Ghaemi cites, for the most part, cites brilliant leaders, who led countries out of terrifying situations. Like
Hitler, the opposite is happening here. We have a pied piper cult leader leading us into the death of our country. What’s worse than him is his enablers, because like Hitler, without his enablers he would be nothing.
62
It might prove interesting if attendees of Trump rallies become ill with Corona virus. I don't wish this on anyone, but the denial that this virus is real, not 'just a cold' could morph into some other intriguing accusation. Not likely placing the blame where it belongs though, not with this administration, which is way behind where other nations are in testing and deep in denial about it.
I wonder if the Trumpeters will find a way to blame Obama, dream up a magical method that he did it to them once they get sick. I can't help it, it has become so typical of team Trumps response. I have to say, Ghaemi gives the crazies too much credit. I see no genius hiding within the chronically dishonest megalomania of our POTUS, stable or unstable.
40
The most charitable characterization of Bone Spur is that he honestly believes that anything he says is true because he said it.
48
It's real amazing how Trump can border on obvious total insanity and there are people on here questioning Biden's mental acuity.
No matter how many might be recruited to swamp any article that has the name Biden in it, we know who he really is. He's a good man with an exemplary moral code that has faced down challenges both personal and professional that would badly wound many other men. And he is still standing and fighting. And THAT is why he is more than qualified to be our President.
71
By the end of March the virus will have thoroughly revealed Trump's proclivity to place his personal needs above those of the collective, as the economic numbers continue to tumble down. So Trump's narcissism may lead him to propose a Yang-like dividend, "Trump's Porkpie" perhaps, sparing no public expense to assure his whole hog re-election.
17
About the general election in November. Democratic voters will be lining up at midnight the night before , they will stand patiently even if it’s pouring rain, or it’s a freak blizzard, nothing will move them, they will be all colors, and creeds every nation on earth will be represented in their DNA. They will line up as if their lives depended on it, The polls will open at 6Am and it will be a steady stream, the democratic voters will have a singular purpose.
The Republican voters will be less enthusiastic and the numbers much smaller than four years ago, independent voters will have deserted them. They will pull the lever for R because they know nothing else. Some will pull the lever for D for the first time ever , especially if the candidate is a decent man like Joe Biden, a man who is running for only one reason, to get Trump out of the Oval Office before the country is left in complete ruin.
A day of reckoning is coming for Donald Trump in about 8 months time. People will assemble in Times Square and meeting places all over this country and when the final numbers come in from places like a Florida and Michigan with the west coast all but assured, people will celebrate like they did when the Second World War ended. They will also be cheering in France and Germany and every place in this world where freedom is worshipped.
Thank god for you Joe Biden. You are sent from heaven as the perfect Trump antidote. I will see everybody in Times Square in eight months,
71
It is called paranoia, difficulty with reality testing, mania, or just plain insanity.
Supported by the republican party.
31
Ghaemi sounds like he has real credentials, so I'm going to assume that Mulvaney (and maybe you, too) took him wildly out of context. Lincoln and Churchill were reacting pretty normally to situations where they felt personally responsible for hundreds of thousands of dead. There really were millions of Confederate soldiers trying to kill Sherman, not much of a paranoid delusion. Anyone who has read his letters or speeches can testify to his very lucid and brilliant mind.
Don't overthink Trump. He is lazy, stupid, greedy, and dishonest. Whether or not that fits a description in DSM-IV manual doesn't seem very important. Only sane, rational people can bring about peace and prosperity.
47
I will vote for a political discourse in this country that looks to find common ground for addressing real problems, and away from personal attacks that make it more difficult to make progress.
Joe Biden believes that too.
Winning debates is not what the nation needs now. Biden was never the quickest and best debater. His gaffes cost him two presidential campaigns already.
As a young boy, he was a stutterer, as he confessed earlier this year. Maybe that experience convinced him to become a hugger, which also triggered criticism.
But presidents rarely make snap decisions. And they have 1000's of advisors and helpers. It is not Joe Biden alone vs. Putin.
But in the Trump presidency, it has been Trump alone vs. Putin, or the world for that matter.
Trump disdains the help of his intelligence services, the generals he enlisted before but who now have all left his service, the CDC, NOOA, and most every other federal agency.
Trump sees himself as the final authority and expert on everything. His own is the best advice he seeks.
How's that being working for you?
Hopefully, Biden will surround himself with good people and then let them make the day-to-day decisions, stepping in to correct course on a an overall strategy he has charted.
Engaging Kamala Harris, Corey Booker, Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Beto and others to help him get a big win in the fall election, and later join him in the cabinet to govern the nation would be a good move.
30
Beside being a frightened boy, a pretender, a know nothing, a lucky guy, a seriously mental case, Trump is also a terrible person, he is cruel and has no empathy. Anybody who still follows him has no excuse - it is all on them. Shameful.
54
Trump suffers from mental illness yet millions of Americans trust him to run the country. Crazy!
35
Donald Trump hunches:
U.S. coronavirus cases are under control.
( gets that 'fact' from Rush Limbaugh )
people can still go to work,
even if they have coronavirus.
contradicted the WHO’s projected mortality rates
based on what he called his 'hunch'.
has a "hunch" that the vaccine will be
ready in a few months, ignoring the facts
from his HHS secretary standing next to him.
says that the soldiers in Iraq just had headaches
(another hunch?).
fact: there were 150 seriously injured,
and many with concussions.
(fact: don't confuse Trump with the facts.)
often boasts that he knows more than 'so-called' experts.
The United States 'led' by a guy with hunches?
He's always right?
And the rest of the country, world,
and universe is always wrong?
And where is the adult supervision in the White House?
This man is dangerous.
Reminds me of a story.
It's a WWII victory parade down Broadway.
Several companies of men are marching down the street.
One solder happens to be out of step.
And his mother is watching and calls out:
"Look. Everyone is out of step except my son".
21
This is the saddest thing I have heard in my 80+ years. An Emergency Room Pediatric Physician was exposed to a patient possibly having the CoronaVirus. Because the hospital has no Covad-19 test kit, the hospital had no choice but to send the doctor home for the duration of a quarantine. Thus, leaving the ER with no expert in children's health.
The sad lack of Covad-19 Test Kits throughout America is due to trump dismantling the Nation's Health Care System. He systematically has destroyed the system in order to direct more taxpayer dollars into the pockets of the very wealthy. He has done so seeking favor with the billionaire class to gain contributions for his re-election bid. Also, his very fragile and infantile ego craves acceptance from those people.
49
I have never heard anyone who knows Trump say anything really flattering about him. However it seems those who know Joe all say wonderful and kind thing's about him. That's a big plus.
44
This is soothing to liberals that Trump is: "his core is a frightened boy and pretender." How simply it would be to solve the problem, if this were so. But Trump is much darker than this: as Jon Stewart once said, liberals are bringing a book bag to a knife fight. Trump knows exactly what he is doing by using fear to rule instead of ideas, a gambit of both left and right, (the hate because of fear of the bernie boys).We have to bring people together and there is no better way to do this than a Democratic party, which really could be a big tent. But hate and fear directed on the enemy is an old old way of dealing with the problem, and will not work any more. "Come together right now, over Trump.", to paraphrase an old 60's song.
12
Every day Trump shows he is mentally imbalanced and delusional. Biden will put in smart and decent leaders who understand that viruses are non-partisan, that nuclear war hurts everybody, that democracy has norms that protect the entire body politic, and that climate change is a crisis that hurts everyone, and needs to be dealt with now.
If the so-called non-partisan journalistic media (that is, NOT Fox News and NOT Breitpart news) starts harping on Biden's son like they (and Maureen) did with Hilary's emails, or harping on Biden's misstatements, when Trump makes more misstatements in a day then Biden has in a lifetime, then our democracy is almost assuredly doomed, because the non-corrupt media does not understand how to play in a stacked environment. If we lose (as we are losing) our democracy, journalistic media will be one of the first to go.
11
I read this column and remember the fantasy world the Republicans created about the Reagan years, Gone was Iran-Contra, gone were years of EPA mismanagement, gone was the surge in deficit spending. Everything was remembered as sunny and blissful in Ronny's World. And that all happened even though Reagan maintained a low profile in his final years. How fantastic (literally) and golden will these years be presented through the backward-glance of the Donald's mendacious, narcissistic, rose-colored glasses. The Donald's memory of his unbelievable (literally) greatness will create a new form of fantastic literature.
17
Lincoln suffered with the burden of leading during the civil war.
His melancholy caused constant rumination about the consequences of his actions.
Hid depression gave him the humility to think deeply and spiritually about healing the gaping wound in the country.
“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.” - Abraham Lincsoln
Is there someone else you wished had that quality?
22
I suspect that being a writer of opinion gives one cover for diagnosis. Maureen Down takes this cover going inside Trump's mind. Who amongst us doesn't have some character flaw or mental "condition." I recall William Saffire calling HIllary Clinton a congenital liar. He could have been called to task for knowing what one is.
Regardless of what may be wrong with Trump, Biden is showing signs that many of us have had to deal with on a lesser or greater degree. It was also sadly obvious when Mueller appeared before congress. Why would we want to put our fellows who have served us well in such positions when time is not on their side? Whatever may be wrong with Trump, Biden is a man of a certain age who is showing signs of aging. It is sad to see and contrasting him with his opponent doesn't change that.
2
Will enough of the electorate realize the instability of Trump -“who at his core is a frightened boy and pretender”?
That is the question.
10
Standing in front of the most senior epidemic doctors and saying "these doctors are amazed at how much i know" takes some beating in the right-in-the-head department.
28
The reason that trump's mocking of Biden gets traction is that there is a grain of truth in the typically cruel insults. I say this as a progressive Democrat who voted for Obama/Biden, both times, a disappointed supporter of Elizabeth Warren, and son of a mother with Alzheimer's disease:
Joe Biden has some form of dementia.
The "gaffes" that everyone notices from Biden are the same types of "gaffes" that my mother had early in her disease. The confusion, the stammering, even the facial expressions vividly remind me of my mother's early days with AD. And my entire family passed her behavior off as gaffes - simple mistakes and misstatements. What we failed to realize, for several years, was that Mom in fact had a form of dementia that would progress, slowly (in her case) but ruthlessly, until her death.
Joe Biden has dementia. Surely everyone realizes this!? He is a great man and a kind man, but he is not OK mentally. The trump sharks are primed and ready to make this more apparent until the election.
I would vote for virtually anyone over trump, Biden with dementia included, but I am certain that if Biden is our nominee, trump and his deplorables (and they are deplorable) will tear Joe Biden apart. He is easy prey.
4
@Scott No easier prey than Trump himself, who has made remarkably similar gaffes for several years now, including saying (more than once) that his father was born in German, when he was actually born in the US; and again (more than once) that he wanted to investigate the oranges of the Muller investigation. Any competent editor could string together minutes worth of bizarre statements by Trump, whose father had Alzheimers.
23
As a 75 year old I am not too thrilled that the 3 vying for the presidency are in their 70's. I think that's one reason I was such a Pete fan. He is closer to genius than Trump could ever hope to be. Yes Trump is indeed a scared little boy. I read a touching interview with Joe by a fellow stutter. Yes Joe is a stutter. He was mocked even by a teacher when he couldn't answer a question quickly enough. It had nothing to do with competence. Perhaps this explains some of his shortcomings in debates. Joe memorizes his speeches as it is difficult for him to read off a telepompter. Can you imagine Trump having the acuity to memorize a speech? He needs intelligence papers condensed into a few bullet points and probably doesn't read them anyway. Too busy watching Fox, sending out a stream of Tweets, golfing, flying off to endless rallies to feed his ego. Too busy to lead in this crisis because he understands the science all too well and assures the country to not be concerned as this is just a Democratic conspiracy to undermine the greatest president who ever lived. I'll take Joe's stumbles over a lying, needy guy who demands loyalty and obedience no matter what the cost to our stability as a democracy.
523
@amp You'll notice that when Trump reads from a script, he sounds like a second-grader with a stage fright. Apologies to second-graders.
91
@amp
Whoever likens Trump to a frightened and needy 5 year old is spot on.
But what happened to him then that the enormous neediness he's never gotten over still remains?
Nothing is ever enough. He always needs more. And more than anyone else.
This is the leader of the free world.
Jeeez. I'm going to start counting down the days till November 4th. Then till Inauguration day in 2021.
Kamala endorses Joe now too.
Ahhh, our 46th President is Joe Biden.
62
In a few weeks there is likely to be 10's of thousands of infected people in the US. The fact that Trump is worried about adding 21 to the current numbers, shows he has absolutely no idea what is happening. A very stable genius he is not!
21
Maureen’s piece reflects what most Americans have known for a long time, that a Democratic candidate of any age, mental condition, gender or race will be superior to Trump by far.
The Republicans had an opportunity to remove him from office but it took the coronavirus tragedy to finally prove ,even to them ,that he’s mentally unfit and temperamentally dangerous.
Hopefully voters will remember his handling of the current crisis, let alone the disastrous last four years , and will vote accordingly for both the president and the Senate.
9
Trump's criticism of Biden is more than just sniping. It's also going on offense to play good defense, right out of Karl Rove's playbook. Attacking an opponent on one's own vulnerability - such as Trump's vulnerability to valid concerns he's mental - is genius. It not only attacks the opponent, it preempts and defuses any attacks the opponent may make on that topic by making it seem they are just whataboutisms. It's like filling up a room with concrete to make it unusable. Democrats, such smart fighters they are, had better be aware and raise their game.
155
The comparison with Lincoln and Churchill is nonsense. Try King George III. It's a better fit. Then look at that history. George's aides attempted to protect his realm. Their actions contrast sharply with Trump's staff and cabinet, think Conway and Barr, who seek to infect the entire country with Trump's madness.
3
Biden's lapses into stream-of-consciousness rambling suggest a problem that goes beyond his efforts to control a stutter and make me wonder if he wiuld be able to stay focused on serious issues as President. Sure, he can surround himself with competent people, but ultimately he would be the one deciding policy. I suspect we would all be more troubled by Biden's lapses if we had not already spent years listening to Trump. Clearly, Biden is far more competent than Trump, but "way better than Trump" is not exactly a stellar recommendation.
3
I think the CDC should honor our super genius by re-naming this virus as The Trump Flu. After all, the Spanish Flu wasn’t created by, nor originated in Spain.
10
The words 'beautiful' and 'perfect' have been completely warped for me. I never ever want to hear them spoken in public again.
15
Trump will be wise to campaign on his youth compared to his Democratic opponent, whomsoever he turns out to be.
If slightly older Joe Biden can beat Trump, I'm all in for slightly older. Also, Biden is older than Trump but smarter. Trump is slightly "younger" than Biden, but is way dumber.
Choice is clear. Plus, Biden's VP is likely to be someone like Kamala Harris. Trump's still got Pence. And, if he goes with Nikki Haley, choice is even more clear. And that's a lot of clear.
7
Before reading Dowd's article, look at the leading photo; Trump at the CDC. Everyone else in the photo is dressed in a suit and tie, while Trump is casually dressed in an open-collared shirt and windbreaker. Bad enough, but look at his head. TRUMP IS WEARING HIS MAGA HAT! If he had said it out loud, he couldn't have been clearer; he wasn't interested in presenting to US citizens a president who is informed and caring. He was campaigning for himself.
360
@Jan B He also had his hands in his pockets, afraid to touch anything.
41
The Trump voters who complain about Biden not being mentally make me laugh almost as hard as those who complained about Hillary not being honest.
Have they seen Trump talk?
Ah, irony: Rest in Peace.
20
Is anyone still interested in, or perusing, getting the complete, unabridged, un-redacted, version of the transcript of the so-called “perfect call” that was so “perfect” it was immediately (and improperly) hidden on a secret service server?
Or trying to find out what else might be tucked away on that server?
9
@Dalrymple Throw in the unredacted Mueller Report.
4
The “super-left, radical crazies” run the White House. I hope so!
10
Great article
Meant to say glossalalian; one who speaks in tongues; like Paula White wacking out on youtube in a phoney speaking in tongues trance.
2
Two elderly gentlemen from the Silent Generation, fighting for the right to oppose the elder Boomer for the POTUS. Clearly, Biden is the only politician of the three who appreciates compromise. Sanders is spouting the same story as he did when I was 18. I am now 70! Trump is just outside the realm of decency.
5
"He seems psychologically incapable of dealing with a virus that is complex and uncertain." No, he IS incapable. Period.
15
" [Trump] predicted that, if Joe wins, his staff will “put him into a home,” and he’ll be there watching television while “super-left, radical crazies” run the White House."
Ms. Dowd, you do not deny that this is true, nor do you deny that the Democratic Party is hoping it will be true. The DNC is backing Biden only because they think he can win, as a pretend moderate. But once in the White House, Biden will indeed be only a figurehead, and the Democratic Party will cede ground to its radical leftist faction. As Frank Bruni put it today, Biden may win the nonination, but Sanders now controls the party's identity.
4
A suggestion.
Democrats should run campaign ads of Trump at his many rallies. Start with a big title card like "Trump on Healthcare".
Followed by unedited footage of him saying a single sentence about healthcare then rambling for the next 30 seconds about Brad Pitt, how mean Democrats are, and how big his inauguration crowd was in the mall.
Let's see who can be portrayed as the most incoherent and mentally unstable.
18
Democrats have their crazy fantasy world also, where they rejected the 2 term excellent candidacy of Elizabeth Warren for 2 old fogies who can at most serve one term, if they don't keel over before the term expires.
8
For the psychiatrists who read this column and the comments what would be the diagnosis for a person who has flight of ideas and delusions?
For flight of ideas, see Trump's answers to questions posed to him at a recent town hall sponsored by Fox news.
For delusions read Trump's comments how doctors are amazed about how much he knows about the virus.
12
If the president is a lunatic, is surrounded by lunatics, and they all see the same unicorns, then lunacy becomes the new normal. In terms of a purely social construct, that paradigm can function indefinitely.
The problems arise when a shared lunacy ventures beyond the malleable framework of the social realm. The lunatic mindset bumps up against something that operates by different rules. The coronavirus is an example. Its behavior cannot be altered by threats, shaming, humiliation or cajoling. It is beyond the scope of even the most powerful form of group lunacy to shape the virus.
One might think this would be obvious. But lunacy is not without a capacity to delay and obscure the moment of reckoning. Lunacy can shape the public response to the virus through fear, scapegoating and conspiracy. Widespread panic can dominate public discussion, delaying more effective responses. By the time reality wins out, valuable time will have been lost and a full roster of scapegoats identified.
American lunacy is a very profitable delusion for those who control its levers. They will not relinquish control peacefully. The virus will need to become very serious indeed to successfully lay siege to the walls of the asylum.
12
As we saw during the impeachment hearings in the House, the government is run by many thousands of people. Good people who have a sense of decency and are patriots who take their jobs seriously--even putting their livelihoods on the line to signal danger with the current inept administration.
The idea of picking apart decent, knowledgeable people in the face of what is going on in this country right now is petty and ludicrous. I doubt Biden would run for a second term and I have no doubt competent people would be installed in the administration. I would love to see the Vice Presidency evolve into more than a figurehead position and be involved in the day-to-day work of the administration. It would be nice to see some of the other candidates who ran in positions in the administration as well.
Most people are mentally and emotionally exhausted by this train-wreck of a President and his lapdogs. Could we at least dispense with the petty nonsense?
12
"Who, at his core, is a frightened boy and pretender."
That one sentence will send DJT into a frenzy. That he is mentally ill seems obvious. Extreme narcissistic paranoia is obvious even if you are not a mental health professional.
The Democrats, in their decorum (Mrs. Pelosi insists upon it) do not do well confronting him. Bernie would be a more aggressive opponent than Biden, who will try to "cooperate" with the GOP. How would anyone do that??
People who don't like Bernie better take a very good look at Biden as he does seem quite confused and unable to avoid pretty bad mistakes. Senate? He's running for Senate?
Such a shame that the women were shut out. On International Women's Day, we mourn that the women candidates did not get as far as this final stage. I hold the women voters who are stuck in the mindset that a woman couldn't lead us to blame. At least the Times got it right. Followers of repressive patriarchal religions and facilitators of second class treatment for women, you contributed to this situation big time. Look at our 3 choices, women. You did this. Own it.
5
Leave it to trump to politicize a health crisis. When is the stable genius with a perfect letter and perfect transcript going to deliver the "perfect test". People are dying out here.
11
There is no leadership or governing going on with Trump at the helm. Every policy decision is based on appeasing and concealing the vagaries of a paranoid, uninformed mad man and base that elected him. Our country has become more like a helium balloon that is careening wildly about in an ever more unstable hurricane. The only way to pop the balloon is to vote in November. We must save the soul of America.
13
Biden is a perfect example of how the American people often vote for the wrong reasons. How many people vote based upon the image of the candidate? We tend to elect handsome, tall and white people who are great at making stirring speeches. People we wish we could be. That is why it will be very difficult to elect a short, unattractive non white, Jew, Muslim or woman. Biden is not a good public speaker and is obviously suffering from age related lack of mental acuity. So he is not a good debater. But how important is that in a president? What we really need is an excellent manager with the wisdom to surround himself with the right people. Also someone who is calm and measured in a crisis, someone who works to represent the interest of all Americas, not just those who would vote for him.
In Trump we elected the cleverest debater and the most entertaining of all the Republican candidates. Also someone who vowed to shake things up and reinvent how government works. Well, we are all shook up now.
110
@USS Johnston
Clever? In Trump *other* people elected someone who didn't debate issues so much as play the part of an insult comic. That was the image he projected on the debate stage, on the campaign trail, at the Republican convention, when talking to the press, etc. And Trump voters fell for it. The people who supported him weren't responding to cleverness. Far from it.
97
@USS Johnston....Cleverest debater?? Huh?? Are you sure we're talking about the same person here? He can't even string together a coherent sentence. Just WHO have you been listening to?
78
The perfect test equals the perfect call and the perfect transcript. The NYT, as many comments with this essay and an eye opening comment from Colorado a week ago or so suggested, should publish or provide access to every word Trump speaks at his rallies or in government service. To get a full measure of his state of mind or lack there of.
14
"How can we trust the nuclear codes to someone so incoherent?" This question occurs to me every day, and oftentimes while I sit bolt upright in the middle of the night, too.
Given the choice, I would much prefer a president with a lifelong speech disorder than one whose astonishingly infantile command of his own native language is exacerbated by a clearly underdeveloped cerebral cortex that lays bare a primitive id that would put a Burmese python to shame.
27
That's a good one.
3
True, Biden has some uncomfortable but harmless senior moments. But Trump is the very embodiment of incoherence. He speaks in Word Salad. It's only his lies we understand. And he believes he's a "stable genius." And his administration is a revolving door through which most if not all the relatively sane people have left. There's no way the U.S. can stand four more years of this madness.
20
Time for Bernie to suspend his campaign and enthusiastically support Biden.
8
The Coronavirus can’t be threatened, blackmailed, or bought out.
That must terrify the President.
26
Trump must be in La-la-Land. Anyone who thinks holding crowded political rallies as harmless has to be one tool short in the kit. But then we already know that about the Stable Genius.
13
The choice between Biden and Trump is simple: the lesser of two evils or the evil of two lessers.
1
Donald Trump is the virus. The appearance of COVID-19 is merely coincidental. Science may ultimately reveal a cure for the latter but for Trump there is only defeat in November and incarceration shortly thereafter.
27
@stu freeman
Yes, the Trump Flu. ProQuid-45.
Seriously.
5
“Because I like the numbers being where they are,” the president said.
9
If Fox is Trump's World, then certainly the NYT and WaPo and most other media is the Anti-Trump world. I'm not buying their story - one that is poorly told and reasoned.
5
False equivalence is the Trumpists’ stock in trade.
4
It is painfully obvious to anyone who watches Biden for more than five minutes that he is lost, incoherent and confused. This is not a political judgement, it's a humanitarian judgement. Running this man for President is elder abuse. While he looks to be riding high, everyone can see those moments when he appears terrified by the loss of his faculties. These "gaffes" are not quaint and adorable, they are clear warning signs the wheels are coming off. He belongs safe on a park bench licking an ice cream cone, not anywhere near the nuclear launch codes because of some ridiculous theory expressed here about "good" crazy.
7
I really used to like Fantasy Island. I think Trump must have escaped from there in the '70's.
9
Simply because Fox trumpets news that Joe Biden is mentally incapacitated doesn't make the former VP's state less disconcerting. He DID say he was running for Senator. He DID urge people to vote for him on Super Thursday. He HAS ramble incoherently during the debates. He HAS lied about matters of public record, including an arrest that never took place in South Africa. We should all be fearful of Trump redux should Biden be nominated and, against all odds, elected.
4
“The trouble is not in starting things, but in finishing them; with so much to do and little time, it’s easy to get distracted ...”
You mean like the wall that Mexico was supposed to, but never did pay for? The wall, a large section of which fell over in a 35 mph wind? That kind of genius?
Mo, please, please stop with the false equivalence. Biden may slip, and Sanders might utter thought best left unsaid, but the only compulsive liar among the three drunken uncles is the dry drunk in the White House, the guy who believes in his unmoored to reality hunches, not in what experts in the field tell him.
17
We put Trump in office, saw his "government by tweet" and refused to hold him to account. A nation gets the government it deserves.
16
Whatever anyone says about Biden, one can counter with the following: Yes but Trump is a bad man. A genuinely, to the core, in his heart, bad man.
31
Every president from Calvin Coolidge to Barack Obama looked identically ridiculous showing up in military garb, Indian headresses, you-name-it because that is what modern presidents do.
The trick of blaming it on one guy is when we see the argument fall completely apart.
Never forget that Trump stared straight up into an eclipse after being told not to.
18
"And it has become common among his attackers to say the president is deranged, suffering from malignant narcissism."
Wrong. We needn't be "attackers" to recognize & state the reality.
22
By nominating Joe Biden, we cede the “mentally unfit for office” ground, period. Joe Biden is in obvious decline. Trump derangement syndrome is blinding the establishment and their most faithful voters to the fact that this critical argument will not be made by an increasingly feeble Joe Biden.
4
Oh. That must explain the last week of his kicking St. Bernie’s tailfeathers around the nation. Not to mention Trump’s loudly calling coronavirus a hoax at rallies, then his bizarroworld performance at CDC after several days of on again, off again.
But the question is, does it explain yet another long weekend Hizzoner spent trundling o’er the links?
9
We are living in some of the greatest times in history yet the media would have us believe the sky is falling. This click bait journalism will cost the media in place more than it is worth, they might even find themselves being replaced by people willing to produce real information, the kind the media is supposed to be providing to the people.
4
@Joe Gilkey I hope you are complaining about the click bait journalism happening on the President's network, because believe me, I find them living in a different reality and that is scary.
13
Like Fox and Breitbart; the Trump prpaganda networks?
10
Both men are no doubt less sharp that they once were. That can happen in your 70s. The real question is who might they draw on to help run the government? With Trump, we already know. Grifters, eejits, bigots, ideologues and combinations thereof.
30
Uncle Touchy-feely Joe is not the the sharpest tool in the shed and it’s starting to show. Bernie will in all likelihood be the winner!
4
When you combine derangement with dishonesty, that is apparently a winning combination. At least that is what Mulvaney seems to be implying. I sincerely hope that American voters can see how crazy this proposition is. We can't stand much more of Trump Fantasyworld.
18
Did Karl reach out to Ghaemi to ask how Biden and Sanders would fit into his thesis ?
2
Ghaemi's thesis that insanity in leadership is a good thing at times is novel but clearly not right. The equivalent would be a mad scientists having moments of brilliance for bizarre purposes. The movie and book "A Beautiful Mind" comes to mind as well, where John Forbe Nash Jr won the Nobel for mathematics but then devolved mentally to mondo bizzaro. One moment of genius ( even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while) does not make up for the dangerous thoughts and actions by heads of state such as those of the current occupant of the people's White House.
6
Which Democrat POLICIES will make America better? Trump hatred is not a policy.
2
@Joe
Exactly which Trump POLICIES have made America a better place to live in? A less unequal, more compassionate and fairer place to be?
14
@Joe
The list is long and includes policies in health, the environment, immigration, consumer protection, and so forth. Joe's question reminds us that down-ticket races are critical for undoing the damage of the current "administration." Indeed, it is not all about Trump.
14
Trump needs to be the center of attention at all times. No matter the situation or the crisis, he manages to make it all about himself, as he did at the CDC, boasting how knowledgeable he thinks he is about the virus. He is a stable genius in his own mind.
He is the worst kind of narcissist (is there a good kind?) who will react to a situation based on how it makes him look. That is all he cares about, the Trump brand.
He is the single worst thing that has ever happened to this country. The damage he has inflicted on our way of governing may forever be changed for the worse. The division he has sown in our society may take generations to mend.
He is feeble minded, barely literate at best and most of the time rambles incoherently. He is morally bankrupt and corrupt as they come.
I would say a Biden presidency would be a step in the right direction. No matter what is mental acuity is, it would still be better than Trump.
26
What we have is more than mania and is not depression it is a myriad of psychological disorders and unlike Churchill or Lincoln, Trump is a very poorly educated man, merely attending an institution of higher learning does not proffer the level of retention or an ability to think critically.
Also if we look at both at both Churchill and Lincoln we have two men that were both introspective, internally haunted by the effects of their actions and acutely aware of the potential historical implications.
11
After hearing Trump call the coronavirus tests "beautiful," I realized that he's still selling luxury condos and apartments in his Trump-branded (but not owned) properties. Everything he tries to sell is "beautiful."
Real estate salesman as "president." Amazing.
17
'In the Land of the Blind, the one-eyed man is King.' -Erasmus.
True, but happens if that man is a Cyclops?
My wonderful father died at 91, completely coherent, but at times needed to know what day it das, because that is part and parcel of not having to go to work to raise a family and take care of loved ones.
My father died in his own bed, compus mentis, 100%. He was 91.
78 is a wonderful age to have new responibilties and a routine again after years and years of brilliant public service.
10
Uncle Joe probably forgets more than self-described "stable genius" will ever know. As President, appointments will be competent people in their field, not unqualified political rich hacks looking to further make a quick buck from their position.
I wish in the debates that Biden would talk up his years of experience on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and as V.P., the years he spent conducting our foreign policy abroad. He knows all the world leaders and ably mend the relationships with our allies and NATO, rather than pushing Putin's agenda like a puppet. Experience matters, along with trust and integrity. Joe has that in spades, and needs to remind the voters. He has paid his dues, and would never have reneged on the Iran nuclear deal, or selling out the Kurds. He would restore the credibility of the United States that its word is its bond when it makes a commitment.
17
It’s there on video for all to see how absolutely crazy and lying most all of these cult joiners have been. Trump mangles the English language many times a day. Late night comedians have had a career field day showing the clips. The Dems must use the republican play book and pound them with those clips, again, out there for all to see. No time for timidity. Expect attempts at bullying. Get ready to play in the deep mud
13
Even if everything the republicans, as epitomized by their spokesmen on Fox News, say about Biden were true, they still know down in their hearts that Biden would make a president far superior to Trump. Indeed, I think I could say that even if Joe were brain dead.
8
As much as FOX is being hypocritical in ignoring trump's lapses, my fellow Dems seem to be in denial about Biden's slide toward dementia (stating he is running for Senate, making up a story about being detained while visiting Mandela, insulting people at town hall meetings, forgetting the most memorable line in the Declaration of Independence - these are not his old lovable gafffes). Vote Bernie!
6
Watching the doctors around him standing in silence as he pwed his nonsense was downright scary. What was going through their heads? This manic president's delusions about his abilities and genius will kill us as we defend into chaos over this poorly managed crisis. And Pence as the spokesperson? Do any of the reliable experts have nay guts at all to tell it like it is, or are they part of the herds of sheep who follow these two autocratic and downright dumb "leader"? God help us!
14
The real fear in the current crisis is as the author states, “It is the sanity of the American people who voted for and still support him.” His base believe Trump is like Moses, and can part the “Coronavirus Sea”, and let everyone pass through to the “land of milk and honey” on the other side. His word is “gospel.” He is a weatherman, he is a doctor, a general. He can perform miracles. We have much to fear nowadays, but one fear that is very real is his psychological inability to deal with something so complex and uncertain as the current crisis. We need a leader who will deliver “Truth, honesty and intelligence” to the masses. But that ship has sailed, and all we have to listen to is a “frightened boy” who often cries wolf, once too often. Sad!
11
Regarding 45’s surging id and delusions, good point. Having spent 4 years shocking the reasoning areas of our brains, he now seems trapped in his own limbic fever dream with himself as the biggest & badest reptile, slowly and menacingly ruling the swamp. Maybe having a certified glossararian spiritual advisor in the WH has given him the support he needs to just let it all hang out. Some will go all primativo with him. Most won’t.
4
There is virtually no evidence that either Churchill or Lincoln suffered from depression.
1
@Doug G Churchill wrote about his depression, he called it "the black dog". and would ask to be locked up in his rooms during the worst bouts. His drinking was legendary, which again is a sign of depression.
About Lincoln, I do not know so much, but it is documented that he was depressed after the deaths of his children.
1
@Doug G Churchill referred to his 'black dog' moods which most people understood to be bouts of depression. However, his black dog didn't prevent him from being a brilliant war time leader. He got depressed when he was voted out and when he, habitually, overspent and had to cadge for funds.
Bloomberg, Bezos and Steyer should pool funds and buy controlling interests in both Fox "news" and Twitter.
With tweetle dee's account deactivated for bullying, and the foxhole backfilled, the world would be a much better place.
16
"He seems psychologically incapable of dealing with a virus that is complex and uncertain. The virus will be in every community and needs truth, honesty (sic) and intelligence — all absent from the unstable Trump, who at his core is a frightened boy and pretender." What a tremendous insult to boys. No boy has had time to become so corrupt, evil, and paranoid as Trump.
12
Trump is a raging psychopath. Just look up the characteristics of one and it will be clear that our president meets all the criteria. Impeachment was never the right means for removing him...the 21st amendment was always more appropriate. There would be no question about removing a president who suffered a severe stroke or some other debilitating physical ailment. Why is a debilitating psychological disorder so different. In a way, Trump is not responsible for his behavior.
6
To keep the 1992 presidential campaign on message, James Carville hung a sign in Bill Clinton's Little Rock campaign headquarters that read:
1. Change vs. more of the same
2. The economy, stupid
3. Don't forget health care
Biden's campaign will follow this in a similar fashion. The covid-19 debacle will run down the stock market for months to come as it spreads.
Trump is doing a crazy dance to try to band-aid the market. Good luck with that.
6
Don the con. He's a con man still trying to keep the con going, with the help of Fox disinformation, anger machine and multiple .1% right wing extemist democracy haters.
10
As a medical professional, I continue to be amazed that none of the medical professionals and disease/epidemic experts at any of Trump's public proclamations has yet grabbed a mic and said something on the order of, "This man is mentally unfit to be President! He knows nothing of science and yet insists he is the smartest person in the room! Don't listen to him!". Instead, we get silence and blank faces. I don't get it. Is no one willing to say the emperor is a loon?
29
@JenD I wonder about that also. Is 45 in a powerful enough position to cost them their jobs? That seems to be the most pressing concern of those who keep their mouths shut in the face of all his perfidy. He is, as are most bullies, a master at creating fear on the survival level, and as president he has more power to enforce his will than do most bullies. Nevertheless, if he had been restrained earlier by those who had more courage, I think we wouldn't be where we are now.
4
The photos from the CDC speak volumes. There’s Trump, tieless in his sport duds and big red cap, bloviating science. Sigh.
13
Ronald Reagan's administration when Reagan had advanced Alzheimer was miles better than Trump's administration today.
Trump is morbidly obese and has looked like a stark raving lunatic lately. He also has castrated the entire administration.
Joe Biden, with all his issues is miles healthier then Trump and unlike Trump will have a competent cabinet and VP around him that can actually govern.
The President of the United States isn't one person. It's a huge administration. The Biden administration will be fine.
13
Trump supporters who bleat patriotism constantly are so incredibly hypocritical and clearly misguided. This horror show that our country is enduring is on totally on their shoulders. If you have an honest,pure feeling of patriotism then I plead with you to consider what you would vote for if you choose this degenerate again. Be honest and don’t follow the cult,be brave and strong and be a true American.
7
Don the Con is in the hotel and leisure industry. He's a salesman who schmoozes his way to a sale. Why would he want to talk about a microbe that threatens his business? The test is "beautiful." The chocolate cake is "beautiful." The Ukrainian shakedown was "perfect." Make America Gyrate Again!
7
OK, here's the deal. Biden is nominated and names a female as his running mate (your pick: Elizabeth, Kamala, Val or Stacey). He is elected but after a time his mental faculties erode and his cabinet votes to invoke the 25th Amendment.
Case closed.
2
Citizen k. You just gave me a few reasons not to vote for Uncle Joe. Now if he made Dr Jill his Vp that’s another story The lady handles herself and takes no bull. Case in point the protesters who tried to rush the stage. Heck I’d vote for her at the top of the ticket.
2
"Beautiful" and apt ending to the column
1
Talking about mental acuity--Love Ben Carson telling George Stephanopoulos this morning that a plan is due in 72 hours from yesterday on contaminated cruise ship docking tomorrow. Uh Duh? So a plan will be devised by Tuesday for a ship docking tomorrow--great? Trump has no Shortage of Brilliance in his Administration.
7
Gaffe = unintentional false statement, causing embarrassment for the person stating it
Lie = intentional false statement, usually said shamelessly
So, who do you want running the country - the humble gaffer or the shameless liar?
Biden should use this to push back
9
" … who at his core is a frightened boy and pretender."
Amen!
What's making me even more frightened? All the people who are still supporting him.
At a Fox town hall Thursday night in Scranton, Biden’s hometown, the president made fun of Biden’s slip about “Super Thursday” and his recent observation that he was running for the Senate.
“There’s something going on there,” Trump said as his supporters laughed.
4
Maybe FOX is “somewhat” in the tank for trump, but it’s nothing like CNN , MSNBC, ABC,NBC, CBS, NYT, WP to name just a few of the media who have been anti-Trump and all conservatives for over a decade. It’s astonishing that the Republican Party still exists and is stronger than ever!
6
@Pvbeachbum
It is indeed astonishing. Despite multiple media reports (complete with video) of the emperor having no clothes, almost no one in the Republican Party has gagged at the sight.
On second thought, there are Republican voters who are as revolted by Trump as the rest of us--the question is whether they are concerned enough to vote for Democratic presidential candidate.
7
@Pvbeachbum This - what we are currently suffering from - is not the Republican Party.
One doesn't need training in psychiatry to see that Trump exhibits flagrant signs of Malignant Narcissism. Just listen to his oral outbursts and Twitter proclamations and you quickly realize that he is out of touch with reality and actually believes what he conceives in his delusional mind. No, this is not Alzheimer's, but certainly Trump exhibits flagrant signs of psychopathology.
10
You know, some of the people suggesting that Mr. Trump suffers from malignant narcissism know what they're talking about. The notion that his personality is mildly and constantly manic, the "just do it" angle, begs the question of how good his decisions have been (poor, throughout his life--how else to explain why his projects reliably go belly-up), ignores his fixation on subordinates' personal loyalty, and glosses over his inability to cope with criticism. He really is a few bricks short of a load.
9
@RBT Actually, having watched many episodes of This Old House I can confidently state that trump is two loads short of a load.
2
What else is new.
3
The only thing Trump cares about is coronavirus might effect his re-election chances.
We're all used to Trump's childish slurs, like Sleepy Joe, Crooked Hillary, Little Mike, on and on. How about "Lyin' Donald?" Ironically, there would at least be truth to that.
7
Trump puts on his sporty jacket and mags hat to view a microscope. What’s with that?
4
@Ellyn
He suddenly remembered his uncle taught at MIT so now he is a super-genius scientist.
Covfefe anyone?
6
One of my more insightful Psychiatry professors in Bellevue Hospital affiliated with NYU Medical Center always said that the nature of a patient’s mental illness would become viscerally apparent to the well-prepared mind of the therapist sitting a few feet away conducting the first clinical interview. Now, more than a ‘few feet’ away, I get the same visceral sensation about our nominal President every time he opens his mouth attempting to use human speech sounds destined to become another failed attempt to communicate. What comes through are the telltale ramblings of a sick fellow human being.
Meanwhile, Melania, the Silent Partner in this nightmare, supervises the construction of a tennis pavilion on the south lawn of her temporary home, intending that “this private space will function as a place to gather and spend leisure time for First Families”. Per CNN:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/melania-trump-tennis-pavilion-twitter-backlash-mia-farrow-a9384961.html
I wonder if this project will be finished before or after her construction team fasten the word, ‘TRUMP’ to the front portico of our White House? No one can live so close to a deranged mind without becoming molded in its image. November 3, 2020 cannot come soon enough for the sanity of us all!
5
I am a practicing psychiatrist.
Kudos to you, Maureen, for bringing Ghaemi's masterful book to public attention. It is not merely a guide to bipolar in the presidency but to bipolar in human life and human history. I recommend A First-Rate Madness to every bipolar patient I encounter.
It is so vital to understand that this "disorder" goes unrecognized in artists, writers, politicians, entrepreneurs, "stars" of every stripe, and, regrettably many tyrants, criminals and dictators, historical and modern-day. Dr Ghaemi submits that every wartime leader in the European theater of the Second World War was diagnosably bipolar, something no historian of my ken has dared to consider.
2
You of course spent 2016 whining about Hillary's emails...
9
When you are a Delusional Narcissist, as we all agree is the public image of Donald J. Trump, anyone who doesn't agree with your view of the world obviously disagrees with your own self-image and is thus your enemy.
4
Think of just who Trump's blustering, juvenile, elementary school persona appeals to……
And that is:
A cross section of America who themselves are blustering, juvenile and elementary school in their thinking also…….
But interestingly are - just as Trump is - loathe to admit it……
Insecurity and immaturity breeds contempt ……….
The Republican Party, Donald Trump's base defined……...
6
What's truly disturbing is that, even as Americans begin dying from the coronavirus, the Trump administration remains preoccupied by its implications for President Trump's re-election.
Like everyone else, Canadians were riveted on China's ability to contain the virus. Now that China seems to have had unprecedented success, according to the WHO, we seem to be facing a much greater threat across our border with the U.S.
We watch with growing alarm the lateness and ineptitude of the U.S. official response (all levels of government have had seven weeks to prepare); the confusion generated by sharp contradictions between the now-galvanized medical community and the foot-dragging Trump administration; and the inability of the country's central leadership to comprehend, never mind deal with, such a potentially devastating disease outbreak.
Canada's 5,525-mile border with the U.S. (including Alaska) is the world's longest and most traveled. A major spread of the coronavirus among the U.S. population means a similar spread in Canada's, with the impact being proportionally much greater due to ours being one-tenth the size. We hope the White House will quickly shift focus from the President's desires to the U.S. population's needs, but it's a faint hope.
5
I honestly don't care anymore. Three old men running for president who have a combined intelligence of a store manikin.
I am exhausted -- I have waited 50 years of my voting life for a president I truly admire. Obama came very close.
7
"At a Fox town hall Thursday night in Scranton, Biden’s hometown, the president made fun of Biden’s slip about 'Super Thursday' and his recent observation that he was running for the Senate."
Holy covfefe, Trumpman! This must be the smocking gun that will end Biden's campaign. /s
17
We already know everything we need to know about Biden and Trump. Opinions are fully baked in.
The best thing Biden can do is to pick a VP that balances the ticket, who’s ready to be president and who has the potential of expanding the Democratic base.
Warren is a logical choice. It’s then up to Sanders’ supporters to vote. If they don’t, the one sure thing is the inevitable loss of the Supreme Court.
I hope his young supporters realize how that loss will effect the rest if their lives.
Because having Republicans decide what’s best for a woman on personal matters of choice, or the impact of a conservative court on continued voter suppression will be too much to bear for our democracy.
10
The Surgeon General has also drunk the kool aid.
Seriously scary
12
Biden is a liar. Hehas lied about all sorts of stuff, like his college grades. He also plagiarized someone elses speech and called it his own.
Most recently he suggested we have to leave the DEA listings of marijuana and hemp as being narcotics while we do research.
There isn't any marijuana research in USA. Biden likes the DEA status quo. We have less than a year to start trapping the carbon dioxide or say goodbye to your life on planet earth. It is URF.
You cannot grow hemp without removing hemp from the fascist narcotic listing hemp presently occupies in DEA. Why?
Our election for president is going to be a choice of liars in public places; the liar-in-Chief v. ghe has been vice-preident liar.
Trump will win because of the Russians fixing all the votes.
2
Trump appears to be eating his stress. Yesterday he patted his belly several times in tacit appreciation of man-girdles. Trump is self-conscious about his paunch. Too many hamberders.
5
@PMD
LOL
Too many buckets of KFC. All at one sitting.
3
The word crazy is fraught with issues because it applies to nearly everyone on the planet. Most people believe in things. Things that are not technically capable of being proven. Even when they are confronted with evidence to the contrary they still refuse to accept the more likely reality. The existence of Donald Trump as president shows what happens when people are not driven by information but rather by fiction and magical beliefs. That is crazy, and even when we get rid of Donald Trump, things will still be the same. We will largely be guided as a society by people who are not particularly attached to reality.
8
Atta girl! if Trump were stripped of his name, putative wealth and secret service, he wouldn't last a New York Minute in New York and would grace one of its many underpasses huddled in a bunch of baggies.
9
Stupid is as Stupid does. Look in the mirror mirror on the never built wall and see thy reality: Mr. Trump you are no extremely stable genius. Even your fanatic base will even recognize it as Coronavirus inevitably spreads into their communities.
9
Marueen, you will soon be "old" too.
4
Narcissistic Personality disorder to a tee.
3
Yo, Maureen. Pity you didn't realize this sooner.
6
Maureen, I still haven’t forgotten you Hillary and “Barry” bashing. You are part of the problem.
16
Just the facts, mam.
Trump is a GERMafobe. It is Shakespearean that he will be thrown out of office due to his greatest fear.
12
If our Founding Fathers were young dads, in their 30s and 40s in the late 1700s, why are the big 3 (Trump, Biden and Sanders) all very old men, not playing with a full deck in their doddering 70s in 2020 as they run for our presidency? President Trump, togged out in sagging grampa pants, loose white shirt, black jacket and his red maga cap taming his hair issue, was scary as hell in Nashville and at the CDC yesterday. All black, white and red and not making any sense. This weekend he's here in his Mar-a-Lago mansion, with V.P. Pence holding the fort with Caribbean cruise line owners who are going to take a terrible hit from the Coronavirus and the stock market falling like a shot bird. How can Trump's people not be gob-smacked with horror at his antics and words in the face of a pandemic of viral illness assaulting the world? How could we have made it through the past three years with an unfit and ignorant president and his sychophantic posse leading America? We are waiting for the incipient fall of Mr. Trump and the rise of whomever ascends to the most difficult job in the world. You can bet the farm we're not going to be around to see what the historians make of the United States of America under Donald Trump in the 21st Century.
13
@Nan Socolow Watch any Bernie interview: he's playing with a fuller deck than most Trump voters!
3
Does he seriously need to wear his stupid KAG hat at the CDC?
13
@Mixilplix He was wearing it backwards.
2
People can be unstable and unhinged and paranoid - they can be functioning and successful but still live in a private hell. Trump is taking us all along for the ride. The lack of love and concern that the people in his life have for him is why he's still out there acting out. If he was my wacky uncle, I would have pulled him aside by now and set up boundaries and tried to contain him because of a sense of compassion and empathy I had for him. It's clear that Trump is universally unliked, unloved, and is being used for people's personal gain. He epitomizes the word pathetic. I cannot stand his politics but as a human i sincerely hope he gets some help. He's very ill.
16
Great column. I will vote for Joe Biden in November. Bernie is the flip side of Trump: they are two delusional people though Trump is psychologically mad beyond belief, and Bernie has a kind of messianic message with his call for revolution. Prepare for eight months of political hell. Let’s get Joe in. He will form a terrific government( Ted Kennedy once said presidents “form governments”) with the help of an outstanding healthy/younger Vice President. We can do it. We must. I am very hopeful.
20
The idea of the "holy fool", or "useful idiot" is a common theme, ironically perhaps, in Russian literature. The question in this arena is whether we are receiving divine utterances channeled through a flawed human, or rather truly foolish statements from a bona fide idiot.
For Dostoevsky's character, it's a debatable point for your book club. In this case however, there is no detectable room for debate.
4
I hope he still reads your columns. But if not, will Fox & Friends accept an incoming call from Maureen Dowd?
3
There was a typo on the last sentence. It should have read "frightened boy and predator".
10
And yet the media (especially the NYT) continues to normalize him. "Move along folks, nothing to see here." He is neurologically impaired, yet I see the writing on the wall -- instead of "emails" this campaign season, it will be Biden's cognition. You never learn, do you?
10
Let's not forget about all the blabber from Trump and the right wing nut echo chamber about Hillary's supposed serious illness during the 2016 campaign.
Last time I checked, she was healthy and lucid, as opposed to, say, being an obese, pathological lying incompetent buffoon.
25
@MT Men and those with heart and respiratory problems possess a higher risk of getting the disease. That, and putting himself out at conferences and in rallies with thousands of untested attendees may just do the trick.
5
The stupidity and absurdity of this entire nightmare of having this grotesque individual as the leader of the most powerful, and influential nation in the world simply amazes me.
Anyone with half a brain who looked into this individual's past history would have learned that he was a cheat, inept, a fraud, a business failure, unintelligent, a lawbreaker, a racist, unloyal to several wives, a woman abuser, immature,a sociopath, a chronic liar, power hungry, a bully,and most importantly mentally unbalanced.
Now much of this nation is shocked with what we have in this White House. Where were you good people when it was time to make the decision as to who you wanted to lead this nation? You did not do your homework, and seriously evaluate what we had running for president, and think of the harm a man such as this could cause with his vasy incompetence
I was not particulary that crazy over Hillary, but I knew what was in store for us should we elect this degenerate. Did you really think that the responsibility of the office whould mold him into a decent,caring individual who would take his position seriously, and have the interest of this nation as his prime responsibility ?
This man has done everything in his power to damage this nation, feeling his sole responsibility is to his base who have their own misguided reasons in enjoying the antics of this circus clown.
This next election will really define just who we are as a nation. God help us if we choose to continue this farce.
31
Trump is a bully. Bullies are cowards. He's propped up by his gang, the Republican Party, with Mitch and company ready and willing to take the shots for him. Too afraid of their own shadows, scared to death he will tweet about them, they stand behind him and vow to fight to the death for him.
At his core...well, he doesn't have a core. He's mush, and he knows it. That must be most frightening of all.
17
ABSOLUTELY insane that Trump and all his toadies think they have the high ground in this- Trump NEVER is incoherent!! Trump's family aren't corrupt, incompetent hangers on only out for money!!! Only the brain dead MAGA crowd will fall for this!
8
Drunken uncle? More like incoherent grandpa. Americans are simple sheep who do not think. Therefore, they pick the worst leaders EVERYWHERE.
6
Trump gives a whole new meaning to ‘dumb and dumber.’
8
Maureen. Please tell us something we don’t already know.
10
What Jill Biden looks like? What about Melania? She always looks like a hostage, or the call girl being paid for the FGE. (full girlfriend experience) Have we ever seen a moment of genuine intimacy or affection between the Trumps? I have never seen it between Jared and Ivanka...! Although there have been moments of gross between Don, "I grew a beard to cover my lost chin" Jr. and Ms. Gargoyle. And Eric...and the shrew that is his wife. Never.
They all reek of opportunism.
While we see real affection between the Bidens. As we saw with the Obama's. People who really love and like each other, and are not there for the Branding.
Laura Ingram and her deplorable friends at Fox Faux-News, aka; Trump TV, cant debate Trumps' finer points, as he lacks them, so they act like him, and go all school yard/cafeteria and behave like the bullies they were likely the victims of in High School, but are now making up for as adults.
Trump TV is nothing more then a bunch quasi-adults, reenacting their high school years, but they get to be the bullies. Hannity was a squirt of a boy, who got razzed in high school. (first hand knowledge) But now...he's bigly man on campus...'cept the campus is populated with talking heads, and sycophants for Trump. For Trump of all people they could have chosen to rally 'round...they chose Trump! Or worse, he saw them as easy marks and chose them!
I'll take Old Joe, over the moron we have now. At least Joe doesn't need a history lesson re; Pearl Harbor.
23
Clearly, those of us who still maintain a semblance of sanity must vote the mentally defective bloated man-boy and the morally bankrupt GOP out of office come November, or the Coronavirus will be the least of our worries.
15
Or, combined with his racism, his utter lack of empathy, his personal greed and selfishness, and his fraud..........sheer malignancy.......under any name.
7
While I am seriously concerned for Biden's mental abilities, I wish more people would attack the core of Trump - the man is an idiot and fool. Nothing he says should be considered in any other light. Why does anyone take what he says seriously? There is no strategy, there is no plan, there is no thought. Everything he says or does is the response of a self involved 5 year old. He wants more nukes than other presidents in history. Why? Because more is better to a five year old idiot. He wants the markets to be higher. Why? Big numbers, bigger for him than anyone. Again, fiver year old thinking. He wants coronavirus numbers down. Why? Big numbers here are bad. The five year old idiot wants lower numbers. He is still on TV people. This is his reality show. You need to play the game to truly defeat and humiliate him.
13
Donald Trump is willfully ignorant, mean and selfish.
Not a good recipe for leadership under any circumstances.
8
I would be worried about the Coronavirus but for the fact we have a "very stable genius" leading the nation.
13
@treabeton
I was worried too, but after finding out that coronavirus was just a Democrat hoax I'm much better.
3
@James Constantino
Democrats are sure powerful that they can scare 60 countries with their hoax.
5
What is the point of this opinion piece? It regurgitates quotes from leadership and leaves them there
7
Never forget Maureen how much you contributed to Trump’s election with your constant picking at HC.
26
Ms. Dowd,
I really like your columns.
But..,
Time would be better spent writing about somebody else. Anybody else.
8
The question remains: is Trump insane or merely stupid?
7
@tom
Both - in addition to mean, ignorant, greedy, incompetent, and lazy...
5
@tom
Both.
2
Maureen, enough with the old guy reference. You ain't exactly a spring chicken either.
15
"when a candidate for public office faces the voters he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas, or even of comprehending any save the most elemental—men whose whole thinking is done in terms of emotion, and whose dominant emotion is dread of what they cannot understand."
"The larger the (voter) mob, the harder the test....when the field is nationwide, and the fight must be waged chiefly at second and third hand, and the force of personality cannot so readily make itself felt, then all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre—the man who can most adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum."
"The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
- H. L. Mencken
Of course the brightest bulb in the race, Elizabeth Warren, didn't stand a chance with America's electorate and it's deep suspicion of intelligent people.
Now we're stuck with Biden vs. Trump, two intellectual featherweights, one plainly more humane than the other, neither one of which you could trust to write a term paper.
America seems to love the slow kids in the class.
14
@Socrates If I'm not mistaken, Menken wrote these words about F.D.R., a president he abominated. Politicians try to be, and successful politicians succeed in being, all things to all people. This is only possible to those whose core beliefs are malleable, and whose chief value is success at the polls. Bernie Sanders' improbable rise to political prominence shows that there are some few politicians who disprove the above generalizations - and in fact Trump does too to a degree.
As for Warren, my personal favorite, she never emerged from the shadow of Sanders, who had staked out the same positions before her. It also didn't help that she reminded voters of Hilary Clinton, who had a similar campaigning style and persona. Misogyny, too, played a role, I fear.
6
@Robert Crosman
My good friend H L Mencken wrote those words in 1920.
He was writing about Republican Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio and Democratic Governor James M. Cox of Ohio, NOT FDR.
4
The cruel insults work...because the Fox Nation Viewership endorses it...along with Trump's all enabling GOP! A judge recently stated that Barr's interpretation of the Mueller Report was a distortion of the Truth...basically..saying...Barr Lied and can't be trusted! Yet...there are...60 million Fox Nation Trump supporters supporting Failed Policies...and ...a Chaotic and Dysfunctional Administration with an over 80% turnover rate. It all started with criticisms of fellow Americans from all walks of life including the handicapped, a Gold Star Family and ...a former POW etc. Let's not forget the Entertainment Tonite tape...course....it was...all just Locker Room Talk...and by the way..there's more! Much More!!! Mexico was going to pay for the great big beautiful Wall..the China Trade War was going to be an...Easy Win....and amongst other wonderful promises....we we're going to have Better More Affordable Health Care !!! In spite of all the Chaos Confusion and Ineptness...over 60 million Americans ...the Fox's Nation....still support the Worst President in American History !! MAGA has turned out to be a HOAX !! Vote Blue No Matter Who...save our Democracy and our...Sanity !!
13
Such casual ageism in American culture - demented 'boomers' et al. Any sniff of weakness and the teeth seem to bared. Shame.
6
I hope your wrong.
The sad thing is I can see Bidens dementia with my own eyes. Trump is going to win. Prepare yourselves.
1
What is most astonishing is that some 60 million somewhat educated Americans would vote for another four years of Trump. We must take some quiet time and ask ourselves what is so wrong with us that our neighbors and friends embrace a man who assaults women, paid off hookers, has assembled a team around him who are either indicted, under federal investigation or in jail, has publicly lied 16,000 times (according to Glenn Kessler in the WaPo), has his kids stealing from US taxpayers, steals from US taxpayers himself, has trouble talking, is most likely a tool for Putin, has locked up immigrant hildren, has bankrupted a half dozen companies, stolen from his own charity to purchase a portrait of himself, paints himself orange and wears his ties down to his knees.
A friend was over the other night and she said (incredibly) "Just give him a chance." I said: He's has three years of chances.
What do Americans see in him? Jesus?
23
I guess Mulvaney's book recommendation wasn't too well received by the stable genius who was his boss. As for me I much prefer sleepy Joe's gaffs and slips to Trump's blathering, meandering, nonsensical prattle - he gives new meaning to the term, village idiot. As for our self-proclaimed expert's take on the Coronavirus, its better to ask your dog or cat what they think. Better still ask a doctor or a nurse who will give the real truth and facts - we were and are still very ill-equipped to deal with a growing health care crisis and the warmer weather isn't going to make it all go away.
6
Madness is a President is only a good thing if you regard this as one big reality TV show. It worked out well in Game of Thrones - and the ratings were sky high.
But the thing is, reality TV is “reality” not but not real. And this corona virus thing and the myriad other challenges facing the country are very real. Having a manic moron at the helm exacts a real toll in lost lives, lost opportunities, lost respect, and loss of confidence in the underpinnings of America.
This guy’s gotta go! Maybe he could take a long voyage on cruise-ship and give us all a break from the madness.
8
Once again, well written opinion piece by Maureen Dowd. Thank you NYT.
1
You could have done better Mo.
1
Biden's horribly wrong side of history votes and 100% being in the pocket of the credit card industry should be enough to disqualify him but watching him try to form full sentences makes my stomach turn.
The establishment rigged the super Tuesday vote by forcing Pete and Amy out leaving a man that is in the early stages of dementia. NYT and Corporate media are not telling us the truth about it. Trump will win and it will be the democrat party and the medias fault.
2
I blame every single bit of this nastiness and name-calling and dishonesty that has overtaken the GOP and put this loudmouth moron in office on FOX News. America is in great danger of losing our democracy and so many of our precious rights because of the lies and hate-mongering coming from this horrible tv channel. Who on earth is going to save us now? I am urging and on my knees begging any of the sane people at FOX, if any are left, to please resign and help us save America.
7
How does sound Laura "Ignorant:" A debate between the first lady ( a former "model") and Dr. Jill Biden?
6
Huh? What’s with Maureen? I read the article..... twice. I think I’ll have to read it a few more times to get the point. What point? The President is nuts? Because he’s Panglossian? Good for him and us. Who would ever want a President who’s depressed, negative, dour, a “Chicken Little”. Maybe you Maureen. Not me.
1
Trump making fun of Biden's intelligence? Talk about projection!!!
10
What Maureen does not say is that the only way a Trump can exist as President (as opposed to playing a fantasy character on his awful reality show) is to have the coterie of idiots he has supporting him, enabling his delusions and indulging his madness.
Without them, he is nothing.
9
Trump really should self-quarantine to Mar-a-Lago, and hang up his tweeter. I'll take Biden's occasional meanderings any day over Trump's covfefes (and lies, and narcissism, and xenophobia, and misogyny, and bigotry, and racism ...)
11
Run for the hills!!!!!
4
I thought immediately of political "leaders," thought to be mentally unstable, like Adolph Hitler, Napoleon and the guy in the Philippines today Manuel Quezon. It seems a really terrible stretch for any informed writer to suggest than it's OK for the leader of any country to be mentally ill, to any obvious degree.
3
To do justice to Trump’s pathologies as a leader, we need to go back further in history. Perhaps Caligula?
5
Of the five (until last week) elderly candidates, Sanders, Warren, and Bloomberg were the only ones on top on the mental acuity front. Biden has long been prone to gaffes and making awkward statements open to misinterpretation (recall his reference to Obama as "bright and clean"); is he also showing signs of age related cognitive decline? Same for Trump; but in comparing Trump's and Biden's mental fitness for office, one finds Trump much scarier because he is emotionally unstable, paranoid, and coddled by craven sycophants. He's also mean in spirit. Biden at the least is emotionally grounded and generous.
Just a note on politicians who struggle with words: the United Negro College Fund's powerful motto ("A mind is a terrible thing to waste") was run through the mangle of a relatively young VP's cerebrum and emerged as, "What a terrible thing it is to lose one's mind..."
6
Dr. Trump ...Doctors with Disorders.
6
Biden/Obama 2020?
5
Michelle
4
Well I can not tell you how many times Ms Dowd would make me crazy and angry. But she is sometimes so on the money that you find yourself shaking your head yes yes yes.
Thank you
yes yes yes
2
Donald trump impugns Joe Biden's mental acuity. Really? I am so beyond sick of Trump projecting.
8
Right, Pretender! That's all this guy is: a pretender. A phony. A fraud. It's all an act to hide his gross ignorance, incompetence, and insecurities. I don't find him interesting is the slightest bit. People who are drawn to him must enjoying being played.
3
It boils down to our President Trump is a very cruel, mean spirited, vindictive, FRUIT CAKE who believes he's a genus.
Biden is pleasant, decent, warm, respectable, caring citizen in good standing with the law,
Trump has more than 3,000 law suits to answer and well as
a soon to be a convictive felon after to be Jan 21, 2021
7
He won’t be prosecuted.
1
Quite right about Trump. You omit Ghaemi’s chapter on Hitler. I think Ghaemi’s point is that flipping a coin about whether or not you have good crazy or bad crazy is no way to run a world.
4
But he's got a snappy outfit MoDo! Not like those frumpy old car coats Al Gore used to wear! Dont you love the hat!!1!
2
This week's word is "Panglossian." As usual I had to look it up. As usual spell check thinks it's not a word. But it is.
It is also a stunningly apt description of President Trump. The image will not be leaving me soon -- Trump's hand-waving statements about his prowess in science while actual scientists stand alongside wondering whether to force a smile or take him away to an asylum.
4
And let's not forget those Democrats who thought that Ronald Reagan was beginning to lose it... The problem is that sometimes it's dirty politics but other times it's astute observation; the more the cavalierly the former is employed, the less less likely the latter will be taken seriously.
2
One attendee of the CPAC conference tested positive for the virus. If it turns out there are more will they still feel everything is "beautiful" & the virus is contained?
I don't want to look at my investments. I can't even take any comfort that the market is equally affecting those tied to trump & his followers, because they are being led to believe it is a result of fake news made to take down their guy.
7
Ms. Dowd's column this morning has the puzzling statement that "Many Trump critics in 2016, and in the year after his election, pushed the idea that his father had suffered from Alzheimer’s". According to many sources, Trump's father Fred most certainly had Alzheimer's disease for the last six years of his life. In other words, Democrats didn't "push the idea" about Fred's condition, they reported accurately.
22
In Trump-world there is one Decider only. Everyone else kowtows.
Biden’s campaign is very different. I’m sure he listens to his wife, which Trump surely does not. I’m sure he listens to his advisors, which Trump does not. I’m sure he pays attention to science, and comprehends much of it, which Trump surely does not. I’m sure he genuinely cares about all Americans, which Trump surely does not.
Trump’s fantasy world has no place for losing the election, but reality, in the form of this novel virus, is on the move. Bigly.
17
I find it fascinating that the MSM has not conjectured about Trump’s mental decline. Show a video of him speaking 20 years ago and compare to current. He did, at one time, know how to make a coherent sentence. Examine his speaking now, not speeches, but interactions with reporters or even foreign leaders. It is obvious that there is decline. We can’t diagnose it, but we need to report on it. Jokes are made about his incoherence but it should be looked at as a serious matter. Put aside speculation about his psychological disorder and just try to report on what’s right in front of us all. If your father was speaking like Trump does, wouldn’t you recommend an evaluation?
12
The only vaccine for the virus, Trumpid - 45 is the voter.
12
It's not necessary to be a psychiatrist or psychologist to know that Trump is mentally ill and mentally deficient. Nor is it necessary to be a criminal investigator to know he is corrupt to the bone. He shows us every day and even occasionally brags about it.
I understand his support from racists, the willfully ignorant, xenophobes, fake Christians and all the cretins who infest the Republican Party. But I know smart, intelligent, educated people who tell me they're going to vote for him again.
Maybe they're not as smart, intelligent or educated as I think.
17
@Enough
Those are the people that are only concerned about their tax-cuts and investments and they would vote Republican if a cartoon character ran.
13
Ok, perhaps functioning mental capacity isn’t everything. But, do we have to continue to put up with extreme stupidity on top of it?
5
Lincoln appointed former rivals Seward and Stanton to his cabinet. He valued the best advice available. Trump’s brain trust? Betsy DeVos, Erik Prince, James O’Keefe, Fox & Friends.
9
I am sick and I am tired of reading that Trump is wrong on issues or “morally bankrupt”. Do none of you know what a psychopath is? Do none of you know how dangerous it is to have in power a man whose brain developed aberrantly, who does not, and never has, cared about anyone but himself? Can’t you just look at Trump’s facial expressions, his archetypical psychopath smirk, to realize that something important is awry?
Trump scores at least 35 on the Hare Psychopath Test - an extreme psychopath, with irrational intentions extremely different from those you imagine from a fellow human being.
20
I wish the Times and other news organizations would print verbatim transcripts of The Con Man's statements. Reading his incoherent statements is both hilarious and terrifying.
11
Mick Mulvaney must be a dim bulb himself if he thinks Trump is a mad genius. Trump is stunningly ignorant and shows no capacity to learn anything unless it is about himself. It is hard to imagine anyone in public life who is more of a “dope”. He reminds me of Wyle E. Coyote who would remark “I’m such a genius!” while blowing himself up with his next stupid plan. Isn’t this obvious?
5
Mr. Trump is suffering from a virus known as "It's all about ME."
4
The existential crisis facing America is the moronavirus in the White House. Four more years of this and there won't be anything left to save.
7
>>>
"Men are so necessarily mad that not to be mad would amount to another form of madness”.
Pascal
3
... a galloping horse. Best to be ridden out of town on.
2
Our mere president a man of gluttony has gotten so huge so FAT it seems that his only job at the White House is to eat everything coming out. If the kitchen with worry abandonment and showing off his signature like a little toddler
2
Trump is killing people and the GOP congress doesn't care. They know he is incompetent, but hey the tax cuts! They know he is vicious and mean, but hey the tax cuts! They know he is corrupt, but hey the tax cuts! They know he doesn't read, but hey the tax cuts! They know he doesn't care about anyone but himself, but hey the tax cuts! The GOP are idolators, they only worship gold.
Blue wave 2020 !
13
I think trump needs an injection of something that would help all of us.
Scopolmine
Yeah - “truth serum”
5
May not work as you have to understand truth versus not listening nor reading without comprehension
And speaking
People who watch and actually LISTEN to Fox News are lost souls, so whatever is said on that network should either be taken for comic relief OR as fodder to feed the mindless minions who can't think for themselves. Look, it's clear that Biden is competent but not a great debater. Nothing in his persona suggests to me that he's hiding mental failings, unlike Reagan did at the end of his term. And what the vermin on Fox News seem to not realize is that ANY DECENT MORAL PERSON would take mispronouncing Thursday for Tuesday ANY DAY over a gangster-president who's "deranged, suffering from malignant narcissism" as you so eloquently pointed out.
11
From my perspective, I see POTUS as exhibiting most of the symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) in addition to his narcissism.
Please read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder
3
Sloppy reasoning mars this piece by Dowd.
Chamberlain, like his predecessor Stanley Baldwin, continued to believe appeasement was working and kept at it despite obvious signs it was not, which sure seems like delusional behavior to me.
Churchill, from the rise of Hitler on, never wavered in his beliefs that Hitler and the Nazis were evil and had to be defeated. Is that mercurial behavior?
Lincoln appointed new generals to lead the Union Army and replaced the ones who didn't do well until he found Grant. Is that mercurial behavior?
6
" watching television while “...., radical crazies” run the White House"
So no change then.
4
The impeached imposter president, utterly incoherent and rambling in practically all public speech settings, makes fun of Joe Biden's memory hiccups and garrulousness. The impeached imposter president, spouting ignorant hunches and outright fabrications, casts doubt on Joe Biden's soundness of mind and reliability. The impeached imposter president--hypochondriacal coward playing staunch guardian of the nation's health, petulant child playing mob boss, bullying narcissist playing king of the world--it's a crazy fantasy world, fer sure, Maureen. If a Biden victory in November can begin what may be the long slog back to sanity, and the permanent relegation of a criminally incompetent and demonstrably mentally unbalanced pretender of a president, then call me crazy--I'm for Joe.
8
Trump destroyed hundreds of lives as a business man. He didn't care at all. Losers. He is evil and always was. Biden at least cares about people. Sanders too. That's the difference. And Churchill and Lincoln cared as well. It's not about your mental illness. It's about character. And it shows if you are depressed or not.
10
Seriously? With ALL the gaffes, mispronunciations, rambling, incoherent sentences and tweets of Trump's? What - too many to research for your weekly column?
7
Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness,” by Nassir Ghaemi, director of the mood disorders program at Tufts Medical Center.
“This book argues that in at least one vitally important circumstance insanity produces good results and sanity is a problem,” Ghaemi writes in his introduction. “In times of crisis, we are better off being led by mentally ill leaders than by mentally normal ones.”
Trump is in good company if this is the case with the likes from Nero, Caligula, Napoleon, to Hitler, Gaddafi, Kim Jung-un and on.
1
What a strange column. Joe Biden is not compromising lives by bungling the federal response to corona virus. Ms. Dowd might have discussed who it was in the Trump administration that rejected the World Health Organization's test for the virus, causing a major delay in our national ability to test for it and determine patterns of how it is spreading so that we could put resources in the right places to contain it. Instead, our own CDC stumbled around trying to come up with a test on the fly, produced a botched test (probably due to laboratory contamination), and then finally came out very late with a working test, after community spread of the virus had already set in. Was it Trump who refused to pay for the WHO's test, just like he refuses to engage with the UN, NATO, and other important international bodies? Why not focus on this, rather than making fun of Biden for the kind of gaffes he has, frankly, been making for years, apparently as a segue into mocking Trump's self-delusion. Is this Ms. Dowd's attempt at journalistic balance, or just more of her typical all-opportunity vitriol with a particular dig at older men in general? The bottom line is Biden is a far more decent, grounded individual than Trump, and piling on with the Trump camp's insults of Biden simply does their work for them, blurring reality even further beyond recognition while a killer virus stalks the land. Nice going, Ms. Dowd.
6
"Anyone who wants a test will get one". Right. Great. We're going to leave it up to individuals to decide they want to get tested, and of that group we will test only those who have the wherewithal to seek out a doctor and pay for that visit if they are uninsured.
Sounds like a perfect plan. Thanks Trump. Yes, I am tired of winning.
6
Not mentioned in this article is the influence of money. It seems when people make large amounts of money they start to get weird, for lack of a better word.
I read an article about Robert Mercer, the big Republican donor, and those who knew him said he was a normal guy until he started getting rich. I have a friend who is beginning to make some money in finance, a Trump supporter, and he is becoming someone I don’t know anymore.
I am not sure if the ego kicks in because they are wealthy, if it’s the constant pursuit of more, if it’s greed, but the rich are not like us. And they shouldn’t be making decisions for us, but money has always bought power. No more so than today.
17
@JKile Interesting comment. I wonder a lot about this too. I recently have found myself way more financially stable, paid off my house and have stayed very frugal in recent years.
The *scale* comparison may be ridiculous. Still-- what I have noticed is that as I am adding a few thousand into a savings acct, something which would be unthinkable a few years ago, I am experiencing "scarcity mindset" far more than ever before. Even though things are going well. I am more obsessed with various schemes to build it up more, not spend money, etc. All that may sound basic and normal, but I wonder what happens when you scale up, in the psyche. A tiny few obscenely rich, but very philanthropic people come up in my thinking, as challenging examples.
2
Interesting about the Ghaemi book.
I would suggest there are significant differences between Lincoln and Churchill and Donald Trump. Trump's purpose for being president is to unleash his ego and impose his will. Churchill wanted to establish his father's Tory democracy and felt at the end of his life, he had failed. Lincoln felt his purpose was to prove his worthiness by serving others. After the surrender of Lee at Appomatox, Kearns Goodwin, reported that those around him could not understand his inner serenity and in fact as reported his last words before leaving for Ford's theater were:" I'll go, though I'd rather stay."
There are other signs that Churchill and Lincoln had mastered their inner demons and that Trump has rather surrendered to his. Churchill put himself into dangerous situations in war zones although he was afraid to be on open balconies for fear he might jump.He also did activities to counter his depression--bathing, painting, writing and bricklaying. Lincoln and his wife tended to the wounded and his aides felt Lincoln made himself too much of a target when visitng the front and in one battlefield appearing minutes after the hostilities had seized. Lincoln loved people and telling stories of human foibles.
Lincoln and Churchill also rose to a certain extent, beyond body limitations to free their minds. Trump seems firmly anchored and imprisoned by his bodily identity.
13
Donald Trump is not a leader - he is a psychopath. It demeans Churchill and Lincoln to put Trump in the same sentence. Trump is an aberration who belongs in jail for tax evasion, money laundering, and sedition.
5
@New Eyes Other distinctions are in the nature of the mental issue involved - unlike mental illness of disease for Churchill and Lincoln, Trump has a serious personality disorder (or perhaps multiple) to go with the described mania. His is one that fits the sociopathic personality disorders of antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders. Were he not born with that gold spoon in his mouth, he would likely be in a maximum security prison doing life without parole. But his has lived a privileged and protected life, so he gets away with things that would see the rest of us doing time. Adding mania to those is a recipe for national disaster in the time of crisis, not good leadership.
The very stable genius has at best, a 500 word vocabulary. Perfect is his favorite word, but never exemplary. Great comes in at second place without examples.
We have always known or at least we should have known, when a crisis erupted, he would have no answer. Now it is here and we cannot assume the Federal government's response will be sufficient to contain the coronavirus. To date, nothing the Trump Administration has done will do much to install confidence in the population.
It is obvious we cannot afford another four years of Trump. Vote as if you life depended upon it, because it just be the reality.
14
@allen roberts
In Jimmy Breslin’s book “I Don’t Want to Go to Jail” the NY mafia boss character runs things using only 10 words.
1
I am 49 and even when I was younger I forget someone's name or even what day it is. I am far better with number, I can remember a number from 10 years ago.
To attack someone because of age and forgetting a day or name is nasty, and this is one reason why Bernie will lose, older people hate this line and only allianate older voter, for most young person who will not go out to vote.
We will all get old one day and this line will go no where. If Sanders does not do well in the next debate
and show that Biden is not up to it overwhelminglyy he might as well just drop out.
4
@Sandra With Bernie or Biden, occasional forgetfulness is one thing. It is forgetting something they actually knew or still know. With Trump, he never really bothered to know these things, and simply confabulates - fills in the gaps of knowledge with making stuff up in the moment. Because it is contextual and sometimes sounds kinda okay in the moment, or would be surprising one would lie so blatantly, people ignore his lies (confabulation). But this fits the antisocial personality disorder to a "T". Sadly, though, he has enablers, who realize that he is a "useful idiot" and are determined to use him all the way to the end.
2
Did you hear him say the passenger ship with new cases was not "our fault?"
He's worried more about whom he can blame than he is about the public health.
And he said the tests were "nearly perfect" which means, not perfect.
12
Is he a "beautiful, perfect, stable genius" or a beautiful, perfectly unstable psychopath?
To me, three and half years proves the second choice.
If the country gets him for another term, God save us!
23
Trump shouldn’t be criticizing anyone’s cognitive abilities. He slurs his speech. He goes on weird rants about toilets. He can barely read. He stands on the white household lawn looking dazed and walks around aimlessly in circles. He couldn’t figure out how to close an umbrella. He walked around in public with toilet paper stuck to his shoe. He can’t spell basic words. Hamberder, indeed.
29
The videos of Trump's visit to the CDC were right up there with Bush telling the incompetent head of FEMA "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
21
Trump cannot possibly deal with a virus that is complex and uncertain. Microbes ignore his schtick, a sure indication that they are much more sensible than his followers.
9
I’d love to see Dr. Jill Biden “wax on wax off” Laura Ingraham like she did the lunging vegan in Los Angeles...Even if it’s just a campaign meme.
3
Bill Maher produced a perfect reply to Fox/Trump. The video shows Trump in all his crazed gibberish.
7
remember WH staff, your boss says its fine to go to work if you have covid-19. just fine.
9
Don't even mention Joe Biden in the same sentence with the psychobaby in the White House. You are getting close to your ill suited observations about Al Gore's brown suits 20 years ago.
This is serious and our country's future is on the line.
Biden has a whole phalanx of intelligent people ready to form a coherent government.
Trump is seen today telling 5 incredulous doctors how knowledgable he is about medicine. Good grief. His behavior is that of a sociopath. Period.
19
The health risks of this virus is NOT about one insecure man lost in a world of conspiracy fantasy's. It's about all the health of all the people in the country. Saying everything is OK does not make it OK.
At this point I still have not seen a concerted effort to actively inform the population of the risks involved or the
precautions one should take to safe guard themselves and their families.
To this end I again offer a list of common sense precautions gleaned from numerous media articles.
UPDATED-Coronavirus Preparedness:
1. Preparation...Not Panic.
2. If you have been exposed to people that have traveled to
affected countries...get tested.
3. The CDC recommends a 60% alcohol based Hand Sanitizer, but there is some disagreement about the alcohol percentage. People should rely on hand washing in general.
4. Flu shots.
5. Ventilate your spaces
6. Boost your immune system through sleep, nutrition, vitamins.
7. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
8. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
9. Stay home if you feel sick.
10. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
11. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
Also:
13. CDC WEBSITE:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html
14. THE W.H.O. WEBSITE
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
7
The Trump children must have the vapors, now that spoiled political offspring are in Season this Fall!
3
Exhaustion set in long ago . I hope you have something new to write about soon Maureen .
5
This is a simple Mad Libs game: Anything that is about the President is perfect and genius; anything that pertains to Joe Biden is sleepy or worse; anything that is about the media is fake and misleading and out to get the President.
It's hard to fathom how we can be surprised and outraged day after day by the same old tripe.
6
..."the president has “mild manic symptoms all the time.”
It's called Adderall.
8
To Fox and Friends Donald J. Trump is the most intelligent and most handsome man to ever walk on this green earth.
What’s more, Trump has real hair, real tan, and is so fit, his fat to muscle ratio is lower than that of Christiano Ronaldo.
Also, Trump has neither uttered a single
lie in his entire life nor cheated on any of his 3 wives. He also has no sexual desire for Ivanka Trump. Ever.
The good news is that COVID-19 does not give a flying care as to what Fox and Friends believe.
11
Apparently someone at the recent CPAC convention where Trump and many of the top GOP wigs appeared was diagnosed with COVID-19. CPAC has informed the White House and maintains that this individual, now in care, had no contact with Trump, et. al.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavirus-cpac-trump-pence_n_5e643381c5b68d6164555902
THIS PARTY IS JUST GETTING STARTED.
5
“I alone can fix it.”
“Okay Pence, the mic is yours.”
4
What will happen with Trump when—
A coronavirus case turns up in the White House—
A coronavirus case turns up in Mar-a-Lago?
5
On the plus side, we don’t have to worry about Islamic extremists committing a heinous terrorist act on American soil, bringing the United States to its knees. Trump is doing a stellar job of terrorizing America right from the Oval Office, and Mar-a-Lago. Lucky us!
3
should havde stopped with the first two words "Trumps Crazy"
3
Trump suffers from his own unique virus: Ready, fire, aim.
3
"baseless rumors spread by followers of Lyndon LaRouche that Dukakis had had psychiatric treatment."
If only Uncle Donny Jon had begun having psychiatric treatment on an at-least five-times-a-week basis years ago and were still doing so.
2
Delicate Donald. Donald is delicate.
4
Trump: Gut wrenching embarrassing and ignorant if front of scientists and serious, educated thinkers and public servants. He really should be institutionalized.
9
There's often a thin line between insanity and criminality. Trump, however, seems to have a foot firmly planted on both sides of that line except, of course, when he's in his defalt mode of depravity.
6
Just call me the Chief and give me a dose of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". The insanity of an election involving two soon-to-be octogenarians and the demented idiot who knows more than the generals, economists, and scientists causes me to awaken each morning to question reality and my own sanity. Is this all really real or am I crazy and imagining it all? Here's hoping I'm Tommy in St. Elsewhere and this is all in my head.
3
We can never stop condemning him and his supporters. They must stand forever as examples of the greed, hate and stupidity that almost destroyed civilization.
7
The political freak show at the top of the American government must be stopped.
3
The self proclaimed genius who says he graduated first in his class at Upenn managed to do it without ever once even making the dean's list.
Yeah
8
Trump is no crazier than most people. He is absolutely nuts, and the first statement is still true.
2
Trump forgets he is President. He's out on the golf course today, while none of us can request a coronavirus test. No data = no crisis. He is professionally senile.
13
I do t know if Trump is senile but I do know his presence on the golf course today is another sign that he doesn’t care about any of us, puts his needs first and is playing games while no one can get tested.
Any other employee in the country would be fired for behaving like this- our president should have to resource the same code of conduct rules the rest of us do.
2
Three guys in their 70`s runnung for Presidency but one of them have lost his marbles long time ago.
trump brought Dr. Anthony S. Fauci , director of NIH who has done extensive reseach in infectios disease in the meetings , and hardly allowed his to speak.
In this trouble time trump is atacking Bloomberg in his tweets.
The World and the Country is at crisis and trump is getting his scientific information from FOX.
4
I wish Trump was a fantasy as in a bad dream.
3
“On Wednesday night, Laura Ingraham on her program... showed a graphic of Biden as the dead guy propped up in “Weekend at Bernie’s.”
Real classy, Dr. Ingraham.
6
Do we really need a diagnosis? As much as the expression “it is what it is” is overused, he is what he is - a shallow, racist, criminal, and lying ignoramus. Did the whole GOP read Mick’s recommendation? Are they holding on to the theory like some kind of life preserver? If so, it will sink them and all of us along with them.
1
In Biden's own words yesterday ,: "We cannot win this re-election, we can only re-elect Donald Trump"
2
"if Joe wins, his staff will “put him into a home,” and he’ll be there watching television while “super-left, radical crazies” run the White House." I like that, good way unite the Biden-Bernie factions.
1
I might be inclined to tolerate a bit of insanity but not insanity combined with stupidity.
4
Here is all you need to know. Our President wants sick passengers to stay on the cruise ship off California because if we quarantine them on shore "our numbers will go up and I like our numbers where they are". Never mind that more passengers trapped on the ship will get sick and presumably some will die. Trump cares about no one and he is now clearly endangering lives. When will his sycophants show some guts and say enough?
19
If Biden has to be wheeled around in a wheelchair and fed mush with a spoon by November, I will still vote for him if he's the one on the ticket against Trump.
25
By November Donnie is done and no Im not kidding.
5
@DG - even with a generous recovery in the markets, I agree, by November, he's toast and charred.
4
No sane person can seriously rationalize Trump’s mental pathologies. Biden might be confused, at times, but he is not a delusional narcissist and pathological liar. With Trump, it’s pure madness and anyone who doesn’t see this is in serious denial.
The Coronavirus cannot be obfuscated away like so many of Trump’s fantasies. People are dying. We are in dangerous territory and it’s going to get worse. Stuff just got real...
12
I can't wait to see Joe Biden debate trump. Trump will make one of his insulting asinine remarks and scrappy, from Scranton will punch trumps lights out on national TV. Maybe trump will stop being a bully after that.
6
Like most pathological liars, Trump only believes things when he hears himself say them, making him, of course, a "very stable genius." No one will ever convince him otherwise.
2
Good grief, Ms. Dowd....have you no shame?
Sans regard, our Constitution has gotten this far. Who's to say who's next? Who's to say their term won't see us through to 2024?
1
Ms. Dowd throws her normal venom on Fox News for daring to question Mr. Biden's state of mind, but then imitates Laura Ingram by psychoanalyzing Pres. Trump. Irony is not her strong suit.
2
I like your phrase, normal venom at Fox News. Exactly. Any sane person normally has venom for a propaganda outlet.
3
It takes a whole village to prop up a madman like this president. He makes Nixon look like a pussycat. What the dickens is wrong with the gang that props him up and actively participate in the daily madness! Well, they have no decency!
7
You've described the often missed moral of The Emperor's New Clothes. Also, iwas a child who pointed out the truth.
The allusion to Churchill highlights the great difference between Donald Trump and those good leaders who may have had mental-health problems.
If Trump is crazy, he's not crazy like a fox. He's crazy like a -- what was it Rex Tillerson called him? He does have a certain low cunning, but it's the lowest of the low. And it's a mixed blessing, like an unstoppable clock that sets off time bombs twice a day.
The quirky leaders of history were capable of doing more than keep a self-protective cloud of dust in the air.
3
"[Mr. Trump] seems psychologically incapable of dealing with ... " anything other than self promotion. The man is a disgrace, plain and simple. Take away the snark, and there's nothing there.
6
It’s time for democrats to fight back by constantly challenging trump’s mental stability mainly because he is nuts.
6
Vintage Maureen Dowd: all gossip, no content. Trump is crude, but he’s a leader. Can you say the same for Joe Biden?
1
Shall we start limiting the men through history who have been leaders and lead millions to horrific deaths?
1
Let's talk about the qualities of a good leader.
1
There could have been a woman president in 2016 but some woman hating women enabled trump. right Mo?
10
After three brutal years living in Fearless Leader Trump’s House of Horrors, I am forced to admit that I take guilty pleasure in watching the bloated, bloviating, loathsome pretender to humanity who now occupies the Oval Office brought low by a tiny strand of RNA wearing a thin, jagged protein coat.
That virus is a Democrat, after all. I heard it on Fox. And they wouldn’t just make stuff like that up.
4
These bunch of cretins think Joe Biden is incoherent. Do they ever listen to what comes out of Trump's mouth? Listen, Joe Biden stutters. Not a severly as he once did, but once it's in your genetic makeup it is there. Am I am expert or a Speech Pathologist? No
However, it takes one to know one. Earlier in life, I couldn't answer a phone, say a complete sentence without pauses, blockages etc. Thankfully, in time, and by overcoming a fear of public speaking, most people don't realize it's there, but I do on occasion. It has nothing to do with i.q. or mental ability. Last time my i.q. was checkec, granted some yeas ago, it was 149.
Trump bleats about the Consitution and he has not one whit of knowlege about it. Joe Biden taught Constitutional Law at the Delaware Law School. Now tell us please, "Faux News". just who has diminished mental ability. Of those with at diminished abiltiy, too many Trump voters, will sign onto the garbage being broadcast by the "Faux Network".
3
You do a great disservice by likening trump to a "frightened boy." A boy is a child, still developing, still deserving of some slack in judgments against him, still full of the possibility of growth and redemption as a useful human being. trump is just a shriveled up old sociopath who will never mature, never heal, and never care about anything beyond the end of his nose.
7
I don’t care if Joe Biden is losing it a bit.
I know our president is a sick and evil man beyond words. BTW we are all losing it because of Trump.
I yearn for a decent human being in the whitehouse and that is Joe.
10
QUOD ERAT DEMONSTRANDUM!
1
Lee Atwater, the sleaziest swamp creature to emerge from the Palmetto state before Linseed Graham, tried to smear Tom Turnipseed, a congressional candidate, with the fact that he had undergone electro-convulsive therapy ("ECT") for depression as a 16 year old.
ECT was. and remains, an accepted treatment for depression for patients who are not responsive to antidepressant or tri-cyclic medications.
Atwater, Graham and the rest of their treasonous confederate forbears are the worst of South Carolina, the South and the nation.
8
I’ll take a drunken uncle over a frightened boy in a crisis any day.
4
I'll take the kind-hearted drunk uncle over the hate-filled drunk uncle any day. Go Joe!!
7
Lets face it. We don't need counselors to analyze this cook. He has all the symptoms of a five year old but with a veneer of adulthood. He lack the ability to control his instincts which are generally distraught. He has a transparent ego that is fragile and easily set into a tantrum of ugly, downputting vitriolic for whatever target he think is smacking him. He jerks from one falsehood to another without considering what he makes a fool of himself.
4
So now Republicans are convincing themselves that a President with a mental illness is a good thing?
I have said this so many times it’s nauseating: Just when we think we have hit bottom, we realize that in Trump world there is no bottom, no facts; just a TV/Media show with an infallible star: Infallible because he controls the story and his lemmings, from your drunk uncle to the WH chief of Staff follow him to feel the glow of a man with no shame and who feeds only on adulation.
4
I’m way past the if and the why, the pondering on psychological disorders. I only look at the impact of Mr. Trump’s presence in the White House, and it’s not good. People seem to have gone nuts. Families are ripped apart. Lives are squandered obsessing about him, pro or con, time which could be spent in much more valuable ways. I’ve gone through all the phases, and my conclusion now is: It’s time to move on.
5
Jumping ahead, after Biden and Kamala Harris beat Trump and Pence, Trump will be bogged down in legal proceedings of all sorts. And it will probably not even be during his lifetime, if ever, that a Trump Library is built. At least, these are my predictions.
2
“I like this stuff, I really get it,”
Which does this statement represent?:
a) He actually does have a sense of humor and can laugh at himself, or
b) This is the best demonstration of the Dunning Kruger effect ever seen.
(I’d love to see someone ask him to briefly explain how the virus works.)
6
According to most polls, 46% of voting-age American’s sup-port Trump nearly 100%--that’s nearly 100 million people; but most of them don’t write letters articulating their support.
On the other hand, everyone who opposes Trump speaks loudly, often and very articulately. Ms. Dowd’s 2016 book of mostly previous opinion pieces were highly critical but left some room for leniency. Now, her opinion pieces are devastating with no room for toleration.
Most of the letters agree with her assessments and some are very, very intelligent, even more critical of Trump than Ms. Dowd’s.
But, I’m left in this strange vacuum because no one who reads the Times (and there has to be some among the 100 million Trump supporters) ever writes an intelligent letter (or even an unintelligent letter) in defense of Trump. We only hear his shrill noises amplified by Fox views.
We all agree that Ms. Dowd's knife like slashes at Trump are incisive, but she won’t be on the stage debating Trump. Biden already makes too many unforced errors and Trump will use his slowed demeanor (for whatever reason) for shark bait.
If the opinion-makers and intelligent people want a Trump defeat, they are going to have to pull out the raw opinions of the 100 million Trump supporters and put on public display.
We have no idea of what’s waiting for us in the bushes.
3
In the first place, it’s just plain gazongas to argue that the Times never publishes or posts attempts intelligently to defend Trump. Or wacko-bird attempts to defend Trump, for that matter. They appear fairly regularly, if you trouble yourself to look.
Of course the problem is, there IS no intelligent defense of Trump’s general behavior, or most of his specific actions. When there is, those get reported on too. If you look.
And as for the claim that “we don’t know what’s out there.” Really? With FOX, Rush, Breitbart, and a dozen others re-braying the craziness on an hourly basis? With endless “books,” and I use the term advisedly, cranked out by the likes of Dinesh d’Souza and Coulter and a big stable of others? Seriously?
Here’s one thing we all know is out there: the right-wing fantasy about an occupation Deep State that suppresses their Truth.
2
Actually, the Times does occasionally publish a letter supporting Trump. Just as the Wall Street Journal occasionally publishes letter opposing him. Why not be accurate, rather than hyperbolic?
Spot on. And not to be an "I told you so " but this was plainly apparent in the Fall of 2016. Now look at the messes that he created.
7
If Biden wins it’s going to take a year to reconstruct the government and another 6 months to get all the investigations underway. I really and truly hope that the various House committees have their subpoenas locked and loaded for the day after Biden’s inauguration. We cannot go down the same path we did after the Iraq War and the Great Recession in which criminals got away with their crimes.
39
Trump has already done several years of damage. Odds are it will take double (maybe more) the time he’s been in office to set things right. Another 4 years and it will take a generation.
18
As is pointed out elsewhere in this thread, the point is not Trump's sanity, it is the sanity of his base.
42
Trump is often portrayed as someone so disconnected from reality that he doesn't know the things he says are untrue. Clearly, this is not the case. Trump's "delusions" only go in one direction, the one most favorable to himself. The diagnosis that fits is as follows: Donald Trump is a pathological liar, a malignant narcissist and a moral degenerate. Morality is not something Trump is concerned about, only whether something is beneficial to himself. It actually says a lot about this country that Donald Trump rose to the top. And it isn't good.
49
@Jon I could have written this! Well said, my friend.
1
Shame on all of us if we all don't unite behind the Democratic ticket up and down the ballot and vote in record numbers to slide Trump and his GOP enablers into the dustbin of American history. What an incompetent, small-minded, short-sighted, and embarassing chapter in the life of this great nation!
42
The President watching television while super left crazies run the country, BAD
The President watching television while super right crazies run the country, GOOD.
It's too bad Trump didn't become a scientist instead of running for president. It's likely that he wouldn't have been nearly as successful.
11
Trump fears losing because when he is out of office criminal lawsuits await. He frantically casts the opposition as a group out to get him--and they are! His derogatory statements nearly always reveal how he feels about himself and, in addition, reveal his total lack of sense.
21
Can’t wait to see him rolling to court in a golf cart, or maybe he’ll try a Weinstein and make an attempt for sympathy with a gold-plated walker.
1
@Maggie If he was smart Trump would resign the Presidency with time enough for President Pence to pardon Trump for everything.
I thought the world was over the myth that crazy people function well in the world and here it pops up again in Dowd's quoting of an erudite author of a book. Lots of drivel is written by people with doctorates and this is a good example. The one sure characteristic of crazy folks is their inability to cope with reality because they perceive it incorrectly because it is distorted by a very sick brain and that brings them to medical attention.
Calling Trump a "malignant narcissist" is like diagnosing a pulmonary tuberculosis patient as having a cold. It is a euphemism for describing a deeply troubled and therefore inept and dangerous man.
23
Karl recounts that when Mick Mulvaney became acting chief of staff, he took senior White House staffers to Camp David for a weekend retreat. He recommended they read a 2011 book, “A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness,” by Nassir Ghaemi, director of the mood disorders program at Tufts Medical Center.
And, what happened to Chief of Staff Mulvaney? Insanity got that one fired and redeployed to Northern Ireland?
7
@Julie Pretty sure Ireland was Mulvaney's choice. A nice vacation and princely life of an ambassador in the land of his ancestors.
TRUMPID-45 vaccinations are available, they’re called voters.
23
At those times when I become incredulous and deeply upset by the behavior of this president, I have to stop and realize what a damaged individual he is. Not that that helps any, because he is president of the United States. We do need somebody who is relatively sane. It is now a matter of life and death. All I can say is, if we are all still around in November, please choose wisely
12
A very fine, timely column Maureen!
We don't spend enough time though on the effect Fox has on the population. Many of those who remain Trump loyalists remain devoted to him due to the lies and distortions that Fox sends out 7/24. Videos of Trump talking nonsense are cleaned up or not shown. So, Joe Sixpak doesn't have a clue.
14
@Harold Anthony Fox has been doing this for 22 years, an entire generation has been brain washed. The check on the free press is who pays for the ads.
If you want to see the tangible result of a national health plan run by the government and sensibly coherant, where documentation is at your fingertips,and planning is sensible and not difficult, look at the corona virus map for the results of the outbreak in Canada.
14
Rome is burning and Nero's fiddling, again; and we are debating and writing silly columns to supposedly elucidate massive corruption, darkness and insanity? It reminds me of Hamlet when he said something to the effect: "I am but mad north-north-west. When the the wind blows southerly I can tell a hawk from a handsaw."
6
Doesn't matter - the withdrawals of all the women, minorities, and people not eligible for Social Security and Medicare in the race means that all we have left are incoherent septuagenarians left at the top of the ticket. The American electorate will not turn out to vote for uninspiring old white guys, thus ushering in the incoherent orange guy yet again. It's over, folks. And it's our own dang fault.
3
Let's keep it simple—do you want Trump in office for another 4-years? The great weakness of liberals is that they can be foolish idealists. In 2016 liberals did not keep their eye on the ball—understanding that the real prize was which party would nominate justices to the Supreme Court. The high court is now conservative for a generation, as well as, conservative have packed the federal courts.
I'm sorry—Democrats can be navel gazing fools—in many instances no match for the focused, cut-throught GOP. Stop it, get serious and fully embrace the reality that elections have consequences—with winning being the ultimate goal. Idealism when it comes to elections is just ignorant.
1
"Republicans have made something of a specialty of challenging opponents’ cognitive capacity.,"
And you Ms. Dowd can always be counted on to gleefully repeat their insults.
Is that an attempt at media balance? Quote some lies and insults from right-wing propagandists and then directly quote the President's incoherence and ignorance?
Trump, Republicans and the conservative media spew huge volumes of the most ridiculous lies and slurs to muddy the waters Why? It works. Especially since they can count on some in the "responsible" media to repeat the juiciest ones.
5
Just hopin' the rallies keep happening, because Trump has a "hunch" the virus is not really a problem. Let them all crowd around him with their MAGA hats and shake hands!
10
POTUS is dangerous. There is more but that should be enough.
11
"Many Trump critics in 2016, and in the year after his election, pushed the idea that his father had suffered from Alzheimer’s and now Trump was losing it and that his vocabulary was eroding."
This didn't work with the die-hard Trumplodites, because they struggle with their own vocabulary. They said; "I love how he says what's in my head." And he says it pretty much word for word...even with the same repetition of the same words over and over in the same sentence.
Plus, Trump wasn't losing words, as he never had them to lose. Look at his performances on any TV show, esp. on the Letterman shows - his vocabulary was always stunted. He has always spoken in broken sentences and thoughts and relied on few words with more then three syllables. He's like a guitar player who only plays a few clunky chords. An unimaginative punk rock player...lacking real emotion and creativity, but good enough to get the crowd moshing.
If tomorrow Trump came out and spoke in complete gibberish, it would not matter to his core fans. In fact, the Evangelical supporters would fall to their knees and claim he's now speaking in tongues and its the truest, bigliest sign of his divine providence.
But of course no such extreme leeway will ever be granted to anyone else. Not even Republicans who might wish to reignite their inner ethics pilot light, and oppose him. Romney is a clear example.
Only Trump is allowed to fumble, bungle, stumble and otherwise be the fool...in word, deed and gesticulations.
6
How manic, self-absorbed and dangerously out of touch must a person be to wear a red "Keep America Great" hat political advertisement to a meeting addressing a deadly coronavirus and visiting a tornado-ravaged Nashville. As appropriate as a clown at a funeral.
27
Watch Trump on TV with the sound off.
Trump cannot accomplish every day tasks of daily living. He cannot get dressed. He misapplies his makeup and bronzer. He wears "pre-tied" ties. He only wears loafers now since he cannot tie shoe laces. Since he can no longer belt his pants, he now wears pants without belt loops; no belt, no suspenders.
Trump's unbalanced when he walks. He can't walk more than 5 feet in a straight line. He can't go up and down steps without a railing. He keeps a wide stance walking so he will not fall.
Trump's unbalanced when he stands. His shoulders jerk spasmodically. At his rallies, he holds on to the podium with both hands lest he lose his balance. When he takes his hands off the podium, he moves his belly forward for support.
Biden evinces NO misbehavior like Trump at all.
Trump's family, White House staffers, and Republicans in the Senate enable Trump to stay in office. They serve Trump. They do NOT serve our country.
25
It is obvious to any practicing therapist that Trump is a bloviating narcissistic ignoramus. What is less discussed is that the people who support him feel more or less the same.
If the US wants to restore Democracy, they need to attack Trump's staff and his supporters. A vote for Trump is a vote for a fascist dictator who enriches himself, his friends and and his family while promoting racism, favoring loyalty over competence and preferring misinformation over the truth.
Mussolini was also popular - in the beginning- and now Trump is trying to do the same thing but with much less brain power - this won't end well.
15
Republicans mocking Biden's mental capacities is like a 400 pound man mocking a 300 pound man's obesity. Trump's childlike boasts that he is a "stable genius" who knows more than medical and military experts sounds more and more like the psychotic ramblings of his bromance buddy Kim Jong Un, another amazing prodigy who drove at the age of three while writing 10 great operas. Since his mysterious, undisclosed medical emergency a few months ago, Trump is also slurring his words and increasingly speaking in word salad.
Unfortunately, Biden is also slowly but surely showing signs of his own mental decline. The 2020 race may well come down to which man totally loses it first.
How in God's name did we get here?
7
@mivogo: Or the 2020 race may come down to who gets the Corona virus first... Do Republicans and Democrats have someone waiting in the wings to take the place of their nominees / candidates?
I read the last word as predator.
As Maya Angelou once said, " when a person shows you who they are, believe them the first time". Trump is no mystery. He has repeatedly and emphatically shown us who he is..over and over again. Let there be no mistake. We know who he is. A paranoid liar, as well as a narcissistic, misogynist, and racist. Denying what is in evidence before us every day is an act of self delusion. Biden? He's got Trump's number. He believed Trump the first time. Now it's just a matter of winning the Democratic nomination and the the election in November and getting rid of him.
7
Trump “ predicted that, if Joe wins, his staff will “put him into a home,” and he’ll be there watching television while “super-left, radical crazies” run the White House.”
So how is that any different from Trump watching Fox News while super right radical crazies run the White House?
8
@Barbara: Trump projects, as always.
The madness of King Donald.
Friday he said he preferred those diagnosed with the virus on the cruise ship laying off the coast of California remain on the ship because otherwise, the numbers would go up.
I think he said his numbers would go up but in any case, he does not want "the numbers" to go up.
In all the mad lies, the dreadful racist and vicious personal attacks on everyone and anyone, in all the stupid things he has said about everything and anything, this is perhaps the ultimate worst.
In the madness of King Donald, what matters most now is keeping his coronavirus numbers low.
So if you are going to get the virus or, worse, die of it --do it on a cruise.
Book now, lest you add to King Donald's numbers and madness.
5
The virus is in the White House, starting at the top and working its way down through the Administration- it's called Trumpdystopia- myopia.
8
..."2016"... ..."and now Trump was losing it and that his vocabulary was eroding."...
What vocabulary?
3
Only deep inside this rabbit hole into which we have all apparently fallen could any supporter of Trump...or Trump himself...straight-faced accuse any other human of being addled, inarticulate or otherwise unfit to be president.
5
Trump does NOT get it, despite his claims from his dumbed-down CDC tour. His claims he could have been a scientist: another one of this narcissist delusions. Trump represents the exact opposite of a scientist, which is a person who relies upon facts, knowledge, data, and evidence and has an inquisitive, probing mind. Trump is a joke.
7
Trump is fine. Everyone else is insane.
3
What a series of photos of our mentally deranged president to go along with his mentally deranged comments this week. There he is in his campaign hat with expressions on his face that would send most people deciding to cross the street rather than risk a confrontation with him. He is the man who raged at his son because he wasn't formally dressed for a baseball game and yet there he is photographed in pants that are ready to split their seams with a ridiculously placed hat that suggests he never looks in a mirror. Between his fingers flailing in the air and absolute nonsense spouting from his mouth I can't help but wonder what the guys in the background are thinking about.
9
Perhaps "careening" markets, not "careering". Feel fishy when two ideas are spelt differently.
3
The issue is who can govern. We know that Trump can't and won't. He does not have the attention span, intelligence and wisdom to uphold the duties of the office. Fox News knows this, too. They were going to go after Biden for something that is, in reality, an issue with Trump--projecting his problems onto someone else. It was bound to happen. It's how they operate.
3
It's not Trump. It's his Wall Street, country club, rural (welfare state) farmers and religious fundamentalist's that love him. It's hard to say why, but I suspect in the first two cases, money is the point of life. The rural simply seem resentful that their livelihood is not validated monetarily, so they watch Fox TV and listen to non-stop AM radio. As to the religious fundamentalist's, noble cause corruption is a good staring point.
Without his voters, Trump is nothing but another angry blowhard. Even with a Trump defeat, all the others aren't going anywhere.
16
All cogent points but where was this insight in 2015 and 2016, Ms. Dowd, when you were extolling Mr. Trump’s virtues and clearly on board the Trump train?
16
Let’s give it a rest, please, on slamming people for what they did or how they thought in the past. Times change, and people can change with them. Those who can’t are doomed. Would you prefer that Ms Dowd remained supportive of the disastrous president?
There are people out there who are 78 and can still hold their own, but Biden isn’t one of them. He simply looks weak, and weak is not good for a Presidential candidate. Is he going to get better? Uh, no. This is worse than Hillary/Trump. She had one bad day in the hot sun and they eviscerated her, and she was sharp as a tack. Of course, Biden is telling all the, "one percent," “nothing is going to change.” So really, what is the point of this election? We have Trump, because of the the Democrats. Because of, “nothing is going to change."
4
Ehh reap what you sow. Democrats did not ‘resort to similar sniping’ as Dowd puts it so delicately. (This sort of fig leaf understatement not a good look on you Maureen!) They stood up a virtual cottage industry dedicated to questioning Trump’s mental health and acuity. And they had a whole slate of sharp young candidates who could have brought that point to life. Instead they’ve all but settled on a 78 year old who wasn’t a ‘super genius’ in his prime and - to all but the willfully blind - pretty clearly can’t keep up with the flow of a normal conversation at this point. The difference? Trump was never the establishment candidate the first time around, so there was no effort to effect a cover up. The American people saw him in all his off-the-rocker glory. Is anyone comfortable that Biden can I) continue to avoid the media indefinitely or ii) will actually be able to string sentences together for the duration of an eight month campaign? This is sad.
6
We are in bad shape when our President does not want ill citizens removed from a cruise ship because the number of infected on our soil will rise drastically.
Isn't it great we are being led by such an empathetic individual?
We must also realize the extent to which the Democrats have spread this hoax...over 100 countries are infected. The amount of energy spent chasing this myth is astonishing. If only that energy could be spent supporting the re-election of our great, fantastic, best ever, genius in the White House.
p.s. we ain't seen nothing yet!
2
"He seems psychologically incapable of dealing with a virus that is complex and uncertain…" Maureen Dowd, 3/7/2020
Ms. Dowd, this is what you wrote on Nov. 5, 2016, 3 days before the election of Donald Trump. Your final statement regarding the two candidates before the voting started:
"The problem with Donald Trump is: We don’t know which of the characters he has created he would bring to the Oval Office.
The trouble with Hillary Clinton is: We do know. Nobody gets less paranoid in the White House."
Complexity? Uncertainty”? Are you EVER going to deal with your complicity in the election of Donald Trump?
18
Trump and his ideology, if it can be called that, are themselves a virus. They have infected our country's central nervous system in an alarming way. But a cure will be readily available this fall at the ballot box.
8
Oust Trump.
As a healthcare professional it is clear to see - he’s crossed the bottom line. Taking lives in his nonsensical hands.
Good-by Donald J. Trump.
13
We're back to the "perfect call" again—
And "total exoneration—no collusion, no obstruction"
And "perfect response to the coronavirus hoax".
9
As he does with everything his tiny hands touch, the awful trump will lower the bar to depths we have never seen before.
This 'perfect' horror of a man needs to be shown the door.
8
As Melania designs a tennis pavilion with our tax dollars, real people get up early and work and work. As Donald talks of his perfection, relationships with other countries falter as they analyze the easiest way to best us. As Trump family circles the globe in obscene luxury that you pay for, citizens try to pay for the medications forced on them by doctors getting kickbacks and pharmaceutical companies who addicted half the country for profit. Here is our country now with Russia orchestrating Americans attacking their neighbors and mercury freely pouring into our waterways. This is what happens when a severely mentally ill person is given the keys to the vault. He will bankrupt us, his speciality, while the little Misses buys footwear from Bergdorfs and he plays golf and charges us. So, Biden is looking pretty good to me now and the possibility of his team: Kamala, Pete, Steyer and maybe Liz will join and I will sleep for the first time in three years.
16
Biden has issues?! But the word salad that emanates from the President's mouth on a daily basis, in general conversation, planned public speeches and impromptu Chopper Talks--nope! Fox and his supporters have NEVER ever heard any, ever.
7
It was unfortunate that the first half of the article focused on repeating the president's lies and slurs. We are all too familiar with them already. See if you could make your point without trashing everyone!
5
A lot of people talk about Trump's mental state, and I used to believe that he was simply a narcissist. But the more I see and hear him, the less I am able to put a label on his personality and behaviour.
On the one hand, he is diabolically cunning in the way he successfully evades responsibility for anything, weaponizing the law and making a small fortune out of the presidency, while playing the brave victim of a wicked, wicked system.
On the other hand, he is shameless, uncouth, paranoid, uneducated, uninformed, dogmatic and, generally, as thick as a post; most disturbingly, as we say in Australia, he clearly has a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock.
So, I don't know that there is a medical term to describe Trump. I don't know how one word of any sort could describe him at all. He's simply a horrible specimen of homo sapiens, unfit to lead the US, but held in place by the very institutions and laws and norms he debases (along with the GOP).
He is self-absorbed, absurd, and scary. 'Those who can make [people] believe absurdities can make [them] commit atrocities'. Voltaire
20
It's up to the press to turn of the mic on Trump when he's abusing his position to get attention and lie about everything. Stop airing his rallies. Just report to us what he said and what was dead wrong.
9
The truth is Trump is very clever man with a very low IQ. He talks about not having gone into science with some regret. I wish he had. By now he would have killed all his patients and he'd be in jail. It breaks my heart to realize that so many of our citizens still believe in him. I have come to refer to them as "the cow patch people". I truly thought we were better than this.
10
Once again, you nail it, Ms Dowd. Thank you!
Pandemic trumps Panglossian, any day of the week.
Maybe this virus will break the fever and show his cult what a two-bit fraud he really is.
Not holding my breath, or touching my face.
6
The very stable genius is very sick and disturbed and the country continues to unravel.
10
Most Americans have known for decades that Donald Trump is a fake, phony and a fraud, but the memo never quite reached America's 'heartland', who fell hard for his used car salesmen techniques and were rewarded by the slave-era's Electoral College with their very own Trump University degree.
Three-plus years later, Trump is delivering record deficits and debt, record lies and record ignorance to the country.
It's good to see that the people who voted for this Presidential charlatan who fired the entire White House pandemic response team in 2018 will soon learn the hard way that their ignorance is not quite as good as actual knowledge.
Biden is no bargain, but at least he doesn't worship the gods of Mammon, Narcissus and Apasmara to the detriment of society.
Time for American voters to escort frightened, phony little Donald off the stage on November 3 2020 and January 20 2021.
21
Biden has character. Trump is a low life. It is really that simple.
16
"... if Joe wins, his staff will “put him into a home,” and he’ll be there watching television while “super-left, radical crazies” run the White House."
If you replace "Joe" with "Donald" and replace "super-left" with "super-right," President Trump (as always the master of psychological projection) could be describing the White House in his second term...if he gets one.
4
Oh my, this is the best I have ever read, and this is why Joe is what we need. He understands the blue collar, middle and lower income, upper income, black, white he does not see color, all that joe is missing is a women or maybe a Jew for Vice President, depending on Bernie. How much DOES Bernie believe WHAT he preaches because he COULD really deliver as Vice President, but he is going to have to want it and be willing to work with Joe and the rest of us Democrats. It will take a lot of trust, humility, and truly a act of God. But it would be the best thing for the country. Sometimes, Bernie, we are called to do things so much bigger than ourselves. This is your time, Bernie or you can go on being a Senator.
3
Trump can bully humans with his tweets, but viruses don’t give a hoot about tweets, insults, lies or bullies.
He botched the rapid development and deployment of the test for corona. Now it got a head start that will expand exponentially.
This is not a hoax. By the time this settles down, thousands will have died who would not have needed to die if the US had acted sooner.
And his stock market lost $ 3 trillion that won’t come back until he leaves office.
4
The Times should simply publish verbatim transcripts of Trump speaking at one of his rallies. He is without doubt an incoherent megalomaniac (look it up), who makes Biden sound like Benedict Cumberbatch).
Look at the photo of Trump at the CDC yesterday, wearing his MAGA hat and Presidential jacket. He is, as usual, pontificating about "perfect" this or that. But carefully look at the others in the photo who are standing next to Trump, staring at him.
The caption for the photo, to insure the accuracy of the moment, ought to read: "Public health officials look on with gobsmacked expressions as the President explains how George Washington seized control of British airports on Long Island during the Revolutionary War."
5
And Trump labels Bernie Crazy!
The fact that the President projects his own psychological status is little consolation. Given the age demographic of those most vulnerable to the Coronavirus (60+), Karma lurks.
6
A mental illness that's relatively benign is one thing. But the outrageous ignorance, deteriorating intellectual functioning, and sociopathy of Trump is something else. And it's dangerous.
11
Yes, ignorance has consequences, especially if accompanied by rampaging egomania. Combine that with the most power of any individual on the planet, and a dire outlook, already deadly to some extent, darkens immeasurably.
The last person America needs in a time of genuine crisis -- let alone leading the response -- is Donald Trump. Yet here we are, at the mercy of a malignantly narcissistic ignoramus wielding a bullhorn bigger and more far-reaching than anyone else's.
If God indeed helps those who help themselves, let's do our part and vote this monstrosity out of the White House -- *our* White House -- on November 3rd. The madness must end.
6
“This book argues that in at least one vitally important circumstance insanity produces good results and sanity is a problem...”
I strongly doubt that. For every Lincoln or Churchill there's a Caligula.
2
Q: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: First of all, the lightbulb really has to want to change.
3
It's a tragedy for our nation that Trump is in the White House. He's so grossly ill-equipped to serve. This is a man who is entirely smoke and mirrors. What's most stunning is that the experts and newscasters don't collapse with laughter and tears when he mouths off.
The Republicans who fear being tweeted about are a complete disgrace and responsible for the collapsing of our democracy. They, in conjunction with Putin and Zuckerberg/Sandberg, have no shame.
5
An insane person is a good leader during a crisis? Well Bush was and is a religious zealot, is that mental illness? All he did was create crisis. One can only hope to see Trump monetize this crisis by selling "Trump Testing Kits", let's make science great again will be the slogan.
it's interesting that Trump claims Joe Biden will sit and watch TV all day while liberals run the White House since Trump watches TV all day while his minions dismantle everything that was good and just about America.
7
Slipping back into old bad habits, the headline cites "three old guys" running for President then--mysteriously--describes only two! Nevertheless, He Who Must Not Be Mentioned Except as a Stalinist (as Senator Sanders is called around the offices of The Times) dominates this piece by his very absence. Imagine the contrast between the energetic, focused Bernie Sanders with either of these, er, mentally challenged candidates Biden or Trump. He will be talking common sense, bread and butter issues while they wonder off in nostalgia (Uncle Joe) or deluded rants of self praise (Uncle Donny).
1
Trump is Nero, Commodus, and Caligula all rolled into one. Far less talented though. Is Ghaemi seriously suggesting Trump's mental disabilities make him a more capable leader? I'm confused.
I know there's the famous Douglas Adams quip, "To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.” Suggesting among other things anyone who wants to be President is somewhat insane.
However, I would suggest more realistically that mental disorders are a handicap to leadership. No one is suggesting General MacArthur or Patton weren't brilliant in their own ways. However, Dwight D. Eisenhower is the one who became president. For every example of a mentally unstable leader who succeeded, there are examples of mentally stable leaders who did better.
Quite frankly, the proposition is historically absurd. We're not talking about Churchill's drinking problem. The man was intelligent and capable despite his flaws, not because of them. Trump is an incompetent who always displays a host of mental disorders. That's not a safe combination for leadership. The most remarkable thing about Trump is he hasn't gotten more people killed before now.
3
I’d rather have Biden’s gaffes than Trump’s constant stream of lies.
7
Trump may, in some ways, act hypomanic (a partial mania that can be part of bipolar disorder).
In my opinion, however, his apparent overconfidence is not that which goes with mania/hypomania.
Instead, it fits well what we used to call narcissistic personality disorder, while his ability to tell blatant falsehoods with a charm (to many) that is convincing fits anti-social personality disorder.
Without actually interviewing the man, I can not make any of these diagnoses. But his public behavior fits these labels well.
6
sadly, it is not just trump and fox views that have concerns about biden's cognitive functioning. it is , rather, anyone listening to him speak . he appears confused and befuddled a lot of the time, not at all quick with any response other than well rehearsed platitudes, which he often flubs up anyway.
running a nominee so obviously limited in mental capacity and likely to get worse as time passes is another recipe for defeat, just as running a horridly unpopular candidate was in 2016.
5
@carla janson: It is well-known that Biden had a severe stuttering problem in his youth, which he overcame by lots of training, but it's something that never goes away, because he always has to find ways to avoid words that make him trip up and find substitutes without interrupting a (nearly) normal speech patter, E.g., it could explain him saying he was "arrested" ("Arreter" is French for "to stop" at a South African airport, instead of "stopped", a word that's a pitfall for stutterers). It manifests itself most prominently under pressure, e.g., in a debate with strict time limits on answering complex questions. That's hard enough already for regular speakers, but for stutterers it's the worst situation they can find themselves in. In one on one interviews that I have seen with him with no time limits on answering and thinking about what to say, he is much better in experssing himself coherently and fluently.
2
It seems to be working out just fine for the Republicans
1
Simple. Ford, Reagan, little George.
Millions of reasonable Americans must feel like they are the ones on the verge of mental collapse after living through three years of this Trump nightmare.
25
First I thought the Mueller report would bring down Trump. Then it was impeachment. But Trump proved he's impervious to a political take down. With his incomparable knowledge of epidemiology we should all take comfort in Trump's assurance that the approaching warmth of April will put an end to what Trump described as the Coronaflu.
6
According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, individuals with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) (informally known as megalomania) have certain characteristics and Trumph seems to fit all of them. It is not thought that NPD is a mental disorder, in that it is not caused by some chemical or structural defect in the brain. Rather it is, as named, a personality disorder caused by early in life treatment by parents or others. As such, it is difficult or impossible to treat by any form of therapy particularly since the affected individual does not acknowledge they are a problem. Some leaders are able to conceal milder forms of the disorder and in a way it makes them effective and attracts followers. Trumph, however, makes little or no effort to conceal the problem and it may be exacerbated by age related mental decline.
18
The more this maniac tries to consume all of the oxygen in the room, and the more lame the Democrat's challenge seem to get, the more I think we need to declare our constitution bankrupt, and reorganize under a parliamentarian system.
I always thought it was messier democracy, but smaller coalition building sure beats this situation where we face a Hobson's choice in November between one crazy old man or another.
But thanks for the tip Ms. Dowd. I have to download Jonathan Karl's book for a relaxing afternoon of reading. I'm sure its perfect...
5
Trump has always been an existential threat. Not just to the U.S., but to the entire planet. One way or another.
10
I believe it too kind to label Trump’s self-serving denial about complex issues (global warming, pandemics, Russian interference to divide Americans, etc) as Panglossian. He’s manipulative not blindly optimistic.
6
Everything was certain, everything was planned, everything was perfect, everything became boring. Then reality TV cam along to spice things up, Trump took the opportunity and became President. It will take a while for viruses, stock market, disorder, etc to disrupt everything, before Trump is thrown out. It wont happen in a hurry.
5
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
Joe Biden is the same Neoliberal dinosaur packaged in a frail frame with clearly degenerating cognitive function .
I won’t even go into his lengthy and troublesome record the Times seems to conveniently gloss over whilst putting Bernie Sanders under microscopic scrutiny for the slightest perceived transgression. Russian sister cities anyone ? Really ?
Joe Biden is not only physically and mentally incapable of confronting Donald Trump , he’s the wrong philosophical foil to effectively counter him under the best circumstances and in his finest fighting trim .
Party Leaders and donor class power brokers know this . They know he’s incapable of defending himself , his record and defeating Donald Trump. Their primary goal is stopping Bernie Sanders . If it means 4 more years of Trump -so be it . They’ll be fine and dandy as their Resistance Gravy Train rolls merrily along.
Will you be ? Will the most vulnerable and powerless among us be ?
I hate to break it to the rank and file trying to convince themselves Joe can pull this off and surround himself with capable advisers. He’ll never get to that stage .
Insanity indeed .
7
Yes, yes, Trump is all these things and more. He doesn’t scare me as much as the rapt crowds who get caught up in the tone of the evangelist at his rallies, a tone with frightening Pentecostal elements. He is one man, and they are potentially mindless rabble, incited to violence by their Christ. It would take very little to make that happen.
11
Trump was a big fan of Norman Vincent Peale and his book The Power of Positive Thinking. Gifted with a will of steel from an overbearing and horrific father (responsible for his oldest son drinking himself to death and Donald's self-destructive addictions to money, power, and status) our current ImPotus (Im for Impeached) has used his money, connections, and formidable will to subvert reality to feign success while avoiding jail and total personal and financial destruction (so far). But as Steve Jobs, another accomplished Vulcan mind-melder, learned the hard way - the ability to bend the will of mere mortals doesn't extend to diseases and viruses. The difference is that Jobs' foolishness only resulted in his own early demise. Trump is in the process of taking the GOP, democracy, and our country's future down with him.
11
It's always interesting to speculate about the type of mental illness exhibited by "Fearless Leader". Is he a malignant narcissist? A sociopath? Manic?
For all the fierce and ugly takedowns that Trump's defenders are trying with the Bidens, consider this: read a transcript of Trump's spontaneous talks. Could be while he's talking about the coronavirus. Could be about his trade negotiations (remember when those were a hot item?). Could be at a rally. Just read carefully his words and his train of thought. Then reflect for a moment about who is incoherent: Biden? Sanders? Trump? And which one do you really want in the White House in 2021. I know which old man I am NOT voting for, and which old man can't continue a rational thread to its conclusion. It's Donald.
12
What, no put-down of Hillary this time around? And Churchill, Lincoln, McCain, Biden and the others you mention who had bouts with depression (mainly) or incidental paranoia, would all be eminently capable of handling the Corona crisis, unlike "Stable Genius" Trump who is still in denial and makes it all about himself. That IS malignant narcissism, on full display before and during his presidency all of the time, as many psychiatric experts have confirmed and warned about already. That's not the same as taunting your political opponents by calling them crazy, senile, low-energy or "bleeding from her whatever", etc.,
4
I'd rather have Biden's stumbles & stutters than Trump's lies and incoherence.
17
The examples you cite of Republicans stooping to cruelty and lies to characterize opponents are, well, par for the course for the Grand Old Cruelty Party (composed of the same people who think the poor should not be allowed healthcare because of their failure to pull themselves up by their bootstraps).
But suggesting that Democrats do it too, in a very silly example of "whataboutism," you cite their characterization of Trump as a malignant narcissist. You seem to have conveniently forgotten that practically every psychiatrist in the country signed on to an open letter stating that Trump is mentally ill, and many psychiatrists have publicly described him as showing signs of narcissistic personality disorder. And, the childishness of his language speaks for itself.
Note to journalists everywhere: enough with the ridiculousness about both sides being equally to blame. No, they aren't.
14
I understand trump is a frightened puddle of Inadequacy within. But, given how malevolent he has been to our country, how unconscionable his actions have been, I do not care. I just want him gone.
11
After all the lies, corruption, incompetence, investigations, mind-numbingly juvenile insults and crimes, in the end it looks like it will be a microscopic virus that takes down Trump and his Politburo. The President's legendary fear of germs will not protect him this time around.
7
After the outright insanity of the Trump years, I'm less concerned with Biden's mental state. It couldn't possibly be as bad as Trump's.
11
Now there's a good idea: Put Trump in a home. He can have a rest. No more worrying about re-election. And it would improve public health as he doesn't spout his lies and falsehoods about the virus on news shows.
7
And unlike in the fairy tale, there is no one in the White House with either the courage (or perhaps the intelligence... who knows any more?) to declare "The Emperor has no clothes!"
7
Every time Trump attacks Biden’s mental competence, the former VP should demand the Prez say the word “origins.” Last April, Trump demanded the press look into the origins of the Mueller report. Except, he kept saying “oranges” despite multiple attempts. He never got it right.
At the time, several mental health officials cited this example and his inability to keep to one topic in speeches as justification for a mental health examination.
This confusion of words and inability to concentrate could be signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s. He needs to be tested and should be reminded of such each time he questions someone else’s mental capacity.
7
It is such a sad spectacle to see that a kind of civil war is raging in America. There are now enemies, not just political adversaries, who are out to destroy one another. America, come to your senses! Once the city on the hill for an adoring world, still home to extraordinary scientists, artists, people, its politics is deteriorating to the point that even China doesn't compare unfavorably. You are still Americans with much to be proud of, don't let some nuts destroy your great country!
6
Better a few of Biden's verbal gaffes than a constant stream of lies and insults from Trump. His "stable genius" is getting people killed.
12
You'd think that Mr. Trump, a known, life-long germaphobe, would have been all over this immediately. Instead, Mr. Trump is apparently so severely mentally ill that he can't even behave in a way that's consistent with his own neuroses
6
@Kerry Leimer Never bought the germaphobe story about Trump especially after knowing for a fact that he had unprotected sex with porn actresses. He's a germaphobe like I'm the Queen of Romania.
His "germaphobe" story is just another figment of his twisted brain.
It seems with Biden we'd be starting where Reagan left. How can it be that we are only left with crazy old uncles to run the United States of America?
3
Thank you MS.Dowd for stating truth to power.
Another case of false equivalences? Biden is criticized for being senile, while Trump is accused of being demented. No difference there? Please judge people what they do or have done. I am no fan of Biden, but he seems like a decent human being, which cannot be said of our president.
6
Biden is a glaring mediocrity and an establishment champion. He wants ton return us to the "normal" that produced Trump.
1
@arvay: I'll take a functioning and improving ACA, strong Social Security and Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP and CHIP, consumer and environmental protections, a well-funded CDC, NIH, NSF and other science programs, moderate appointees to the SC and federal judiciary, investments in sustainable infrastructure and green energy, any time as the "normal" before Trump. It's McConnell's intransigence and short-sighted voters that produced Trump, not the Democrats.
6
Trump, who is anything but a ‘stable genius,’ projects constantly. When he lambasts someone who errs, he’s really talking about himself. The depth of his insecurity is unfathomable. pend some time watching a Trump Nuremberg-like rally without the benefit of sound, and you will see a person who is patently unhinged, shades of Mussolini or Franco. No one is smarter than Trump, except for everyone, and my cat. Last I heard Trump hadn’t attended a Mensa meeting or was busy translating Beowulf into Aramaic. He gets lost in “Highlights” magazine and can barely construct a grammatically correct sentence. No one will challenge him. It’s shocking, and it’s dumbfounding. I’d put Biden’s mental acuity ahead of Trump’s any day of the week. Trump is vacuous, angry and vindictive. Biden is sincere, caring and kind. Vote your conscience.
10
We have a very broken human being leading the so called "Free World". His word salads and incoherent rants are just the tip of the phycological iceberg of baggage that this president carries around. It is astonishing how so many Americans look past this man's depravity, lies, hatefulness, psychological & emotional instability and enable him to continue to perpetrate the greatest ruse the world has even seen. Shame on us!
11
Mo, when you mentioned the aspersions cast by Reagan and Atwater, I am reminded of the swift boat campaign against John Kerry. Part of that spin was that Kerry had “fake” Purple Hearts. I heard Bob Dole off handedly say that maybe “ Kerry’s injuries were self inflicted”. Whenever I get nostalgic for the time when the two parties worked together as in the 1983 “rescue” of Social Security by Dole and Tip O’Neal, I remember that Dole outrageous lie and Dole the war hero, is lowered to the status of political hack in my mind. My advice to the Dems, is Adlai Stevenson’s, “When they stop telling lies about us, we will stop telling the truth about them”. And,happy St Patrick’s Day.
6
@Ira Allen Dole was a nasty old man and not a war hero. He was a just another -- one of many -- who suffered a terrible wound in combat and came home with a bitter attitude and took it out on everyone else. I grew up in a town with guys like him who came back with a huge chip on their shoulder. One of my Dad's friends was a paratrooper who was captured and spent two years as a POW in Germany -- he came home a skeleton who'd suffered mulitple injuries when he was shot down. He never fully regained his health but he didn't hate the world for the rest of his life. Meanwhile his brother-in-law had lost his right hand during the Battle of the Bulge and he never forgave the rest of the world for his wound. He was a nasty, surly man for the rest of his life and whenever I saw or heard Bob Dole, I thought of that guy because they were the same guy. Only a hateful very small man would have said about Kerry what Dole said about him. Good riddance to him and his ugly kind.
2
@Amanda Bonner Thanks Amanda, my dad enlisted in the US Navy the day after Pearl Harbor.I agree with your assessment that Dole became nasty. But, I believe it was after his Presidential loss much later in life. I saw that bitterness happen to McCain in 2008.However, McCain will always remain a hero in my mind for a whole bunch of reasons. He mourned his loss and got back to being "the straight talker". I should note that he and Biden were the best of friends.Biden spoke at the funeral while Trump stayed home.America, wake up!
1
"The virus will be in every community and needs truth, honesty and intelligence — all absent from the unstable Trump, who at his core is a frightened boy and pretender."
"Frighteed boy" indeed! We can only imagine his foul mouth and bully mentality while interacting with his third grade teacher and fellow students. So much ugly name-calling to create.
Memo to reporters: Ask him to name one thing he has done that is not "perfect". Good luck.with that.
2
The fact that Donald Trump insults and demeans and lies about every politician who is not republican should disqualify him from elected office.
His comments on Washington governor Jay Innslee were lies. That’s not free speech - it should be illegal
7
“The virus will be in every community and needs truth, honesty and intelligence — all absent from the unstable Trump, who at his core is a frightened boy and pretender.” The Boy Pretender” is the definitive metaphor for Donald.
2
" . . . [Trump's] his father had suffered from Alzheimer’s and now Trump was losing it and that his vocabulary was eroding."
Hah! Trump's vocabulary never exceeded that of a third-grader. If it erodes any further, I'll have to ask my great-granddaughter for a translation.
6
Trump expresses himself in dangerous, vicious, mean-spirited and selfish ways. Trump also expresses himself in the ways he did when Trump hosted Wrestle-mania, ( the ways other hosts of that event still do) , - - expressing himself in the aforementioned ways while employing all of the worst racist, sexist, homophobic stereotypes - - in order to appeal to an audience which expresses itself in the same ways.
Bottom-line: Trump is a danger to American democracy.
2
It's the world we try to live in where most refuse the truth and refuse to learn anything.
2
"And it has become common among his attackers to say the president is deranged, suffering from malignant narcissism."
Nonsense, anybody with proper credentials would call trump a malignant narcissist.
It's the truth, not an attack.
5
We all know, from the sewer it comes from, the Trump script. Endless new descriptions do nothing. How do we get rid of him?
3
Trump knows things, that other people can't see, smell, taste or touch!
When your that good, why would you trust anyone else. They have to be out to get you.
2
The "super-left, radical crazies” Trump claims will run the white house if Biden is president are an eerily familiar refrain: The southern racist democrats in 1863-65 referred to progressive republicans (don't forget that the two parties have flipped 180 degrees on progressivism versus prejudice since then) as "radicals." Are we consigned to repeat the mistakes of our recent past? Will we as a nation become the "good Germans" of our age?
This time that we are living through is clearly one of being sane in an insane world.
1
Whatever the proper nomenclature for Trumps disorder, the bottom line is he’s a poor manager of everything and everyone he’s come in contact with. He has continued his lifelong record of failure after failure while dodging any responsibility.
4
Trump is obviously worried about his own dementia.
His only form of self defense is attacking critics with their accusations (ethical) and diagnoses (medical) of him.
It's his idea of leadership--preemptive strike. Quack Quacking Donald.
He must be home most of the time watching TV.
2
During the last years of his second term, Reagan had Alzheimers disease and the country was run by Nancy. Wilson's wife also filled in when he became disabled by a stroke.
We should look to Jill Biden to be our President pro tempore. She'll be fine and so will we.
5
“The virus will be in every community and needs truth, honesty and intelligence — all absent from the unstable Trump, who at his core is a frightened boy and pretender.”
Truer words were never spoken, but it’s old news and anyone who has not been marinated in Fox News knew it from the first week of Trump’s presidency.
The virus doesn’t watch Fox News.
5
Trump spoke at the CDC and says he wants to thousands of passengers bottled up on the Princess Petri Dish so that their expanding numbers of corona virus patients won’t be counted in the US totals. That reflects his priority — his re-election over lives.
2
@Kathryn Aguilar Except Trump is too stupid to know that the US citizens on the ship who are ill are counted in the US totals. Just because they are on a cruise ship along the coast of CA doesn't mean they aren't US citizens stricken by an illness.
His level of ignorance is beyond measure.
2
The only way the President will take this threat seriously will be if he or one of his family members contracts the virus.
Otherwise, it is just some “out there” distraction that has been caused by a group of liberal, left wing viruses, mutating, with the singular goal of trying to derail his re-election.
3
add poseur to the long list of adjectives for #45* - always an asterisk....
Kakistocracy defined: Government by the corrupt and inept.
Double whammy defined: When you've got a self-anointed 'Stable Genius' trapped inside the mind of an IMPOTUS. And the beat goes on as his demented sycophants in both houses and around the country continue to propel what's left of our democracy into oblivion. Funny if it weren't so sad.
3
Please be honest enough to admit that if Biden was the president, many would be calling on the 25th amendment just like we are calling on it for the incumbent. Democrats have always won on youth; Kennedy, Clinton, Obama; even ageless Jimmy Carter was only 52 when he was elected president.
1
No it wouldn’t - because he wouldn’t be dangerous. At worst, others could lead him around. I wouldn’t worry for our country even if that happened. This is government BY the people, and as long as general sanity reigns, someone would come up with sane solutions in emergencies.
3
75 is the new 50.
America is under attack. The enemy at the door is Putin. The Russian military, Russian mafia, their agents, turncoats and patsies are pretending to be commenters in online newspaper opinion pieces, pretending to be your friend on Facebook, pretending to be a broadcast and cable news organization, pretending to be a patriotic member of Congress, pretending to make America great. They mean to instill chaos in America, they mean us harm...they are succeeding.
You are in foxhole with all other Americans. The foxhole is coming under live cyber-fire. The incoming messages tell you: the FBI is not to be trusted; the CIA and NSA are led by fools; global warming is a liberal hoax; mainstream media and journalists are your enemy; the Coronavirus is just a mild cold; Donald Trump is your savior and only he - a stable genius - can save America.
Who do you have faith in to defend America? To lead America?
Are you secure and comfortable with Trump consulting Fox and Friends on how to run the country? With his tweeting out lies, threats and insults on his weekly jaunts between his ego rallies and Mar-a-Lago?
Is now the time to make Medicare-for-All America's number one priority? If Sanders hasn't been able to demonstrate in the primaries that he can turn out massive voter support, should you believe that he can in November? Even if he were elected are you confident that Medicare-for-All is realistic with Republicans in Congress?
Who do you, who will you trust at this perilous time?
3
Exactly.
1
Something I’ve always admired republicans for is their ability to take their greatest weaknesses - and there are countless in the case of Donald j trump - and [try to] spin that into a strength. They are masters at knowing how ignorant, uninformed and spoon fed their middle American Fox News audience is and they exploit them to the fullest degree. Just for moment, imagine trump making fun of someone else’s mental faculties. It’s the height of hypocrisy.
It’s a Careening stock market not careering one. :)
1
Below her admittedly low standards.
1
With regard to Trump and his goons new penchant for suggesting Biden is mentally unfit, I can't help but think Shakespeare: "Me thinks thou dost protest too much".
Another first rate column where she hit the nail on the head.
1
The last paragraph is the only paragraph anyone needs to absorb. That, and maybe Purell-soaked QTips in their ears whenever our current president speaks about...anything whatsoever. Joe Biden is HUMAN and DECENT. Our current president is neither. If there is any humanity left, our current president will be defeated at the ballot box, prosecuted and convicted.
7
Those who take advise from Trump, do so at their own peril. There is much better information available in what Trump describes as the “fake news, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and any other major reputable news paper. Avoid Fox, Facebook, Twitter and anything coming out of the White House. Be smart, take care of yourself, your families and your neighbors. This pathogen is not going to disappear, it will be a permanent item on the menu of common flus. Until a vaccine is developed, everyone is vulnerable and the probability is pretty high that you or someone you know will get it. The best vaccine at this time, is don’t touch your face and wash you hands.
Trump may decompensate when the virus does not succumb to bullying or a childish nickname. He may have met his match.
1
President Coronavirus-Covfefe and his daily word salads are doing a fine job mismanaging this pandemic.
And Pastor Pence is successfully praying it all away.
As the Trump Titanic steams ahead at full speed....
12
"The virus will be in every community and needs truth, honesty and intelligence — all absent from the unstable Trump, who at his core is a frightened boy and pretender."
Yes, and you should also add his complete aversion to science and facts. This is why he will continue blaming the Coronavirus outbreak on "Democrats and liberals" to the glee of the maestros of perverse propaganda at "Fix News."
2
Look up Narcissistic Personality Disorder asap. Fits Trump at each stage. And I do think Biden may very well be showing signs of Alzheimers. Confusing his wife for his sister is no Joke. He wouldn't know it but his family and the Democratic Party need to have him tested before it is too late if not already.
1
Biden will make empathy great again - the main component missing in our narcissist in chief.
4
Any criticisms of trump and the GOP as to Biden's mental acuity are absurd given trumps miscues and flubs through these four years. I just hope whoever the dems strategists are, they go full bore on the madness of king trump and all his miscues.
It's really galling how trump and GOP try to own the conversation on issues they are blatantly guilty of. There's has never been a administration with more nepotism or patronage yet they go after Hunter Biden. They lie more than anyone then try frame the narrative and discredit reputable new sources as fake news. They're guilty of extreme financial mismanagement then, accuse the liberals of doing so. It's a wack a mole game where if they say it first they try to own it. Don't be fooled. VOTE blue no matter who and consign trump and his hateful, racist, henchmen led by Steven Miller to the dustbin.
2
Can we imagine Trump wearing a huge face mask?
It may be coming sooner than we think if there’s a case of coronavirus at the White House or Mar-a-Lago.
2
Trump didn't run a covert stealthy subtle campaign for President of the United States.
Trump hasn't governed as a covert stealthy subtle President of the United States.
Trump constantly speaks and tweets exactly what he is feeling and thinking about everrthing all of the time.
Both Queens born and bred Donnie Trump and Brooklyn born and bred Bernie Sanders speak and act in a stereotypical macho bombastic bloviating buffoon manner and style that outside of the Big Apple appears to border on lunacy.
But Trump's sanity is not the relevant issue. It is the sanity of the American people who voted for and still support him.
Trump isn't Caligula nor Nero. He didn't inherit his job by divine royal sanction selection.
Hopefully that will be a subject that will be thoroughly explored by the Trump Presidential Library and the history books.
508
@Blackmamba Agreed! No man serves as king without a host of compliant and willing enablers.
51
@Blackmamba
No, hopefully it will cause him to LOSE the next election and save this country from him. He doesn't deserve a presidential library nor ANY positive comment in the history books. He has tried to ruin the lives of a majority of Americans--environmentally, economically--and would-be Americans morally and financially.
101
@Blackmamba
If Trump could get away with wholesale killing, he would resurrect the Third Reich. His vocabulary in speeches echoes Nazi propaganda. His taste in architecture is similar to Hitler's, quesi-neoclassical. He has created concentration camps holding asylum seekers not Jews or Slavs. He is anti-science like Hitler. He encourages white nationalist violence like Hitler. And while he seems to be anti war in Syria and Afghanistan, he would gladly attack a weakened Iran like Hitler did with Poland and Czechoslovakia. So yes he is not Caligula or Nero. He is more like Hitler and Goebbels.
80
Over 70? No debate that mental acuity diminishes. What happens in age is shown dramatically in different ways by these men. Who they are now, only gets exaggerated over time. Start with Trump. Hi Id and self preservation is the product of a pampered self not held to any consequence or redemption. Totally inner-directed. Sanders' main objective is to rework the government and societal order and put collectivism to good use. Totally institutionally directed. Biden, who is the most compassioned and anxious about improving all lives, requires team work. A totally other-directed consensus builder. What does this country need? Seems an easy choice.
7
Dunning-Kruger effect for sure, but the time for writing about the obvious is over. "We" need to focus on solidifying a Democratic platform and candidate that will appeal to enough folks that so DT gets ousted in Nov.
7
After reading Trump's comments abut his uncle, I fear that the relative was actually Wiley Coyote and has been adopted by Trump. Outcomes look about the same, though.
7
There's crazy informed and then there's Trump's brand. We know that because contrary to the advise of pandemic experts, Trump has said that it's ok to go out to work when exhibiting the symptoms of the Corona virus.
And so we are depending on the scientists and doctors that Trump has tried to muzzle and we can only hope that our government officials are too.
But in a nation where the Governor of Texas once stood along side the ex Governor of Alaska on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and attempted to pray away the BP oil spill, that hope is problematic.
Add in the Trump selected Virus Czar; praying Pense, throw in religious crazy, and you can never be sure whether the science will be funded and followed, or denied and denigrated in the service of Trump's never ending P.R. campaign.
15
The real test will come in the late summer when the individuals in the Trump Cult will decide whether to attend the President’s MAGA rallies. How will he react when people refuse to attend COVID19 infested rallies despite his claims they are safe? Not well I suspect.
11
Given the tragedies Biden has suffered, it is a wonder the man can get out of bed. Between the deaths and Hunter's issues, how does Biden keep it together? We could use a person with character at this point instead of a person who is a caricature. Trump is getting what he could not get from Ukraine so perhaps his madcap approach to foreign policy has paid off. A method to his madness or a madness to his methods?
5
Trump's Covfefe-19 disinformation campaign would be funnier if it weren't likely to literally make you sick. Anecdotally, an NBC reporter interviewed a Trump fan who was certain conronavirus was a "Democrat hoax," but that woman was not alone.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, "Democrats are about twice as likely as Republicans to say the coronavirus poses an imminent threat to the United States.... And more Democrats than Republicans say they are taking steps to be prepared, including washing their hands more often or limiting their travel plans." RealityChex.com
6
Not surprising....
“The Spectator calls it, the 73-year-old Trump has belittled the 77-year-old Biden as “not playing with a full deck” and predicted that, if Joe wins, his staff will “put him into a home,” and he’ll be there watching television while “super-left, radical crazies” run the White House.”
In that case, the only difference between the previous four years and the next four years is that the crazies will have a different ideology. Stephen Miller is running the show on immigration. Mike Pompey is doing his best to start a war with Iran. The guy at EPA, the former coal lobbyist, is denying climate change and excising science from policy research documents.
All this while Trump watches television until 10:30-11:00 every morning, then breezes down to the Oval to put in 2-3 hours of “work.”
So, when it comes to a limited executive who lets his staff run the show, Trump knows whereof he speaks.
24
Lets not forget Trump’s famous quote of 2017: “who knew health care was so complicated?” Brilliant guy.
14
George W. Bush was also psychoanalyzed in the media, but he sailed through eight years in the top job. Book detailed his frightful psychological makeup, and problems relating to his father and mother. A group of psychiatrists signed a statement warning of his emotional instability which posed a potential danger to the country. So let's judge Trump on his words, actions and inactions and hold him accountable, and ease up on the psychobabble.
6
I agree completely, “unstable Trump” is “a frightened boy and pretender” at his core. His madness isn't “genius,” as some of his sycophants have pushed. There are no positives to his behavior. We are the poorer, and decidedly more vulnerable, for his self-aggrandizing, vindictive actions — dismantling and cutting budgets of agencies in place to combat such types of pandemics, as if science or experts matter least, or because it was championed by his predecessor Pres. Barack Obama. Biden and Sanders have empathy, Trump has sociopathy. The “radical crazies” are those nationalist goose steppers occupying the White House. Let's hope America knows the difference come November.
11
Except one drunken uncle is a literally insane man, sitting in the White House, surrounded by fawning sycophants as willfully ignorant as he is.
And even worse, only one of the "uncles" has the power to declare martial law and install himself as dictator. Yes, Trump. Here.
Actions Trump may take now? He may well cancel the November presidential election. The coronavirus pandemic, which he has so far denounced as a hoax, will suddenly become so serious that he must suspend our citizens' civil rights.
A president's Constitutional power to declare martial law exists, but it is far from well-defined. There is little precedential case law defining its scope. And so far, this Supreme Court has bent over backwards to provide the expansive definitions of "executive powers" he seeks. The Roberts court granted him "emergency powers" for his Wall and the Muslim ban, on a claim wholly devoid of any facts. Trump simply said he needed to take those actions, and this Court took him at his word.
And Trump will have the continued support of his base. Trump voters will blame this pandemic on the Democrats, or continue to deny reality and say it doesn't exist. They have a "president" who tells them that as whites they are the only "real" Americans, and for this, they'll sacrifice the health and safety of their own family members.
This pandemic has given Trump the excuse he needs, as his poll numbers decline these next few months. He will seize absolute power. Bet the rent on it.
8
This time..
The nice, decent guy is going to win.
We are done with the foolishness and cruelty and incompetence.
We are so past ready for the serious, compassionate, technocrats Who will call us to be the United States of America.
And I believe it is more likely that trump will resign and walk away before January to avoid having to deal with an actual crisis than that he will evolve into a steady thoughtful leader and STF up.
3
Oh, Julius Cesar suffered from the "falling sickness", epilepsy, and it was thought then that made him unique, in good ways too. It is hard to tell them apart because of the (same style of) cap they wear: a wizard and a dunce.
2
I'm still waiting in vain for MD to admit she made a terrible mistake attacking Hillary over minor issues.
Lives may be lost today because Hillary was treated unfairly.
13
No need to fear. Once unique-COVID 19 blossoms into a full fledged and unmitigated disaster the SCOTUS is scheduled to rule on the thing he most fears. The release of his tax information to house subcommittees. #TeapotDome
4
The Democrats need to play hardball. The campaign ads need to highlight every instance of trump messing up at his rallies and elsewhere: incoherent thoughts, incomplete sentences, mis-statements of words. Suggest that he is unstable (he is) and dangerous (he is) and perhaps senile (maybe) and play the republicans game.
The tag line: Delusional? Crazy? Senile? is this the man you want running the United States?
To take the high road is a losing strategy; the republicans are very good at this stuff and they will have everyone believe the Fox propaganda in no time.
9
Hot off the press: some guy at CPAC got Corona-19. And if Trump thinks the virus is nothing serious, why did he initially cancel a trip to the CDC?
To be fair, there are hysteria as well. At times, the panic feels worse than the epidemic or even the pandemic. However, injecting politics into a health issue is disaster in the making.Some people thought Corona-19 is Trump's Katrina. This can be far worse. It is a health issue that may lead to a worldwide recession. And Trump's lackeys still want to brown nose their boss. Larry Kudlow, as the CEA Director, told people to buy stocks when the world's economy is grinding to a halt on TV. Even some of his former colleagues at CNBC were surprised. But the freaking out stock market may be the least of the problem
It took President Obama eight years to fix some of W's problems, with negative help from the Republicans whose singular goal was to say 'no' to Mr Obama. Now, it is anyone's guess how long it would take for the next Democratic president to fix the problems started by Trump, aided by thoroughly corrupted Republic Party.
Good luck, America, you will need it
8
"How can we trust the nuclear codes to someone so incoherent, Fox chatterers cry," My thoughts exactly about Trump.
With Covid-19 spreading, and the stock market in flux as it does, I take no comfort in having a mentally unstable President, who has shown no leadership abilities whatsoever in being able to handle every day governing, let alone this ever burgeoning crisis
As you have pointed out Maureen, the outgoing Mulvaney has more than alluded to Trump being mentally unstable in recommending his staffers read: "A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness,” “In times of crisis, we are better off being led by mentally ill leaders than by mentally normal ones.” How exactly will you know if a mentally unstable leader will be one who is able to get a country through a crisis intact, or one who will create Armageddon? We have a ship of State careening amongst the rocks, with no captain and few experienced crew.
1
Since Ms. Dowd started this Xray of Trump's distorted personality, I'll share my view. From his earliest childhood, he had one imperative, to be like his father. He happens not to be stupid, and unlike his brother who drank himself to death, he wasn't going to go down that path.
Very quickly he divided individuals into two categories, the weak and the strong, the shrewd and the suckers, and he was not going be among the later. There is no record of him ever showing compassion to anyone. He never had to pretend he was anything other than what he is!
From that first question in the first debate of all the Republicans, only he had the guts to say that he would NOT promise to vote for the party nominee. He would openly demean each candidate with the tacit daring that they try to do the same to him.
In all likelihood the Access Hollywood tape won the election for him. He made the point that women would welcome his infamous action, that he enjoyed being an alpha male. He then personally arraigned to have Bill Clinton's "intimate friends" describe how his wife, Hillary Clinton, had always defended and thus, demeaned the women he had affairs with.
Trump does have a distorted personality. He would have continued to do well as the entrepreneur he was, but now is well on his way towards doing irredeemable damage to our Judicial system that will last for decades.
The ill fated impeachment attempt only enraged him more, something we have to deal with.
3
I keep seeing the final scene in the 1953 “War of the Worlds” in which the mechanical aliens start collapsing. The microbes finally got ‘em. Hooray for Hollywood.
3
Mental illness or not, I’ve never known or worked with a CEO who behaves like Trump. Fourteen years of “The Apprentice” brainwashed the ignorant into Trump’s “genius.”
Reality in the business world is quite different. Any board worth its oversight would have removed Trump years ago. (Whether the Trump Organization is a business and not a crime family is another question.)
Wall Street knows this reality and cannot be fooled — real money is at stake and money sees/votes with clarity. Thus, at the first sign of genuine crisis, the market speaks with authority. Now the nation needs to finish the job and fire Trump in November.
11
@PJD Trump Org. is an mob family and a Mom and Pop organization with his sleazy, dumb kids filling key public roles and a few drones hired to keep the books for them.
As you said, any real corporation would have fired the clown years ago. If not for his father's millions launching him, Trump would be flipping burgers somewhere if he was lucky. His ugly attitude, bullying, and thuggishness etc. would have made him basically unemployable.
3
March 7, 2020
Well done herewith the New York Times's Maureen Down gives us the reality check with its national attention; that is the best we can do as in this state of disorder the match of both biological and social- psychology is a double castigation that is without remedy. Yet we the readers have the courage to stay with daily reporting - instantaneously online - so thanks - even when all know it's the end of civilization when the big guys and gals just will offer tough love and goodbye to the world revelation justice to all faithful in the truth at leat in print - and yet the death kneel - so goes everything and bye bye....
1
I’m no longer curious about why T is the way he is - suffering from this disorder or that derangement.
The catastrophe is that people who should know better are allowing him to continue to flail at this and flounder at that. Here. Right now. In our lifetimes.
Republicans, why are you allowing this?
12
“In times of crisis, we are better off being led by mentally ill leaders than by mentally normal ones.”
Uh, no, we are not, Ghaemi, but thank you so much for your bizarre opinion. We are better off removing maniacs from the wheelhouse, and evolving beyond the "leader" principle itself. Our civilization has become too complicated for any one person to have too much control, a principle behind the Founders' concepts of a tripartite representative republic, directly opposed to the cruelty monarchies have imposed on humans for centuries.
As this administration, headed by a mad maniac (I believe he is showing signs of dementia), who publicly refuses to accept or admit the reality with which he's confronted, loses its ability to govern effectively, the cruel simplicity of autocratic rule is all too evident, aided and abetted by a corrupt Senate, and a questionably trustworthy judiciary.
The 25th Amendment can only be effectively employed by a unified cabinet and vice president, but we don't have that.
We have a greedy, avaricious group of corrupted sycophants, acting against the best interests of the citizens of this country, to preserve their positions of power, all too happy to ignore the disaster unfolding before them (and us).
The man must be removed from office, but that's not enough. His corrupted senate supporters, especially McConnell, must be removed, as well.
7
Neither Elmer Fudd nor Wile E. Coyote can surpass Trump.
Maybe we'll start referring to both cartoons and the 6 o'clock news as Trumpey Tunes and every anchor will end with, That's All Folks.
2
Hah. Yes, he definitely should have been a scientist.
4
No body diagnosed and escribed Trump more accurately than his own Secretary of state Rex Tillerson.
I take that words to the any bank.
6
You don't have to be for Trump to be worried about Joe Biden's mental faculties. It is apparent that something age related is happening to him.
This should be a concern for all. This is perhaps one of the most taxing jobs in the world. Maybe putting it in the hands of 75+ year olds is not so wise.
2
@Norville T. We have a binary choice inNovember. Who do you want to nominate the next Justices to the Supreme Court? The impact will last a generation or more . The long game makes it imperative to vote for Biden if we have any hope for sensible, liberal or progressive legislation to be upheld by the Court in the next 20-30 years! Biden will rely on sensible advisors.
4
"Pretender" pretty much describes Trump as President.
1
As a commenter said on another thread -- America has been in the midst of a cold civil war for a number of decades.
The real concern now has to be -- is it going to become a hot war?
Simply put, the blatant nastiness amongst partisans has reached near violent levels. We are confronted with the endless right-wing propaganda of insults and taunting on Fox News. We now see the rise of the "dirt bag Left" as a counter-force.
Schism grows ever wider among competing political forces.
This is, to put it bluntly, the end of the social contract in America that should exist to bind a people together in a nation. Like spouses in a bitter divorce -- we now see hatred and vindictiveness rise to the fore.
I don't see how this can end nicely. I don't see how it is now in anyway possible to reconcile neighbor against neighbor in America. We are reaching a fever pitch of anger in this country that hasn't existed since 1860.
This is going to end ugly; very ugly.
3
The personalizing and paranoia are the fruits of a lifetime of deliberate dishonesty.
3
He's living in a psychotic break, a distorted reality of paranoia and projection, all stuff everybody knew on election day 2016.
We all knew this day was coming then.
The nation has been in a crisis since the day after Election Day 2016.
There was no other destination but here.
2016 WAS the firewall, kids.
4
Trump is a cocksure unfailing source of inaccurate information on all topics.
6
Trump only cares about the coronavirus because it threatens his re-election. He cannot on one hand be seen as a failure while on the other he is the drunk driver weaving through traffic creating chaos as usual. Do we want to be around a drunk driver in the White House another messy, incoherent four years?
2
Biden will surround himself with the smartest people he can, Trump in full delusional mode 24/7 thinks he is the smartest person in the room at all times. That is truly scary.
8
"He seems psychologically incapable of dealing with a virus that is complex and uncertain." Well, dealing with a virus which is complex and uncertain,plus attacks from the Democrats 24/7.
Do you Democrats realize WHAT you are doing? To be sure Trump has bouts of irrationality but is it your goal to make them worse in order to win in November, or merely "for fun"?
Do you realize that you could be harming the nation by constantly baiting Trump?
Imagine the following: A tiger is in a cage with a child.
Who constantly pokes the tiger with a stick saying, "bad tiger, bad tiger"? Answer, the Democrats.
1
trump would gain support if he wasn’t constantly lying. He lies about everything. You need to call it as it is.
3
@Ludwig: If Trump can't stand the heat, he should get out of the kitchen. We don't need thin-skinned tyrants running the country.
1
I wonder whether the Trumpster even knows what he's saying isn't true. I wouldn't accuse him of lying when in fact he's delusional. A liar knows what the truth is.
Bernie is also delusional, but in a different way: he thinks that wishing will make it so. His goals are admirable but his ability to achieve them or even to pursue them effectively is very doubtful.
Donald Rumsfeld was an evil man, but some of the things he said were right on. Among them was that you go to war with the army you have, not the army you wish you had. Biden is the army we have. He was much too cozy with the Delaware corporations, but he's still the best alternative we have.
3
Biden may had some verbal gaffes but I am not concerned about that. What concerns me is that for now we have a vindictive cruel man in the White House that lives in his
own bubble. I am not surprised by Trump's handling of the Corona virus situation. What else could one expect from someone who considers himself to be a "very stable genius"? Trump manages his presidency as he has managed everything else in his life. The presidency magnifies the individuals character for better or worse. Trump's tenure to date has shown that beneath the bluster and behind the tweets there is above all else a con man running his biggest scam.
1
Trumpy, the Hater President, suffers from hysterics. He is bored and boring at once. Trumpy finding the Stable Genius persona to be so stressful he engages in nervous eating which leads to obesity. He has no capacity for self-reflection and believes behaving erratically is evidence of his genius. He fakes "paranoia" etc. in the belief he is deceiving his enemies in a sort of comic book psychology. Trumpy is attempting to fake insanity in anticipation of the Stable Genius defense.
1
Yes maybe Trump is like Churchill, a madman leading us through a war....only his war is against the majority of the American people. His war is against democracy and the Constitution. His allies are dictators. His war is for the oligarchs and against the working class. Of course it’s under the guise of religion to make it seem justified.
5
As always a great article.I was channel surfing last night and caught the Vice President on Fox no surprise there. ,as he was speaking all I could think about where lives lost and those that will be lost because of total ineptness.
Regardless of what letter you choose to put after your name (ie ) D,R,I,P,S we need a nation that comes together and demands true and full information not drips and drabs. .If P.T Burnham were alive today he would put up a tent over the capital and announce your all hired .
2
It would just be so refreshing if all this needless discussion and insulting of Trump would simply cease. The man is a human black hole. He’s as “successful” as he appears because he is physically intimidating and has used his bulk and height to effectively bully people all of his life. He does it because it works. Don’t know about the rest of you but I’m sick and tired of Trump, his braggadocio, his entire shtick. All we have to do and do it together is to vote on November 3 2020 for the Democratic candidate. We, the public, cannot latch on to another personality driven political figure for President. The Office of the President is a somber and sober burden. It is not a prize. It is a voluntary sacrifice of self for duty to serve the public. When wholesomely gained your personal life is swallowed whole by the demands and respectful dedication to the American citizens, defense of the Constitution, judgement of threats and opportunities presented in the world at large, management and direction of relationships and commerce between and among all the countries of the world, and, of course, assurance of the physical safety and defense of all the citizens of the US and all of its partners around the world. To BE President of the US has to be a most humbling experience a healthy person could face. To an unhealthy person it may become a personal game of try and stop me - with dreadful consequences.
3
while Mr Trump's rants are exhausting, there seems to be no one in the democrat leadership who communicates as an adult. Mr Schumer and Ms Pelosi do not have the composure or dignity that would reassure any citizen of the world that there were grown ups running the country.
Further, if Mr Biden or Mr Sanders are to head the democrat party, it will show thinking people of the world that America is run by rather mediocre persons.
What grown up is currently running the country?
1
@Tom Woods GW Bush was the most mediocre human around and was propped up by brilliant if evil men and supporters. At least if Biden needs propping (which is by no means certain as he knows better than any of them what lies ahead if he wins) I am at least certain that the people who will be doing it will have more humane motivations than the next set of Trump cabinet members.
1
What? Thinking people of the world understand that trump needs to be removed....and would welcome stable ‘mediocrity’. The current stable genius is just too much...
Is there any prevention, or cure, for the kind of sick mentality that would make someone still support Trump?
We've been living in this crazy obscene fantasy world of Trump's for more than three years now and in spite of more than ample evidence of his shocking incompetency, pathological lying, and malicious vindictiveness, he's still sitting in the White House thanks to his Republican enablers in the Senate and his Attorney General.The whole lot of them belong in jail and it is a failure of our system which has allowed them to continue to endanger the lives of people in the US. They are as dangerous as the coronavirus.
3
trump should have been on the front lines right from the get-go.
trump should have been the first U.S. fatal victim. pence, as #2, in every sense of the term, next.
1
We see time and again articles and opinion pieces of this nature. Over and over.
What earthly good comes from variations on "Trump is nuts, we're in trouble"? We get it. He is. We are.
But for crying out loud, unless there is something new to add, let's move on to something constructive, shall we? There must be other topics to cover besides repetitive stories of the diseased ego that is Donald J. Trump.
Enough already.
2
Watch out, he will sue.
I have seen a few bits from Trump's rallies. He goes off message consistently, he sometimes can't even speak our language and starts talking in gibberish, he always insults and demeans people but that's been going on forever and he appears to be having mini strokes at times. He has no leadership qualities as you would expect a President should have and his paranoia has gone to the total extreme. And he would sell us all down the river to save his horrible Presidency.
1
Why can’t this be he moment that our experts on the corona virus just come out and say that they will tell the American public whatever they need to know without one iota concern what the potus might think or react? No one came forward in the past when it was just our democracy at stake. But, now the stakes are higher. How high does it have to get in order to stop enabling the mad king?
1
What is clear; is that our only choice for president, is one of three old, white men with limited cognitive skills. As Charlie Brown would say, "Good grief". I guess that is the best grief we can expect.
1
Eagleton was running for vice- president not senator when the "jumper cables" remark was made. Dukakis did have issues with depression when his campaign was faltering, but not as a rule, or as charged.Trump is all about ego, and self-centerdness.
Fox has some critiques of Trump. Try watching the more fair shows like Bret Baier, Dana Perino, Martha McCallum, Howard Kurtz. Compare Fox to the totally biased anti-Trump CNN and MSNBC.
Of the politicians mentioned in paragraph one, each functioned, and had some accomplishments. As does Maureen Dowd, who can't, in this column, hopefully as just one example, get some simple facts, and some opinions based on facts she's not aware of, straight.
"President Trump made a bit of a historical blunder during his Fourth of July 'Salute to America' speech Thursday when he said that the Continental Army 'took over the airports' from the British during the American Revolutionary War in the 1770s."
Politico; July 5, 2019; "Trump Says Revolutionary War Troops 'Took Over the Airports' in his Fourth of July speech"
1
Why does Maureen Dowd portray the Clintons (even Obama sometimes) with unforgiving meanness but treats Trump as a boy who simply doesn't know what he is doing?
Trump knows exactly what he is doing. He is a 73 year-old con man without a spark of compassion in him, and I am ashamed he is president of this great country.
2
Trump actually lives in a tortured world full of CIA ghosts and FBI goblins-it is a world where presidents past have shone brilliantly and where the American Justice system is out to strangle his fondest ambitions and where a “deep state” will dash his ambitions.He lives in a state of angst that he will not measure up and that he will not look impressive and youthful.Trump tries to compensate for these fears( all well founded) by gathering cronies around him which will be like the “mirror , mirror, on the wall” and will answer when he asks, “who is the fairest of them all” -you are Mr.Trump!Because of his fear and lack of a confident self image the mantra is,Trump trumps truth.We have paid a very high price for this manic , mercurial occupant of the Oval Office.
1
It is rich that Fox New is challenging Biden's mental acuity as they cheer on their stable genius. Only fools would fall for this narrative. I watched Joe Biden read his victory speech off teleprompters on Super Tuesday. It was fluid and positively charged. I did not even realize he was reading off a teleprompter until a reporter noted it afterwards. On the other hand when Trump reads off a teleprompter it reminds of a 3rd grader reading his paper in front of the class. It is wooden. It is as if he is struggling to read. Well we know that he does not read. I also challenge anyone to watch a video of Trump speaking 10 or 20 years ago and compare that to a video of him speaking today. It is pretty clear that he is mental capacity has been significantly degraded. HIs sentences today are jumbled and frequently incoherent. So it is rich with hypocrisy to watch Fox news critique Biden. Biden looks in pretty good physical shape compared with the overweight, probably obese, Trump. Just saying.
I’m sensing that Trump is now getting bored with all the upset he can so predictably gin up. He repeats himself. His remaining big thrill is watching how wonderful Faux & Friends can make him look. Meanwhile his base is suffering, but they’re so dissociated they don’t feel it.
hmmmmm..... I have expressed worry about Biden's mental state in various forums and to friends. I do not want to align with those propagandists at Fox or with Bernie bros..... but I think biden has made enough mistakes and performed in a very spotty manner at the debates and when handed tough questions by interviewers and the public. do we ignore this because the right wing propaganda machine has seized on it? I don't think so.
The other choice is 4 more years of mania. I don’t think so....
1
careering stock market or us it careening stock market? oops,?
1
You’ll be singing a different tune after next week’s debate between two old white guys, one a socialist one-trick pony, the other
unable to complete a full sentence without four pivots. The lack of interest and excitement following the next debate will force you to really shake the bushes for subject matter for next week’s column. Trump in a landslide in November.
Trump is at 42.8 approval (realclearpolitics)- the needle hasn’t moved. He’s still a minority president. And in Virginia, on March 3,moderate Republicans voted for Biden. Very bad sign for Trump.
3
..what was the point of this article - more hate - more divisiveness - the media is making our Country divided more than the politicians themselves.
Unfortunately, Ms Dowd and the others don’t care - they’re bias is no different than our politicians in DC that are unable to pass meaningful legislation because they can’t compromise.
The media has followed suit - the newspapers and television stations are all biased - it’s broken.
The days of true reporting are gone - the days to get both sides of the story have disappeared- now you have to watch CNN then Fox to get both sides - it’s pathetic.
After reading Ms Dowd, I’ll read some Op Ed’s in the WSJ to get both perspectives.
Ms Dowd - you’re a disappointment.
@Joseph Swartz enjoy the rabid commentary that goes alongside the columns at the WSJ. I cancelled my 35 year subscription because the vitriol against anything not pro-Trump was nauseating.
4
@Joseph Swartz not all sides of a story have the same truthiness quotient. It is the unfortunate truth that one side of the story these past few years has been built upon a mountain of lies. You seek the truth in “both sides” when one side has embraced untruth as just as valid as actual truth.
I’m confused about why, in discussions about COVID19, Trump keeps bringing up his one “super-genius” family member. Who was at MIT. Where there is no medical school.
2
Trump has survived past crises (most of which have been his own creations) by lying and getting his Trump cult disciples in Congress to engage in dishonesty on his behalf. Do not think his habitual lying about the administration's response to the corona virus will be able to deliver him from any consequences this time.
2
'Trump, who at his core is a frightened boy and pretender.'
I don't necessarily buy that Trump is 'frightened.' I believe he is too aggressive, self-centered, greedy, and destructive to be scared of anything except a sealed indictment.
1
There is a big difference between bully tactics that depend on falsehoods like made-up mental problems about Democratic political figures and Republican rivals like McCain and the obvious for all to see mental capacity problems of Trump. It is incumbent on everyone to talk about that issue.
Dowd and the other conservative editoralists at the NYT and elsewhere have a mental incapacity to distinguish between the normal politics of the Democrats and the seditious politics of the Republicans.
We, Americans are in the fight of our age for the freedom of our country and Dowd and her journalist contemporaries have repudiated their responsibility to lead with principle and empowerment and instead encourage the idea that all politicians are cynical and sophists by nature.
Humor can be both funny and inspiring. Try that for a change.
1
As Trump said: "The [coronavirus] tests are all perfect. Like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. This was not as perfect as that, but pretty good." ---Trump referring to the transcript of his phone call with the Ukrainian president --- during his visit to the CDC (source: watch the video)
Dr. Trump says that there is nothing to worry about in reference to the Coronavirus as there are only 15 cases in the US….the cases on the Cruise Ships don’t count because he won’t let them on terra firma. The newly reported deaths in Florida don’t count because…..well…. because the current reports of 17 deaths in the US is a hoax because the number is, and always will be, 15 “cases”, not deaths. For that matter the Coronavirus is a hoax; but just in case it is not, Trump refused to visit the CDC until he was assured that no one at the CDC had any germs that he, the self-proclaimed Germaphobe, is frightened of.
Dr. Trump will not be available for comment while he on (his) golf course.
About Dr. Trump -- Dr. Donald J. Trump is the pioneering scientist who first determined that climate change is a hoax and, more recently, discovered that windmills cause cancer. In addition, he proved that forest fires could be contained by “raking” and identified a previously unrecognized tropical cyclone pattern targeting Alabama with a black Sharpie.
1
"... the unstable Trump, who at his core is a frightened boy and pretender".
Maureen Dowd testifies, doesn't she?
Here we have the underlying essence of Trump, "...a frightened boy and pretender".
Belongs on billboards.
Watching Trump's CDC news conference was disturbing. Dressed like he was going duck hunting, his constant interruptions and mindless observations reassured only his most fanatic followers and Fox News propagandists.
Conflating his Ukraine problems with the availability of coronavirus test kits was Strangelovian.
3
Trump on occasion does unwittingly tell the truth except that he gets the subject of his sentences wrong. That crazy guy who is watching tv while his politically extreme staff is running the White House is not Biden but a “perfect” picture of trump.
Actually, Trump supporters are the people who are nuts. He understands that being gullible and uninformed is a boost to him. As he advised Billy Bush , when Bush pointed out that Trump was lying about Apprentice ratings:
" Just tell them ( the public) and they'll believe it. I don't know why they just do."
Ever the conman -- and he continues to do just that,each and every time he speaks.
The Democrats and Republicans both have failed to interest and promote young people in sufficient numbers to get a viable alternative to the old folks now running. When you see the huddle of Senate leadership of either party, they're way past normal retirement age. Nancy Pelosi is 80 something.
We need age limits at both ends of the life span for all federal offices. That applies 9 times over to the supreme court. We don't need acuity and vision, not tropes or nostalgia. Of course we're all about to get sick. It's the natural history of aging out.
In times of war - the last 20 years and longer depending on how one defines a time of peace - mental health starts looking quaint.
A few days ago I watched an old Canadian interview with Red Skelton. I remember him from my childhood. He was funny in a very family values kind of way. The interview was from the early 90s and I was struck how polite, or bland the audience was. They didn't approve of Eddie Murphy, or at least his language. They didn't like vulgarity, I suppose, but the Eddie Murphy I recall didn't use what they would call "dirty words", at least not on SNL or his movies. I think he was too honest for them, actually.
The audience was so like what Nixon called the moral majority. They lived with a strict sense of cognitive dissonance. There was right an wrong and those notions didn't seem to rest of practical observation. No jokes about areas of the body below the diaphragm.
During Vietnam,The "moral majority" thought itself the good people while all the while it rained so much death and destruction on Vietnam and Cambodia they drove those countries nearly insane. I'm sure that war created the madness of Pol Pot.
The last 20 years has been a time of constant warfare kept very far from home. To put it in Jungian terms, this country lives with a lethal shadow it exports to other countries. Some define their enemies and never think twice about it. How can the political actors not help but reveal the inconsistencies of this country's character or psyche?
3
Maureen, not many words for what they're paying you, but that's your style, right? Quick invective, and run.
When Reagan was running in 1980 the WSJ wrote a story on its front page asking the world if Ronnie was too old to run for office. After all, when he was born, the flag flying over the Tampico, Illinois (my uncle went to school with Reagan as a lad) courthouse only had 46 stars. Arizona and New Mexico were still territories.
As I've now sailed past 70 I've believed that anyone running for president will have by now be someone young enough to have gone to school wearing a back pack.
And when Obama became president I was convinced we were headed for presidents and candidates who were always going to be younger than me.
It is rather amazing what's floated to the top in either party.
The fatality rate, for what it's worth, from the coronavirus is what keeps the Democrats hoping will do to Trump what Nancy Pelosi couldn't accomplish.
They still might get lucky.
4
All well to dissect Trump’s id, but how about some practical solutions? We are likely to suffer the predations of panic and needless economic pain as a result of errant leadership. Right now at the community level there is no direction. A symptomatic person needs a number or website to call and report, then a properly equipped clearing station which is separate from an ER or doctor’s office to provide evaluation and testing, and then quarantine housing for those infected. A closed school, an arena or even hospitality industry facilities could be used. This all should have been undertaken a month ago or more. The alternative will be Italy—a chaotic shutdown damaging to our economy and livelihoods. We can either follow Trumpian folly, or take matters into our own sensible hands.
6
Stop the false equivalencies, people. We don't have two cognitively impaired candidates. It's not that both have mental issues and Joe's are worse or Trump's are worse.
Trump speaks at a elementary school level. He describes things like perfect, best, beautiful; or when he's mad at someone he calls them names. Sometimes he seems incoherent and talking about a very irrelevant point, like when he starts talking about toilets flushing 4-5x before working while talking about water conservation.
Biden makes gaffes in speech but he has done that since he was much younger. In fact, seems like he makes more now than before. But he does not speak at a very basic level, he does not go on random tangents, he can speak articulately about all sorts of national and international issues. Yes it's articulate even if multiple candidates in the primaries spoke more articulately and complexly than him.
If we start saying that we have two cognitively flawed candidates, I don't think we've learned from 2016 when we would say how Trump and Hillary were both corrupt, Trump for myriad reasons and Hillary because her email server.
29