 300 lbs. and over 70 years old are quite high. They surmised that Trump's mention of the US having a President for life reflected his anxiety about dying in office.
25
@Robert Ihave always enjoyed creative writing, especially the fiction you have presented us with today.
Were Biden a Republican, the absolute mess he and his son are hip-deep in over in Ukraine would have already chased them out of the race.
NEW GAME: Find numbers of participants at Biden events. Take a drink every time you see a 4-digit number.
The bottle will last thru Christmas.
1
I think it’s time for Democrats to turn the table on this one and give Trump a taste of his own medicine.
It can be done in a very “concerned” manner, the speaker expressing care and worry about the President’s obvious weight problem, his inability to walk more than a few yards, his plethoric complexion, his constant scowl which would indicate extreme distress to a sympathetic observer
62
Multiple psychiatrists have questioned Trump's ability to be president.
Trump's own doctor has cleared him.
One can be a high functioning narcissist without penalty.
I favor some legal mechanism giving the power of evaluating the president's ability to serve to the Supreme Court as relying on congress and the 25 th amendment remain arduous processes.
4
trump is all about projection when he criticizes perceived enemies. He may be forgetful about important matters, but he has an uncanny ability to remember every criticism of him, which he then projects onto his target. Thus, his remarks that Biden talks and looks different from how he used to, when this has been a persistent description of trump since his campaign began.
24
It’s not that Trump remembers anything that is said about him. As a matter of fact he appears deaf to many of the things that others say about him. IMHO, Trump loathes himself intensely but is unable to confront his own worst qualities. That is the source of his projecting onto others. Trump will remain in this state eternally. He does not have the inner strength that it would take to understand his own demons. He is a textbook case of poor, likely abusive, parenting. Woe to America and the foolish people who bought into his act.
There is a larger problem than Donald Trump and it is that tens of millions of Americans approve heartily of this kind of behavior.
I work in the automotive industry in a very blue city and the level of malice in the working class is nearly unbelievable. People should hear the things they say about AOC and Nancy Pelosi. Or not hear, I guess, given how personal and vindictive it is.
Even after Trump, we'll have a real situation to deal with.
80
@Graham Hackett
I agree. A whole lot of fixing will need to happen. It will take decades. Perhaps we shouldn't ascribe this to the working class especially. Trump's voters 2016 voters were relatively well off. They made $10,000 per year more than Clinton voters. The supporters of Senator Sanders said some awful things about Sec. Clinton at the 2016 caucuses here.
22
@Graham Hackett
I agree entirely with you. In my own family, I've had to tell a member that if they wish to speak such ugly vile thoughts, they will have to do it off my property.
Their desire to be ugly is stronger than their desire to visit as I've not seen them for a long while.
1
We all know we are not immortal. We all know we have an expiration date awaiting us. I wonder, in the still of the night when Trump is not tweeting, laying awake taking a tally of the grudges he holds, I do wonder if he takes stock of his own personal mortality, at 72, knowing that the years are mounting and that his years on this Earth are rapidly dwindling. I'm 67 myself and yes, it is a thought that enters my mind frequently. It makes me want to spend my remaining time with valued friends and certainly not hating, as Trump seems to be doing 24/7/365.
Trump could be living his remaining years with his kids,his grandkids, playing golf and enjoying his immense wealth.
I just wonder if he ever sees a visage of the Grim Reaper in his dreams, if he ever allows himself to sleep.
26
@The Nattering Nabob
Maybe he's like me...I'll never retire. I want to look back on my life and feel like I've accomplished something worthwhile...productive. You don't just sit around worrying about getting old! Mr. Trump will probably outlive both of us. :)
Mr T is not well. He simply has way too much weight on him. His numbers are likely terrible. His behavior is also a really big concern.
46
@Lou
Mr. Trump's numbers are shockingly high, even to his supporters, and I'm not putting them down (40% last time I looked, not just Republicans). His approval rating is just very high. It bodes well for his 2020 run at reelection. Sorry lefty.
1
Let us continue to search for the answer to this question: Just how low must the bar go? As every week delivers yet another low remark or low action from the president of the United States of America, many of us wonder just how truly awful it can get. The man has embarrassed and disgraced the office and the people of this country in ways that were, until very recently, totally unheard of, and certainly inconceivable. His constant lying, name calling, and bragging, along with his basic all-encompassing immorality and juvenile behavior, help contribute to our country's present role as the laughing stock of the civilized world. And, no; sadly, this is not hyperbole. This is Donald Trump World. Welcome to it.
43
Trump is correct. Biden is too old. He's also too old school. Time for a new world.
10
@Tim Bachmann Going by your standards, Trump should be removed from office immediately.
1
It's as simple as this: we need an honest person to lead our country, if we are ever going to aspire to greatness. Trump is the antithesis of what the nation needs, and needs more than ever before.
Vote Trump OUT (all caps) in 2020, and vote all Republican Senate candidates OUT with him. Supporting Trump is supporting dishonesty, not us the people. Period.
55
Some people are saying that Trump is so sick he will not make it to the end of the year! They say Pence and the Republicans are already preparing to invoke the 25th amendment! I’m hearing that Trump will never be able to debate Biden or anyone else!
And word on the street is that Fox has prepared a special on how “natural causes” can’t be blamed for Trump’s demise; it was a Deep State conspiracy!
That’s what I’m hearing. Watch this space!
29
What amazes me is the number of people, i.e. Trumps's political base, who actually eat up this kind of behavior. They must have a lot of fear and desperation elsewhere in their lives to find Trump's con jobs and childish behavior acceptable.
30
One has to be in possession of an actual mind before it starts to dull.
20
I hear turtles may live a long time, unless they’re made into soup. Trump’s on the other hand, haven’t shown themselves to be so long lived. They’ll cave before their caught.
4
Ironically, and sadly,Trump is validated by every story that includes his name. Anyone else who behaved as obnoxiously would be shunned. But Trump is President so he gets nonstop coverage. And he smugly carries on convinced he is important.
11
Frank, your column starts off making a series of tongue in cheek suggestions Trump is medically unwell. Then it concludes with much more direct and firm conclusion that he's basically on death's door. But the whole point - and title - of your article is that its "sick" to engage, as Trump does, in such speculative medical rumors.
Try to stay above it.
Don't be like Trump.
2
We have several better candidates than Joe Biden to foster. Thank you, Joe, but No, not next year. We appreciate your years of service. But No.
15
Frank, it is clear that Trump's mind wanders. Most of the time it is far, far away. Thank you for a wonderful column while we await (with trepidation) its return.
17
Donald Trump claimed to be the healthiest man ever to run for President . That is very doubtful . But he is certainly the craziest . When a man claims to be a very stable genius you know he is neither a genius nor stable . We all know he is not well and he knows he is not well . When he makes insinuations about the health of his opponents he is projecting . Projections is a well know psychological defense mechanism in which you see your faults in other people . As Nancy Pelosi said , it is time for an intervention by the family or his advisors .
99
Donald has lived and worked by no rule but winning and he will hold anyone and all by accusing this opponents (victims) of anything including what rules that he didn't follow.
There is neither a respectful thought or deed with in him.
12
If Donald were on a stage with Joe Biden, what are the odds that Donald might not be able to control himself and take a swing?
It happens in assisted living homes all the time...and Donald seems to have the same loss of self control.
70
@Baba, I just wish that our national leadership (on both sides!) didn’t look so much like a tenant association meeting at an assisted living home...
1
The republicans ran investigations and smears against Ms. Clinton for about 20 years then when The Donald came on the scene it really got dirty. But the problem is that all of this smear and malice frightened off many people who normally vote democratic. Remember that there were some democrats (particularly women) who said that they could see no difference between The Donald and Ms. Clinton. Some people even said that Ms. Clinton did not exhibit sufficient empathy.
Get ready for another round of smears and right-wing propaganda from Fox, Rush, Coulter, Hannity, and company. The democrats might as well get use to the taunts and jibs; there will be many more to come.
Nancy Pelosi seems to be one Democrat that understands basic street politics. The bottom line is that you need to win elections and not let the republicans set the agenda and frighten off everyone.
31
Donald is not age impaired.
He has been very troubled since he was a child.
His parents sent him away, adding to the trauma.
We all need to do the same.
124
@Baba . I think this is something to fight with....his apparent estrangement from his mother and his being sent away. I can't believe no investigative reporter can find information from those days.
3
Mr. Trump — not known for living in the reality of the moment — seems to think what worked in 2016 will work in 2020. But I wonder if it will. After daily barrages of name-calling, falsehoods, misdirection and impotent bullying, his act is old and tired. Whether you’re for him or against him, it no longer carries shock value. It feels like a TV series that started strong with a novel idea, but never developed, and by the third season is a parody of itself.
The question for majority of voters seems to be, are they willing to stick with this show for eight seasons? Waking up each morning to rant tweets in caps? Trying to decipher some sort of plan, any sort of coherent logic, to the day-to-day stumbling which defines this White House? For me, I’ve moved beyond outrage, even beyond fatigue. I’m thinking, what a waste of time, with the climate Doomsday Clock ticking, with so many things that can be made better — individual lives, our nation, the future.
Anyway, I’ve been making $5 donations to Elizabeth Warren. She’s given a lot of thought to her ideas, and she’s running a gutsy and ethical campaign. But I made my first to Joe Biden today because he’s obviously provoking fear and trembling in Mr. Trump which, talking pure politics here, is something I can get behind.
71
If the nation could handle "I can do it all myself after bankrupting three casinos" Trump, we'll do okay with Joe Biden. I'm Independent but will vote for any Democrat since it's the only chance we have to break from "party, propaganda, and 1%ers" over country. A full-blown socialist would be bad, but I'd have to trust Congress to regulate them.
The worst that could happen is a third partier splitting the Dem vote. Trump won by 77,744 votes (less than 1%) in three deciding states (MI, WI, PA) where 425,525 people voted for Johnson, and 132,476 for Stein. Trump's now down 17-19% in those same states (per Morning Consult), but the election could still go sideways. Hopefully people will show up to vote and make it count.
22
"And his recall. It’s beyond spotty. He said last week that Robert Mueller had so badly bungled his congressional testimony that he had to release a sort of do-over letter clarifying what he’d meant, but Mueller did no such thing."
Accelerating dementia and NPD is a bad mix. It's hard to tell if Trump's just adding to his >10,000 "LIES and misleading statements", or if he's just mixed up. I still wonder why he'd say his father was born in Germany.
I sense a LOT of what Trump says will come back to bite him before the election. He ran with the slowed-down Pelosi video, while he and his supporters seemingly forgot when Trump's on video saying "United Schtates", "specicious" instead of 'suspicious', and "oranges" (multiple times) instead of 'origins'. I'd cut Trump some slack except he LIES to cut down others as he tries to elevate himself and low self-esteem. Trump's earned whatever Karma throws at him, and he'll be on a world stage for all to see.
67
Accelerating dementia and narcissistic personality disorder are indeed a deadly mix. I find it odd that the sister, whose career has been that of a judge and his businessman brother have kept silent and in the shadows during Trump’s campaign and Presidency. Melania’s latest fashions have gotten far more press than those who know have known him the best, since infancy.
2
When people are in their 70's the four year difference can break a man. Yet Trump's eating habits and weight are anathema to his health more than those traits are to Biden, but still, at 76, I would worry about the big 80 fast looming with an even greater lack of stamina. Youth is needed. No more of the same Status Quo from either of them.
20
Biden needs a stock phrase to give to journalists anytime Trump makes one of his personal attacks:
"Personal attacks concerning my mental or physical health from Donald Trump are not worthy of a response from me. I would also suggest that members of the press do not waste valuable time and energy repeating them.
If 'the president' would like to discuss any of the major problems our country faces, I'm happy to join him."
38
Look! Believe it or not, the man is actually smart! Until he figures out a way not to participate in the 2020 presidential debates (which may be by starting a war or another crisis), he knows he has no choice but to be ready for them. But he also knows that the debates come with big risks. So, to minimize the risk, he is trying to ensure that they will be on his own terms.
Obviously, he does not want to be humiliated by discussing subjects that he knows very little about. He knows that some of his opponents are well-read, brilliant debaters with actual expertise in multiple fields. And, once he says a nonsense, he/she will use that to hammer him on the spot in front of practically billions of people. So, he has been looking for ways to set the stage such that any future debate will revolve primarily around things that he is comfortable to talk about.
How does he do that? He gets out there insulting his potential debaters. He is insinuating about each and every aspect of their lives. That means, if there will be any debate between him and a Democrat, no one will ask him any deep question about the US Constitution that he is supposed to protect; No one will ask him about countries that he cannot locate on the map; and no one will ask him what does "American exceptionalism" mean?
But, rather much of the time will be spent on questions like: why did you call him that? Why do you think he is this or that? What did you mean when you said he looks different? Etc., etc.
13
@Eddie B.
"Obviously, he does not want to be humiliated by discussing subjects that he knows very little about."
What? That doesn't bother him in the least. He babbles all day long about subjects he knows very little about, makes outrageous, absurd mistakes and keeps right on going, shamelessly. I guarantee you he is not worrying about the debates. He is convinced he is a genius.
"He knows that some of his opponents are well-read, brilliant debaters with actual expertise in multiple fields."
You don't get it. He believes his own PR. He believes HE is a brilliant debater with expertise in practically everything.
You need to try to understand narcissism. He may have deep-seated insecurities, yes, but they don't get in the way of his incessant self-aggrandizement, in fact they're the reason for it. The one thing the narcissist does NOT do is worry about competition, because he is certain he is the best.
If we're going to misread this guy this badly, it's going to be pretty hard to defeat him. We must not make the mistake of believing that Trump can be embarrassed by his own ignorance or colossal incompetence.
26
Well, honestly, Frank, so what? The only people who pay any attention to the nonsense that comes out of Trump's mouth are themselves lost causes at this point. Everyone else treats it as rubbish.
16
Donald Trump is a hoot. This habitual liar with Fascist intentions has zero self awareness of his own vile and toxic
nature.
Par for the course.
He must look in the mirror and see Charles Atlas. The wonderful
life of a pathological narcissist.
M
49
Foundation stones of Trump's MO include insult and insinuation. It hardly needs repeating that these are symptomatic of a dysfunctional personality. It's time once again for the grown-ups in government (??) to explore a declaration of unfitness of the POTUS.
29
It's disgusting that we have a person in the White House who thinks it's "cool" to talk trailer trash. Someone should tell him it's low class. He is so insecure he thinks calling his opponents names is the way to go. This bully never left the playground and he'll never grow out of his adolescence. We don't need any more of his dangerous nonsense.
39
Biden is living in Trump's head. Next to the dementia. I don't know if Trump actually has dementia, his father did, but in the immortal words of Republican pundit Peggy Noonan, it is irresponsible not to speculate.
49
Biden does not need to become our next president. That being said, Trump should have never became president!
9
He'll be 73 in 3 days. You're too kind.
7
What ever trump has it must be contagious. Look at Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kellyanne Conway.
More disturbing is the aphasia of the rest of the Republican Party. What is Mitch McConnell’s problem. Perhaps it isn’t aphasia if you look back at old recordings...I don’t know the medical term for the syndrome. I wish Democrats would read in to the house and senate proceedings all of the spew against President Obama and Clinton, uttered by the high and mighty Christian Republicans.
29
@08758 Citizen
"Trump" is capitalized...show some respect...if not for the man, how about your country and the office of President.
I couldn't keep my eyes off Trump's comb over lifting in the wind. What a creepy hairdo to have while making crude and cruel remarks about others.
55
@merchantofchaos
Why would a merchant of CHAOS worry about someone's hair being askew...maybe you need some real, outside work, for a change. (Your hair will always be messy.)
When you roll in the mud with a pig sooner or later you realize the pig likes it.
18
The master projector doesn't look well at all, and his speech is getting closer to indicate some kind of brain damage. Maybe too many lies have severed critical synapses and his body can't take the dissonance any more.
But insults are all he has. He can't run on his accomplishments or the friends he made or the bridges he built. He can't run on the legislation he's gotten through congress or his wins in court. There are none.
He can run on the women and children he's terrorized, the women he's assaulted, the service members he's insulted, the lies he tells and the disregard for compassion or humaneness that he faces each day with.
His fans will love it.
38
I’m watching Chernobyl, the mini-series and the comparisons to today’s Republican climate deniers is eerie.
Just like today’s Republicans, the Soviet leaders refused to believe what the scientists were telling them about the seriousness of the Chernobyl fire. They were even going to force 50,000 people to stay in a city only a few miles from the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
22
@Mike: Let's remember that the first warnings to the outside world came from Swedish scientists who saw that their dairy herds in the south were producing radioactive milk.
12
It seems nobody can figure out how to address "Donald Trump's Medical Malice" described by Frank Bruni. Neither the high nor low road has worked. I hear and read all the complaints about the president's behavior. I hope the candidate who ends up debating the President will confront the cruelty in a meaningful way-not backing down until receiving an answer from him "why do you do it?"
19
Why even write about him anymore? Vote.
36
Trump's 72 is the new 9. Donald J. Trump is a man of quality. One quality is criticizing many others for Donald J. Trump’s deficiencies, for he recognizes them and is comforted. Donald J. Trump argued in 2016 that the campaign was fixed; turned out to be true, fixed in his favor in Republican gerry-style. One quality is inability to read, neither a child’s book nor an adult’s book nor a book of criminal laws which leads to the quality of being lawyered. One quality is difficulty digesting advice. Considering the sources, the nation benefits. Trump’s maximum quality is lying so much that he cannot be trusted or relied upon. His two presidential accomplishments were firstly socking the nation with debt so huge our grandchildren will still be paying it for their lifetimes; secondly inability to undo Obamacare even with a Republican Congress shoveling away. Donald J. Trump has qualities. His qualities exhaust him and drain not the swamp but the nation.
Is Mitch McConnell a man of quality? Mitch McConnell is a slitherer. That is his quality, a gift from Kentucky intended for the south where snakes are a big deal but ruination for government.
55
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. If there is anyone who in my opinion appears to be deranged its Trump.
39
Stop thinking and talking so much about this bum and direct whatever force of will that can be mustered at his base. Anything he projects is meant for them, so stop them.
25
If Trump’s lips are moving, he’s lying. Maybe the media will get it right this time and stop giving him airtime. Let Fox be his only mouthpiece. Ignoring a narcissist is what causes them the most pain. Stop putting him on the front page, above the fold, at the top of the news.
65
Trump is mentally ill. I could care less about his physical health. He’s mentally ill and unfit for office. That’s all that counts.
92
@Dissatisfied
Yes, but it's his physical health that may be what gets him off our backs, the 25th Amendment, impeachment or the 2020 election notwithstanding. And perhaps the greatest benefit: a stroke or heart attack would prevent his cult followers from making him a martyr and blaming the sane opposition to this sick, defective, cruel creature.
It's not just that Trump's insults are so far below the dignity of his office--but they sound like something yelled by a 10-year-old. This leads me to think that there are cognitive issues.
57
People say that Trump acts like a kindergartner. I taught kindergarten children, and they are some of the nicest people in the world.
Even a two-year-old is nicer than this guy.
88
Maybe I too am getting old and confused.
But I honestly thought I remembered a time when there were a few Republicans somewhere in America who cared about the truth.
I thought I remembered a few Republicans who thought it was destructive to society for a leader to lie -- not just once or twice, but constantly, 24/7, for personal advantage at others' expense. Maybe even one or two -- somewhere -- who meant what they said about the importance of character.
Most likely it's me. As you get older, your memory will play tricks on you.
451
@Bill Camarda I feel the same and it's not us. Our memories are not playing tricks. There once was a time like that.
91
@J. Alfred Prufrock
Yes, it was during the Nixon presidency. The republicans took the responsibility to investigate Richard Nixon. They had honor and dignity then.
53
@Bill Camarda
Yes; I was one of them.
22
The Gilded Guttersnipe in the Oval office knows nothing and cares about even less. There is no depth of sludge through which he will not drag this nation, due to his malignant narcissism. That is the long and the short of it.
38
What can any sane person think or say? Trump is our worst nightmare. Daily he destroys our democracy. I honestly have never met such a deluded, ''nasty" person as he. Heaven help us!
36
James Gilligan is clinical professor of psychiatry & adjunct professor of law at New York University. He is a renowned violence studies expert and has served as director of mental health services for the Massachusetts prisons and prison mental hospital, president of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy.
“If psychiatrists with decades of experience doing research on violent offenders do not confirm the validity of the conclusion that many nonpsychiatrists have reached, that Trump is extremely dangerous—indeed, by far the most dangerous of any president in our lifetimes—then we are not behaving with appropriate professional restraint and discipline.However, while all psychiatrists, by definition, have studied mental illness, most have not specialized in studying the causes, consequences, prediction and prevention of violence. That is why it is so important for those few of us who have done so to warn the potential victims, in the interests of public health, when we identify signs and symptoms that indicate that someone is dangerous to the public health.... If we are silent about the numerous ways in which Trump has repeatedly threatened violence, we are passively supporting and enabling the dangerous and naïve mistake of treating him as if he were a “normal” president or a “normal” political leader. He is not, and it is our duty to say so.”
74
trxmp and the right wing in general are practiced in the art of projection. Whatever they do that's wrong or bad they claim it's actually the other side that does it. That's been a tactic for years and it works and they're not going to stop because they have no sense of decency, only a gnawing hunger for power.
When the guy says stuff like “I just feel like a young man. I’m so young. I can’t believe it.” That is so cringe-worthy and bizarre, but he talks of himself like that all the time. The poor man can't help himself, of course, but that's all the more reason to worry. He's just creepy.
32
When you hear Mr. Trump question Mr. Biden’s health, just remind yourself of how the president looked in his formal attire with Queen Elizabeth.
He was not the picture of health.
78
Even the most casual observation indicates that Trump is morbidly obese. His obesity is affecting his stamina and cardio pulmonary system as evidenced by his need to use a golf cart for all but the shortest distances.
33
I think the base feels they have been lied to all along so why not this guy Trump who can lie 'better' than all of them? It gives the base, many of whom are otherwise powerless, some sense of power. We'll see what happens as Trump's policies begin to eat into what were healthy economic segments.
9
Romney will be the GOP candidate in 2020.
5
@northlander: With Nikky Haley as his running mate, or the other way around...
I am seventy-seven and I forget a bunch of things. Unfortunately, I cannot forget that this guy is president.
112
The NYT's should get a Pulitzer for this top notch story.
8
This is not a story, but rather an opinion piece. We all, as Americans and voters, should strive to recognize the difference.
10
The Democratic Party has done more damage to Joe Biden than Trump ever will. The Democratic Party has alienated white, working-class, Christian, men. I see no chance of Joe Biden winning, because Democrats just aren’t excited enough about him.
4
Your comment is loaded with implied bigotry. If, as you say, the Dems have alienated white, christian men, it is most likely because white, christian men aren't real supportive of the rest of us, i.e., those who are not white, christian men. They can stay alienated, as far as I'm concerned
1
@Mark: And what has the Republican Party done for white working-class men, Christian or not?
Trump tells us exactly who and what he is through his projections. Just follow the projections and you'll know the man. Fake, crazy, sleepy, nervous, little, etc., etc., etc., he's telling us precisely who he is.
32
Don’t forget low IQ . . .
22
I want to know what's wrong with Donald Trump. (Beyond the obvious temperament problems.) Doctors lie about his weight in a manner any observer can see. The man can't complete a coherent sentence or read anything more challenging than a "Dick and Jane" book.
What's wrong with the man?
47
@Cfiverson Easy to say what's wrong but the real question/s might be what is right with the man and what is wrong with the people who voted for him and continue to blindly support him?
2
VOTERS are what's wrong. Complacent, passive.
1
Rumours abound, many believe, word on the street, lots of phone calls, thousands wondering - Presidential Down Time. What does he do. The latest is that he locks himself in his solitary bedroom and gets out his army toys. Soldiers, sailors, fly boys. Then tanks, jet planes, etc. Plays war games on the top of his single bed. Aides actually hear him shouting out commands. Some trying to figure out why he daily sneaks a supply of plastic straws from the lunch and dinner table. Never to be seen again. The mystery is beginning to unravel.
9
Biden might not know it, Trump does not know it, but Biden stands tall before the Great Intelligence that created this more than 52 trillion galaxy Universe. Biden, go! Go with pride.
7
"He’s a pot for whom calling the kettle black isn’t miscue but reflex, an attempt to make voters believe that he must not be a pot at all, not if he’s talking this way, so maybe he’s a waffle iron." Thanks, I really enjoyed that!
10
Trump's M.O. is a one-trick pony: it's called projection. Every attack he throws is not only a description of himself, but it goes further: the attack that he lobs at the Other is a description of himself that the opponent hasn't even broached yet. Trump gets there first. Meghan Markle said he was devisive; Trump said she was nasty. Now, which of the two is nasty? Trump says, "I don't work for the Russians", when no one ever put it that explicitly before. You want to know exactly what he's really doing? Listen to the mudslinging and denials- that's who he is and what he does.
23
Wait for the lying Trump campaign to release fake, doctored videos purportedly showing a flagging Joe Biden, like the ones that Trump supporters created against Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. The Trump campaign will have to lie. It has nothing positive to sell Individual 1 to voters.
13
Trump's continued attacks on those who seek to oppose him amount to nothing less than workplace harassment. Consider Trump's personal attacks against opponents: Speaker Pelosi, "she's a disaster;" Vice President Biden, "...a low IQ individual;" Senator Warren, "Pocahontas..." and more. According to the EEOC: "Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA)...Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.... Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; ... Offensive conduct may include...offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs...." As the employer, isn't the Federal Government responsible for disciplining or terminating the offending employee (i.e. the President)? Does Trump's harassing behavior, left unchecked, make the government vulnerable legally? View entire statement on harassment at https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/harassment.cfm.
8
I think being a bully is a very healthy way to live and succeed! You probably feel the guilt when you are at the death bed but who cares. For 90+ years you have led a kings life!
You are confusing health with sociopathic aggression.
12
it’s comical that 45 of all people comments on anyone’s as health as he is hardly the beacon of excellent health he looks unhealthy and should be in memory care somewhere
10
I’ve not laughed so hard in so.....long!
All was said...
All that’s needed....
All of the most weak minded, ethically void, mentally empty identified! All the Fox News In totality.
Love this...
2
Commenters, bloggers, opinion columnist, news anchors, my neighbors say there's some thing wrong with Trump all the time. And its that something wrong with him mentally.
13
How can we be sure Trump isn’t already dead....I think he is a rogue automaton escaped from Disney.
10
Who can stay awake while sleepy Joe meanders through a speech?
3
Actually, Biden wasn't "meandering through" his speech in Iowa today. He was vigorous and animated and doing just fine.
14
Sorry Frank. The word isn't "sick." It's projection.
6
Let's not compare age; let's compare weight and girth. According to many scientific reports, these numbers are perhaps more meaningful to longevity and mental capacity than is chronology. The difference between trump's and Biden's age is 3+ years; the difference in poundage is significant (whether or trump physician-reported weight is, or was, accurate).
As long as trump chooses to use numbers to disparage his opponents' stamina, weight is at least as relevant as age. In terms of a candidate's health status and capacity to serve and complete a term or two, weight and BMI are at least as important as age.
Yes, it's a weighty issue.
9
Joe Biden should send Trump a thank you gift, maybe a box of Big Macs. He is feeding the narrative that is central to Biden's campaign - that he is the one who can unseat a president that much of the country loathes. All the polling among Dems shows that electability is more important than any policy point. Trump's incessant attacks on the Vice President, puerile though they may be, show that Biden has gotten under that very thin skin. In a field of 23 candidates, this sets Biden uniquely apart and demonstrates the potency of his candidacy. Keep calling him names, Mr. President. You are greasing the skids toward his nomination.
12
With Trump, and in fact with many Republicans, the attacks are all about projection.
Accuse Democrats of working with Russians, claim Democrats are engaging in voter fraud, decry deficits and then let tax cuts fly.
It's a Karl Rove special; recall that because Bush was weak on warrior and faked his Vietnam service, Rove launched the Swift Boaters and the GOP attacked John Kerry for his purple hearts, Bronze and Silver Stars.
They protect their own weak points by attacking rivals on the same issue.
19
How can 40% of the populace support an infantile bully? It’s understandable that one man can be abhorrent and grotesque, but millions of supporters enabling him? We understand the Republicans’ support- spineless opportunists afraid of losing their jobs, but not the “base”. Who are these people?
42
I think you used the perfect word for what Trump is doing, and for him overall. I always think of him as the biggest charlatan of our generation, but he is also such a "Nasty man".
11
Maybe Biden should use Trump’s physicians.
Get a quick clean bill of health.
8
Hilarious---after all of the insults and calumnies directed against Trump, to criticize him for the Biden comments.
That is truly sick.
3
"You're the puppet." It is textbook gaslighting.
11
Forget the odious Trump.
Joe Biden is living in a schmoozy squinty-eyed yesteryear, on autopilot.
5
With all due respect to Rich D: How can you possibly know what most Americans know and don't know? As for Biden's comment on Trump as an existential threat, he is truthful and accurate, which are two qualities no one can attribute the orange blowhard who currently besmirches the presidency. I will take truthful and accurate over loud and obnoxious every time.
8
@Gene
Someone needs to explain existential to trump
7
@Gene. Joe doesn’t even know what existential threat means. He’s just reading a piece of paper .
Biden with Mayor Pete as running mate. Mayor Pete is elected after four corrective years with Biden in office. Why not? Four years with a nut job in office proved that anything is possible.
10
He may not like CA but he sure has taken a page from the Valley Girl playbook.
5
Trump learned early on that speech is propaganda and that the principal objective in life is to win--rather than lead. Hence the unending stream of vitriol and verbal abuse.
It is difficult to understand, however, why Trump has not experienced greater repercussions for his chronic lying--irrefutably demonstrated via videotape evidence.
The short answer is Republican cowardice and complicity.
As others have commented, Trump may be struggling with more serious underlying psychiatric issues, including the onset of dementia and Alzheimer's.
It is no small irony that Trump's Presidential role model is Ronald Reagan, who exhibited noticeable symptoms of Alzheimer's during his second term.
This is a serious issue that requires Congressional scrutiny, although neutrality and impartiality are probably unachievable in the current political climate.
As for Biden, he does come across differently. His handlers have obviously suggested that he needs to minimize his verbal gaffes and restrain his physical ebullience. Biden is behaving much more circumspectly and is less voluble--to minimize error--which he can afford to do as the Democratic front-runner.
He does appear a little more fragile.
Perhaps he is considering Andrew Gillum as a running mate, to resuscitate his glory years with Obama.
2
I am more concerned about the "sane" people surrounding
Trump.
This president is just the front and that's the scariest part.
14
Trump is being Trump. Conservative echo chambers are echoing for him. Sickening. Not new. Trump is sowing doubt. It mustn't get out of hand. I'm concerned about Biden's response. It will be measured by all those voters well aware of his age and open to having doubt. How much fight and vitality remain in the man? Show us, Joe.
3
This is primal politics 101. We hate Trump so we pour it on. He conveys strength and vigor to his supporters. A political scientist who spends months every year teaching in Moscow predicted Trump’s 2016 victory. All he did was turn off the sound during the debates with Hillary. For the Russian students it was obvious that Trump was much more appealing and comfortable in his skin, regardless of how much rational, educated people see him. The Democrats badly need a “Trumpian” figure to stir the crowd.
2
It reminds me of something my Grandmother used to say about ' The Kettle Calling The Pot Black'.
In all serious though the Speaker was right in calling for a family member to intervene.
6
@Brit. I wish her family would intervene with her while we cart them back and forth to California.
As a long time nurse, I mention that describing symptoms and signs that a person openly presents , as this essay does in the first two paragraphs, is not in any way making a diagnosis. In medicalese it's called assessing. In common English, it's just reporting what's obvious.
10
Make that seventy-three. Trump was born on June 14, 1946: Three days from now he will be 73 years old.
2
Trump is 72 years old. I don't care how "healthy" his wacko personal physician says he is. Trump eats like a teenager, does not exercise, and is noticeably overweight. He has to be suffering from high blood pressure at the very least.
I would not be surprised if a heart attack or a stroke punches his ticket long before the 2020 election or any impeachment inquiry. (His word-salad rhetoric makes me wonder if he's already HAD a stroke, and that his administration is covering for him.)
Campaigning back-and-forth across the United States is stressful enough. Trump will need a squadron of EMTs and trauma surgeons aboard Air Force One throughout the next campaign. He certainly has no right to question Joe Biden's health.
14
If Trump wants to go to the health of candidates, BRING IT ON. This man has personality disorders that are obvious and his mental illness is becoming more and more obvious. Yes. BRING IT ON!
13
@John. So anyone who disagrees with you has a personality disorder?
2
One point that is being made repeatedly in this set of comments is the risk of electing someone in their ‘70’s to the presidency. This certainly could explain some of our current president’s ill-mannered behavior and his tendency to make irrational decisions while providing little or no accompanying reasoning.
However, before 01/20/2017 Donald Trump never held an elected office. He had no governmental experience of any kind. His lack of appropriate experience has very likely played a major role in shaping his chaotic behavior over the past 2 1/2 years.
People, even senior citizens, who have a successful record in an executive governmental post or as a senator or congressman/woman, are much more likely to do a good job as president than those who lack these credentials.
70 w/ NO governmental experience = Trump
70 w/ governmental experience = Biden, Sanders, Warren.
Comparing Trump to these three Democrats, based on age alone, provides a very limited picture.
10
Well, it has been said that Mr. Trump has a tendency to ascribe his personal failings to others. (While never acknowledging those failings in the first place).
14
It may turn out that Biden is just the rabbit and Trump chases and focuses on the wrong challenger.
In the meantime, Senator Warren, or Mayor Pete, or others will start carving him up, and there is a lot to carve.
19
All on point but you could have added a few lines from Trump’s stream of utterances at press conferences. The man can’t string together two sentences without mangling the words, thoughts, and well...not so many ideas.
13
I am hoping someone runs adds with the picture of Trump coloring the flag. Perhaps the photo of Trump staring at the solar eclipse, shades in hand.
That said, they are both to old and we need a younger candidate for comparison.
5
I dont think Trump knows any fear. If you are not embarrassed by simple social goofups, then how can you fear anything? Of the four emotions , I have never seen happiness or even a genuine smile. I have only seen anger. Trump expresses anger at Joe because he was so close to Obama. crazy? yes just like Trump.
27
They say anger is caused by fear.
8
Here we go, again, with Trump's illusion of truth by insinuation that will be repeated again and again - until it becomes his version of fact. He attempts to hypnotize the public with untruths. No collusion! No collusion! No obstruction! No obstruction! Sorry, Mr. Trump, in your own words, you're a "loser" and we're on to you - and you will lose "biggily" in 2020 no matter what illnesses you create for Democratic candidates. You, unfortunately, have spread a very "bad" sickness upon the American public in trying to thwart the rule of law and crush democracy. But we have an antidote, and you will soon feel the sting of one big needle in November 2020. And that will send you runnin' back to Mar-A-Lago to lick your wounds on the golf course.
6
Isn’t it slightly hypocritical to criticize President Trump for questioning the health of Vice President Biden when the media has openly questioned President Trump’s mental state? It is this that just turns people against politics. I do t recall an essay from Mr. Bruni castigating those who slandered President Trump - what is fair, is fair.
3
@Marty
One big difference - there's no evidence Biden has any health problems. Trump's mental confusion and massive narcissism are on display hourly.
19
This just in: a) Trump’s said far worse than he’s gotten thrown at him, and b) why yes, it DOES make a diff when it’s the President shooting his fat mouth off.
10
@Marty: Trump gives ample reasons to question his mental state - telling whopping lies and then denying he told them while he told them publicly, his lack of language and spelling skills, his juvenile name-calling, his total inability to focus on anything for more than a few seconds, his obsessive grudges against critics. Not just a temporary indisposition as with Hillary Clinton when she stumbled once after a grueling day, that was immediately "trumped up" to a serious incapacitating condition by the Trumpsters. No, we can witness Trump's deteriorating mental health status on a daily basis. Several observers who knew him from the past noticed his loss of language abilities, always an ominous sign that warrants a thorough check-up. Maybe he lies so much and then denies he lied because he cannot remember what he said just a short time before, or because he's been a compulsive liar all his life, not a good sign of mental functioning either way. Trumps health concerns are based on observable and consistent odd behavior, not on a partisan interpretation of a short moment of indisposition. It's simply not the same. And we also know that Trump engages in projection, accusing his perceived "enemies" of that which he is "guilty" of himself, including health problems.
12
As Dana Carvey pointed out, Trump is a "Marmalade mountain of a man ... " and yet he is casting health aspersions at everyone who would dare to oppose him. Trump even had to have his official height adjusted upwards from 6'2" to 6"3" in order to avoid the category of "obese" in body fat rankings. And he would much rather ride in a golf cart than walk.
Who is he to comment on people's health?
29
Well, this little problem can be solved if Biden makes Buttigieg his running mate.
14
Shut your eyes when you listen to Trump's next speech / rally / news conference. See if you can tell what he is talking about and what his point is.
Then turn off the sound the next time a rally is televised and watch him in action.
Frightened yet?
35
Outstanding, Frank. Please, America, remove this man from office. Please.
19
Mr. Bruni this is an opinion piece that I really enjoyed. #DumpTrump2020
10
Trump and the people in his orbit have the Goebbels like mastery of taking some manufactured chink in the armor of an opponent and chipping away at it with his pals like Hannity and Limbaugh until the big lie has not only taken root but can be quoted chapter and verse by their audiences. Biden as a candidate does have some problems, but if he doesn't counter Trump's ability to diminish opponents that he and Fox have put in the cross hairs he will have even Democrats doubting the wisdom of any Biden candidacy. There is an easy solution that would counter the Trump/Fox nonsense propaganda that Biden won't be able to stand up to the role, negotiate his VP pick right now with a young VP that puts them on a potential 12 year leadership run (one term for Biden and two terms for his VP). My suggestion for VP would be Tulsi Gabbard whose military service record and quickness on her feet would severely silence criticism of the ticket from the chickenhawks or Fox News. As a team, that ticket would pull in Biden's traditional supporters, progressives, and likely pull in a large number of others voters from places that traditional political strategists would have a hard time getting their head wrapped around. Those other voters of all stripes could be categorized as people who admire personal courage, which we haven't seen a lot of from either party in a long time.
7
When it comes to claiming that Joe Biden is not well, Trump is not just a pot calling the kettle black. He is a mentally ill pot which is under the delusion that it is white, calling the kettle black.
13
Trump lies constantly which is pathological, suffers from malignant narcissism and is obese. A man in this dire condition should not have access to the nuke codes as he finds tariffs and pardons in his tool kit next toy will be nuke threats. Barr wants this man in power like a king and he will be the King's hand all that power his fat head must be exploding.
4
I am willing to bet that if you calculated all of Trump’s “executive time” ,added his golf time,added his partying at his golf retreats, and also added in his phone time with chums plus the time he sends “tweeting”you would come up with just a couple of hours a day spent governing.Trump is lazy and self centered.He is in his dotage,contrary to what he says.
38
Donald Trump cannot walk half a mile without rest or aid:
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/335424-trump-rode-golf-cart-while-g7-leaders-walked-through-siciliy
14
...........and just look at Biden's hair - it's all grey and his hairline
is traveling north. Why doesn't trump poke some nasty fun at Biden's hair, and his unsightly paunch? Go for it, Donnie.
1
The liar-in-chief is sick in the head and should be removed immediately by the House of Representatives as a matter of national security.
9
trump is a cancer on our nation.
He isn’t acting alone, but the illness is apparent. Nuclear codes- anyone?
Frightening.
12
Have you learnt nothing from the years of the porn star president
He speaks with two intents - to shock and divide
Why the surprise?
5
This proves that Frank Bruni is no hack writer. I knew it all along.
His restaurant recommendations and his observations of the round guy in the oval office are right on!
4
If Trump says something stupid and no one writes about it, has he made a sound. Let's find out.
11
I will take a dead candidate over Trump. A corpse would have more integrity and humanity.
24
And a dead man tells no LIES
11
Fibbin' Trump or Lyin' Trump or Thievin' Trump or Stealin' Trump or Fishy Trump. Something should fit to match Sleepy Joe, Crooked Hillary, Liddle Marco, Cryin' Chuck, Lyin' Ted.
2
I have gone through the processes of two degenerative diseases with two family members, and many things tRump does are eerily familiar to me and are getting more frequent. First are his deflections when he can't remember specific names or details. Alzheimers and dementia patients are surprisingly adept at this, and for at least the last seven months every time tRump speaks without a script he either makes weird errors (Tim Apple) or he changes the subject to something outrageous or simply makes something up so you don't notice his memory loss. Second are his tantrums and red-faced rages. When people are losing their memory and they honestly don't know what's going on, they feel terribly vulnerable, and some handle it by attacking and acting out, thus regaining "control" of the situation by becoming the driver of everyone's emotions. Third, he lives more and more in the past. Memory loss in many cases is of short-term memory, thus of recent things. The long-term memories can be in surprisingly good shape, so the person is on firm ground there, repeating long-held ideas, like tRump with his tariffs, a pet peeve he's been misunderstanding for at least 25 years.
If he were forced to go to an ethical doctor or if his family gave a darn about him, he would be diagnosed with some nameable form of memory loss by now.
28
''When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.'' - Sun Tzu
This President (man) extends compliments ONLY when it is in the act of subterfuge, or in want of something (everything) in return. How many times has he complimented his OWN STAFF within his administration, to only demean them in public when they have served their purpose or gone against him? (if only in his own mind)
He only knows how to put down people in attack, and cannot ''debate'' anything on their own merits, or be sincere in understanding any truths.
Any Democratic candidate need only fight (and win easily) on any ground that is not predetermined by the President.
4
Too bad Norman Lear is no longer around to cast about for some dotard neighbor of Archie Bunker to fight with. That would be entertainment. And then we can install someone in the WH, like Elizabeth Warren, who's meanwhile thinking about serious policy issues.
6
Are the gloves now off ? Since HE is allowed to insinuate any number of Medical maladies for any perceived enemies
(i.e. political competition) May we return the favor ??? In my wildest nightmares I would never, ever, wish to view him nude. Therefore, despite the wardrobe tailored by Omar the Tent Maker, I estimate his weight at 280 to 290 pounds. All the girdles, corsets and engineered tuxedo vests can’t hide that belly. Or the three chins. No, I’m absolutely NOT fat shaming. I’m merely expressing concern for his health. I’m WORRIED about Him. Right ?????
16
I would bet that former VP Biden has a more nutritious diet than trump. Biden certainly could wear a tux in better form than the obese trump did in the UK. trump shouldn't be throwing stones from his glass house.
9
@Rebecca
"Trump" is capitalized...show some respect...if not for the man, how about your country and the office of President.
1
I have never capitalized the man's name because he is not worthy of anyone's respect. As for the presidency, it's a job, period. Respecting a job or an office (or some cloth or a song) is just plain stupid--especially when the current occupant of that office disrespects it himself on a daily basis. We need to stop talking about respect for objects & symbols & focus on making what they represent reality for everyone. We certainly can't make any progress in that regard with the oval orange one in the Oval Office.
2
Just remember: Trump's base loves that he is a bully. They are bullies.
To them, "ridicule" is the pinnacle of argument.
It's really all they got.
30
I think you're on to something, Frank.
Fox has taken over for the National Enquirer as Trump's cheering/sabotage section, but it's hard to build him into a higher pile of garbage than he already is, so they have to concentrate on stealth-attacking everyone else. But let's stick with Trump for the moment.
Trump. The "stable genius" with the "very good brain" who confused 911 and 7 Eleven. The semi-literate oaf who can't read off a teleprompter. The guy who mixed up North Korea and South Korea, and babbled some weird stuff about Earth's moon being part of Mars. Then again, he lied about where his father was born so maybe geography isn't his thing. Or maybe his mind is going. And what about the "oranges" of the Mueller investigation? It goes on and on.
Not only can he not think clearly, he wanders around like a dementia patient, losing limos and aircraft and — heaven help us — kicking golf balls. He has even been known to have trouble signing his own name.
As I said, I think you're on to something, Frank. Let's spread the word.
13
May be only thing wrong with this president is that he is tweeting all night long and falls sleep during the day. Regan slept in front of the everyone. Trump, probably snores a lot due to the obesity and is told to go to his bedroom for frequent naps.
3
I think the word for Trump is evil. I am not qualified to say he is mentally sick but I know he is soulless sinful and without any sense of morality. I think the environment he and his allies, promoters and enablers have created is evil. I am tired of trying to understand why Trump behaves the way he does and lies so brazenly and offends our allies and embraces our adversaries. It may sound like an ancient term but it did describe Hitler and Stalin and others quite adequately. And so at this point I have decided bottom line - Trump is evil.
8
My husband thinksTrump suffers from dementia.
3
People who suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, like Trump, very frequently project their own insecurities and deficits onto others. Bruni is right, sick is the word. The President of the US has a serious mental illness and US citizens have to live in the pathological space he creates and inhabits. This is definitely not fun.
8
Whatever names Donald calls anyone, his compulsive lying shows that he is indeed pathological.
6
What Trump and his minions do to falsely manufacture negative health stories about his political opponents is, indeed, sick. But one of the reasons I liked Joe Biden is because I thought he was a guy who would take the gloves off and give it better than he was taking it from Trump. A speech wherein Biden simply calls Trump "an existential threat to America" is not going to work. Most Americans don't even know what the word "existential" means. The mantra of the last election for Democrats, courtesy of Michelle Obama, that "when they go low, we go high" didn't work then and it will not work now. Trump is a merciless puncher and counterpuncher with his opponents. It should not be this way in politics for the highest office in the land, but if Trump does not meet his match in a Democratic contender, the Democrats will lose the election. We need a tough as nails street fighter to take the battle to Trump. We do not need someone who thinks they can simply float above it all. We tried that and it didn't work.
585
@Rich D
Biden comports himself with dignity. People respond to dignity.
66
@Rich D
And a speech where Biden states that he would 'skip the (presumably his own) inauguration' in favor of attending his daughter's birthday party does nothing to inspire confidence in Biden's enthusiasm for running in the first place . . .
If that's really how you feel, Mr. Biden (and as they say, when people tell you who they are, believe them), then you should simply Bow Out and leave the field open to the many accomplished and competent Democratic candidates who would most assuredly be present for their own inauguration. Birthday parties can always be, and often are for much lesser reasons, rescheduled !
40
@Rich D
Kamala Harris
31
Sick is as sick does, Donald.
trump has one thing going for him, the man has no Conscience, never regrets any lies he says . Never ever extends a hand to help a single soul .
Joe Biden is always known to be a compassionate man irrespective of his political affiliation.
If Joe Biden wins the nomination I will be happy to vote for him or any other candidate for that matter.
trump is malignant for the Country to the World .
Just hope some democrats beats him in 2020 .
History will not be kind to trump.
6
"........at one memorable summit meeting in Sicily, rode around in a golf cart while his European peers walked."
Lets not forget the bone spurs that disabled him to such an extent that he was unable to serve. I am suspecting that he is suffering from a relapse. Before you know it, he may soon be bedridden.
5
I notice every time Trump speaks from the teleprompter he sounds drained and exhausted as if short of breath. This was evident most recently at the D-Day speech in France.
I think a great com back for Biden might be that if he appears distracted when he speaks it is because he is thinking about his son, Beau, and how his son's ability to continue to serve his nation in uniform and out was cut so tragically short.
1
@Paul
Short of breath - maybe. I just think he sounds bored and uninterested in what he's saying. He's only engaged when he's talking about himself. When he has to say anything of substance about any other topic, someone else wrote the words and usually he could care less. I don't know if it's unintentional or if he is actually trying to communicate to his base that none of this cgverning stuff rap interests him at all.
3
My issue is that I live in a nation where there are millions of people who appear not to be troubled by Trump's behavior. He stands in opposition to every lesson about behavior that I (and most people I know) teach my children.
For all of my problems with his policy stances, my greatest problem is with him just being a horrible human being who is clearly very mentally ill. And he is the President of the United States, so this does harm to all of us, not just those who have the misfortune of doing business with him.
23
This is the same thing the republicans did with Sec. Clinton in 2016.
6
If trump truly thought anything was wrong with Joe, he’d say nothing about it and hope Biden was the democratic nominee. I only hope his base- and anyone else dumb enough to believe his lies - knows he’s lying.
I like Biden. I like Mayor Pete. Honestly, the most important qualification I’m looking for is: can he or she beat trump? That’s all I care about.
7
@Sesop
Agreed. Except that no, his base ISN'T smart enough to figure that out.
3
Trump falsely insinuating that Joe Biden is not well is not any sicker than Trump falsely claiming that he was "exonerated" by Robert Mueller, falsely claiming that President Obama was born outside the United States, or telling any of the other +10,000 lies he has told since he took office. And there is no need to play tit for tat by making observations about signs that Trump may be physically ill. Trump's obvious mental illness speaks for itself.
4
Trying to figure out what Trump meant when he said of Biden “I think he’s the weakest mentally,” and added, I like running against people who are weak mentally.
Once the bully, always the bully? Gives me a chance to win? I'm a good rememberer of a idea that won for me?
1
''When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.'' - Sun Tzu
This President (man) extends compliments ONLY when it is in the act of subterfuge, or in want of something (everything) in return. How many times has he complimented his OWN STAFF within his administration, to only butcher them in public when they have served their purpose or gone against him? (if only in his own mind)
He only knows how to demean in attack, and cannot ''debate'' anything on their own merits, or be sincere in understanding any truths.
Any Democratic candidate need only fight (and win easily) on any ground that is not predetermined by the President.
1
What's going on with Donald Trump's mind and body? Your observations on Trump's bizarre physical and mental condition and his "medical malice" hit the nail on the head, Frank.
Biden is "mentally weak", "Nasty Nancy" is "a disaster, a vindictive horrible person". Etcetera ad nauseum. When have we ever heard any previous American President speak in public denigrating lawmakers from the Democratic Party? Praising our enemies and disdaining our allies? Never is when.
Isn't it high time for some guys in white coats to snatch Mr. Trump as he wends his lone way from the Oval to the helicopter sward? As he makes ready to attack the "fake news" press waiting for him as he leaves Washington for other cities where he will rant to his base and enablers?
Can't anyone hide Donald Trump's long, long red tie that covers his avoirdupois so poorly? His press-conferences are now on the White House driveway. We witness the loud cacophany -- the jostling scrum of desperate reporters asking quetions over the sound of helicopter engines and the president's hysterical voice.
Maybe Trump is turning the White House Press Room back into his swimming pool. Nixon turned it from the pool to the press room in 1969. What goes around comes around
2
"You have to hand it to Trump. He’s a pot for whom calling the kettle black isn’t miscue but reflex...."
It's not a bug, it's a feature. His supporters lap it up like he's the newest iPhone.
Ever notice how Trump's name-calling and insults are exactly like those of a lunchroom bully, holding forth for a table of schoolboy admirers? It's all so nauseating. His base has to develop some introspection.
I know some backwoods Trump supporters. Get them alone and confront them - diplomatically - on this dynamic and (IF they are alone) most admit it's childish, insensitive and besides the point.
In the upcoming election, part of what we need to push is the idea that America at its best is a place where we treat each other decently.
That is the heart of our heartland, not this puerile hate-radio jeering.
2
The "stable genius" is neither.
3
They are both too old to be President of the United States. They are there though because they are both puppets. Can't have a young, vibrant, smart, well-educated, person running or holding the office...
1
Trump demonstrated his failing mental acuity (if there was any to begin with) during the 2017 debate on the upcoming healthcare vote in the United States Senate. He was interviewed in the Oval Office by the New York Times. Everybody on Team Trump was depending on him to use all the persuasive power of his office to get the Senate vote. With everything for his side at stake, on the primary and most important vow of his campaign, on the issue that more than any other had galvanized his supporters, Trump demonstrated that hadn't the first clue about the difference between health insurance and life insurance.
HABERMAN [for the N.Y. Times]:: That’s been the thing for four years. When you win an entitlement, you can’t take it back.
TRUMP: But what it does, Maggie, it means it gets tougher and tougher. As they get something, it gets tougher. Because politically, you can’t give it away. So pre-existing conditions are a tough deal. Because you are basically saying from the moment the insurance, you’re 21 years old, you start working and you’re paying $12 a year for insurance, and by the time you’re 70, you get a nice plan. Here’s something where you walk up and say, ‘I want my insurance.’ It’s a very tough deal, but it is something that we’re doing a good job of.
I can't fathom how Team Trump must have felt to look at the goalposts, to see the winning points within reach, and to realize their captain thought he was at a basketball game. Maybe it didn't bother them.
4
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Trump has a type of aphasia. Notice how he frequently repeats himself, changing only a word or the emphasis in the second iteration. This is indicative of aphasia.
4
@Taz: He also often does not complete his sentences, and seems to completely lose his train of thought., and switch to another topic. The healthiest President in the history of our great nation!
4
And this is our president. Instead of spending time solving our nation's problems, he uses Twitter to attack and demean not just his political opponents, but...Bette Midler.
His supporters eat it up. He's that guy at the end of the bar, so naughtily non-PC, getting everyone to yuk it up about their mutual enemies. Elevated to the arena stage, giving them permission to be equally vile and petty, yelling "lock her up," cocooned in the safety of the like-minded.
Lowering the national discourse to this level may not be the worst thing he's done, but it's the most telling. He's petty and bullying, hypocritical and small-minded. And his name-calling shows that, every day.
11
Trump has one playbook. He used it with his “business” career, with Obama and with Hillary and it got him to where he is today. In his playbook, Trump is the brilliant, strong leader and everyone else is weak, dumb and sick, attacks he repeats over and over. Just like with a football play, if the other team can’t stop a play, keep running it until they can stop it. And there is a sizable chunk of the American population eats up his disgusting strategy. It’s up to the rest of us to ignore the Liar in Chief and do our duty and vote.
4
As found in Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, "that's the way things go when you elevate mediocre people to positions of authority."
9
The ageism in these comments is really pathetic. This is the only
country in which ageist beliefs are predominant. Take a look at history and then evaluate whether or not those with the wisdom of our elders is valuable. However, Trump doesn’t fall into the wisdom category. There’s always a flaw.
1
@Judith Guertin
The point is Trump is insulting Biden on the basis of age, but he's on shaky ground criticizing anyone for age-related decrepitude given his own obvious … health problems, to put it far more kindly than he deserves.
Regarding Trump's lack of fitness, let's not forget he demonstrated recently in Japan that he's unable to sit cross-legged. Japanese will likely be laughing for years about the American President who had a chair brought to watch sumo wrestling.
3
Much hand-wringing. Yet, we knew Trump had zero character, zero integrity, near-zero honesty, and zero ethics in 2015-16. Those of us who had the misfortune to view his career from time to time knew these things about him since sometime in the 1980s.
Liars lie. Cheaters cheat. Clowns bloviate. Deranged people make up stuff that seems like "facts" to them. Narcissists just serve themselves. And immoral people act unethically. It's what Trump does. It's what so many deluded people actually like about him.
We are where we are, knowingly. So he uses more of his 3rd grade schoolyard name-calling on Biden? Big deal. That people (including voters, politicians, farmers, military and police officers, workers, and pundits) would support such a heinous, ridiculous buffoon is the true disgrace.
10
I do notice that Trump is obese. Might herald heart disease. But it could also be the nicest thing about him.
2
Trump has all the appearance of a man suffering from dementia. He can’t remember anything. He says bizarre stuff. He rambles. He makes no sense. He repeats blatant lies even after they are disproved.
Alternatively Trump is a truthless Con man.
Surely one of these two explains it?
3
@Demosthenes
I honestly don't think it's dementia. I think it's simple incompetence. He says bizarre stuff and rambles because he has no idea what he's talking about and has no knowledge or qualifications to do the job he's pretending to do.
Not "sick," just plain mean. Trump is a nasty, mean, evil, person. Nothing complicated about it.
13
People are talking about Trump's bouts of dementia.
His aides have been able to hide it but the European heads of state know as does China and North Korea.
10
I resided in Easton, PA for a few years. Every American town has some claim to fame. One of Easton’s is that it’s the home town of the Easton Assassin — Larry Holmes, former heavyweight boxing world champion.
Mr. Holmes was not only a great boxer, he is a great man. Larry Holmes came on the television one day with a truly inspirational offer. (I paraphrase from memory.
“Hi. I’m Larry Holmes. You might remember me from the time I spent in the ring, but one thing you probably don’t know about me is that I don’t know how to read. But I’m going to learn
“If you’re like me, if you can’t read, I’d like you to COME LEARN TO READ WITH LARRY HOLMES. Maybe we can help each other out and learn to read together.”
What a classy guy. Larry is aces in my book.
I brought this up, because, for all of his unpresidential flaws, President Trump is in a position to make similarly magnanimous offers.
“All I can do is agressively campaign. I have no idea what else the POTUS is supposed to do. If you’re as confused as I am, Come Learn What a Real President Does With Don Trump.”
“If you’ve never read the constitution, Let’s Read It Together for the first time.”
“I’d like to quit bullying people and calling them names. You in the same boat? Let’s Learn Manners Together.”
“I’m Donald Trump. I can’t pass a 7th grade test on American History. C’mon! Learn basic social studies with a president.”
The possibilities are endless. And starting one of these programs could score DT a genuine 1st term victory.
7
Nearly ANY corpse would be preferable to Donald Trump.
6
Trump looks like a man about ten seconds away from a heart attack.
9
If it is Biden vs. Trump I think Trump's attacks on Biden fail when they are on stage together. People are going to see Trump picking on an old person and they will hopefully have the decency awakened in them, if they have any left, which I'm not sure about since they voted for World's Biggest Liar in the first place.
3
Here in New England, we often talk about a person exhibiting possible signs of dementia as "talking ragtime" and Herr Trump certainly aces ragtime with a capital A!
4
Joe Biden may be 4 years older than Trump but Trump has 4 more chins than he does, so they're even. As you suggest these messages skip over any analysis or counter argument and implant themselves right into the Right's brain stem. This is why it's important for us to stress how insulted they should be. A lot was made in the last election about "Coastal Liberal Elites" enraging the "Right Rural Bumpkins" by calling them stupid. That was, supposedly, a sensitive spot. Why then do they let Trump treat them like they're stupid? The only way he gets the courage and the leeway to lie over ten thousand times is if he is sure his followers are too stupid to notice, retain or care about his deceptions. My Trump loving Mom asked me directly if I thought she was stupid and I was honest with her when I said "I don't think your stupid, but he does, and you keep accommodating him by acting accordingly."
11
Well ain't that the pot calling the kettle black.
Good to see you back, full of vim and vigor, unlike our president who lacks any vim [whatever that is] and is only full of vinegar.
Seriously, the points you make to start off with are very important. The president lies, simply whatever is top of mind, says it thinking that no one cares or will check in to what he claims. That he still does this speaks to his creeping dementia...so I'm told.
2
Everyone knows geniuses can’t form coherent sentences, as for the golf cart...must be the bone spurs acting up. Good to hear from you again Frank.
2
It's called projection and it's a standard Republican tactic. They do bad stuff and then accuse their opponent of doing the bad stuff which the opponent doesn't do.
Republicans say the most vicious, racist things that help to motivate lunatics into violence then blame peaceful protestors when they get run over and killed at a rally. Trump tells people to punch others in the face and then have a fit when a college student throws a blow at a neo-Nazi. Obama was born where?
Trump tells blatant lies all day long and then condemns this paper if they misquote a few words. Trump tells us that China pays his tariffs when we do. Trump says he is for women's rights just so long as he gets to grab what he wants, when he wants and deny them reproductive freedom.
I could go on and on. This latest escapade into Biden's health is really small potatoes for Republican politics. Remember, Hillary killed Kevin Foster. If they could go that far, disparaging Joe Biden's health is nothing for them.
This is just act one. When they get through, Biden will have maimed, murdered, infected, castrated, robbed, enslaved dozens, maybe hundreds!
Freedom of speech. These people and Trump hide behind that sacred right to manipulate, no brainwash, millions of people into following him. Why? Because it works. How do I know? Look who is in the White House.
11
"...who needs proof when you have suspicions?"
You have got to be kidding, Frank. So much for being a professional journalist.
1
If this doesn't work, he'll start questioning Biden's birth certificate.
6
Can you spell "channeling McCarthy"? Smear tactics from the master. And today he even had a piece of paper to wave around, insinuating it was a "secret deal", just like McCarthy liked to do , claiming he had a "secret list" of Communist spies in the government. Of course no one ever saw the "list", and no one will ever see the "deal" because neither exist.
McCarthy -- Roy Cohn -- Trump. The evil lives on.
4
Biden is 10 yrs older than I am, too old to be President in my opinion (over 80 in office if he won).
The only thing going for Trump is that he may be too old to do any damage: he's lazy, malnourished, with strange impulses. Thank God he's too stupid to even be a good tyrant. He's just a big baby.
I predict we're going to have much younger President in 2020, maybe even a female, who will hopefully never mention DJT's name. The pendulum went from the young classy Obama to a classless orangutan-man, and it will soon swing back.
2
Trump thought it was a good idea to have unprotected sex with a porn star. He campaigned for years on the sole issue that Obama was born in Kenya. He has gone bankrupt at least 6 times and refused to release his taxes. He thinks origins are oranges. Does this sound like a responsible citizen or an inmate at a Federal penitentiary?
6
All good, but it's low by NYT standards to have this fellow comment on a 72 year old's physical shape. Other than wondering how Bruni will look at 72, even living up to that age is not a bad feat.
2
I'm growing increasingly concerned by Trump's predictable, repetitive, and simplistic behavior that he's actually a robot from a supposedly defunct Soviet lab.
Wouldn't that explain a lot of things?
8
I have degenerative brain disease, and doctors estimate I've lost 30-40 points of IQ. But my verbal/language skills are still higher than Trump's.
33
It's Trumps increasingly slurred speech that concerns me most.
9
Some people say Trump has kidney and heart problems and memory issues. I haven't said it, but some people have. Maybe many people. Who knows? But the president looks and sounds terrible. And we all see it.
36
Over the years, I have noticed that ignorance is confirmed when name-calling replaces normal oratory.
Additionally, the pathological liar in the Oval Office appears to lack the mental capacity to keep track of his prevarications and the pyramid of lies is teetering.
One doesn’t have to be fast or brilliant to be president. We’ve seen all types.
But one who can surround himself/herself with brilliance, as opposed to “the best people”, and can listen to advice and use experience to make decisions, can succeed.
Sure, age has to be considered, but a younger version of the current president would be equally horrible.
14
Trump may be wrong about Biden’s health. He is probably lying about his own health. But imagine what happens if Biden is stricken with a debilitating illness. I have known several people who looked fine one day and were buried in the ground a few weeks later.
1
@Robert Bosch I guess I'm missing your point and why you are singling out Joe Biden. Is it really necessary to point out to you that someone can be stricken with a debilitating illness at any age?
4
We don't need to imagine what would happen. The VP would become President. That's how it works.
2
Joe Biden comes across as a very decent man who is compassionate, cares deeply about the working class and minorities, has advocated for women such as fair pay and the violence against women act, and for the environment (lifetime score of 83% from the League of Conservation Voters).
Trump's ad hominem attacks are tedious and repetitive. They simply mirror what seems to be a diseased mind. In 2016, the Kremlin magnified the attacks on Hillary's health.
Biden would be trustworthy. Unlike McCain, he would choose a competent and impressive vice presidential candidate.
The blue wave must continue.
12
"Trump’s only standards are double ones."
Very well put and great turn of phrase. Thanks!
6
I could while away the hours
Conferrin' with the flowers
Consultin' with the rain
And my head I'd be scratchin'
While my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain
Scarecrow’s song from the wizard of Oz seems appropriate.
8
When Trump was a candidate he had some medical tests and went on the Dr. Oz show to showcase his health. Oz made a quick scan of the single piece of paper that the great man brought with him onstage and declared himself “impressed “ by Trump’s high testosterone level.
This explains a lot...from Trump’s lifelong womanizing, to his Barbie doll hair, to his increasingly uncontrollable aggressiveness. It also offers a clue about how to restrain him.
Propecia, to which Trump is addicted to keep himself from becoming as bald as a billiard ball, is known to have the side effect of increasing testosterone levels.
Cut off his Propecia and, viola!, He will be reduced to the petulant, self-doubting eight-year old he really is.
It’s probably easier to figure out how to ban Propecia than how to indict Trump for his numerous crimes and misdemeanors. Even making the attempt would probably reduce Trump to pathetic impotence; and it might save the Republic in the process.
6
Went to the Native Indian Museum near Bowling Green today, through the lower entrance. On the right between the door and the security check-point were giant portraits of Donald Trump and Mike Pence, propped up on stands. And I mean giant.
Trump's was hideous: He was smiling. (That sentence should be italicized.)
It hardly looked like a face at all. Gave me a start and a chill.
I don't remember seeing George W. Bush's portrait the last time I visited. Didn't like Bush, but he had a warm smile.
So the question is, did Trump angle to have his face in all the Smithsonians? And the other question is, is Trump terribly ill? Also, maybe in his head?
3