Trump Showed Signs of 'Cognitive Decline' During Debate, Expert Advices 'Rigorous' Evaluation

Former president Donald Trump faced Vice President Kamala Harris on September 10 for his second 2024 presidential debate. While the first was a clear win for him, with Joe Biden being labeled senile; the tables have now turned. After Tuesday night the GOP nominee has come under great scrutiny over his baseless ramblings.

Richard A. Friedman, the Director of the Psychopharmacology Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, claimed that Trump needed to see a neurologist as he allegedly exhibited signs of dementia during the political face-off. "Trump’s expressions of those tendencies were alarming," Friedman wrote in a revealing article in The Atlantic. "He displayed some striking if familiar, patterns that are commonly seen among people in cognitive decline."

In support of his argument, Friedman cited a lengthy statement from the GOP nominee's reply when asked if he had any unresolved regrets following the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021. "I have said 'blood bash—bath,'" Trump replied. "It was a different term, and it was a term that related to energy because they have destroyed our energy business. That was where the bloodbath was. Also, on Charlottesville, that story has been, as you would say, debunked. Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Jesse—all of these people, they covered it. If they go an extra sentence, they will see it was perfect." 

Trump's habit of making the same remarks over and over alarmed Friedman, who argued that it isn't a political ploy. According to Friedman, Trump cannot control his 'tics,' and such tangential and circumstantial discourse can be a sign of an incapacity to think logically. The psychiatrist also noted that persistence or repetition of such a tic may indicate a severe case of short-term memory loss. "People tend to stick to familiar topics over and over when they experience an impairment in cognitive functioning, for instance, in short-term memory," he wrote. "Given the complexity of the job of being president, short-term memory is a vital skill."

"If a patient presented to me with the verbal incoherence, tangential thinking, and repetitive speech that Trump now regularly demonstrates, I would almost certainly refer them for a rigorous neuropsychiatric evaluation to rule out a cognitive illness," Friedman wrote, advising the former president to seek immediate medical attention. The expert concluded, "A condition such as vascular dementia or Alzheimer’s disease would not be out of the ordinary for a 78-year-old. For those who do have such diseases or conditions, several treatments and services exist to help them and their loved ones cope with their decline. But that does not mean any of them would be qualified to serve as commander in chief."

According to Mediaite, former Trump staffer and The View co-host, Alyssa Farah Griffin, also echoed the same sentiments while discussing the debate. "I was very critical of Biden and what I saw as sort of the decline that came with age with him. I have said this, and I’m ringing this bell — there is a decline with Donald Trump. He’s never been the most eloquent person, that’s an overstatement. But the judgment he’s exercising right now, when it’s not for him just about winning the White House, it’s also about staying out of jail." She continued, "He’s espousing with 67 million people watching that 'they’re eating the pets'...something is off. And I just feel like it’s not getting nearly enough attention." Co-host, Joy Behar interjected, "Are you saying he has the 'Big D' [Dementia]?" Griffin replied, "I think he’s in decline."