Donald Trump's rhetoric has become more disjointed in recent years.
Photo: David Muse/EPA
The article in brief
Many experts have noticed changes in the way Trump speaks, using shorter sentences and displaying a more mixed word order.
Psychiatry professor Richard A. Friedman believes that Trump's speeches often lack a clear common thread, which may indicate cognitive impairment.
Psychologist Ben Michaelis describes Trump's incoherent speech as “global diarrhea” and links it to possible cognitive difficulties, but notes that he does not diagnose it.
Michaelis speculates that Trump may be suffering from “sundowning syndrome,” where concentration and clarity decline later in the day.
Psychologist James Pennebaker has noted an increase in Trump's use of absolute words such as “always,” “never,” and “absolutely,” which may indicate cognitive changes.
It’s nothing new that Donald Trump doesn’t talk like everyone else. But more and more experts are now sounding the alarm that his way of speaking has changed—both what he says and how he says it—and that this is worrisome.
After the debate between Trump and Kamala Harris, Richard Friedman, a professor of psychiatry, commented on the matter. Atlantic “Donald Trump’s vocabulary, verbal and reasoning skills and ability to adapt to new topics…are of concern,” he said, and he showed clear signs common to people with cognitive decline. But he insists he has not met the former president and therefore does not diagnose him.
Friedman is essentially pointing to the fact that it is difficult to follow the common thread of Trump when he presents the text—something Trump himself has explained by saying he is “weaving,” weaving several different lines of thought into a “brilliant” concluding passage.
The description has been questioned by many. On Monday, there was another example of what critics are instead calling word power. In a speech, Trump said of Kamala Harris and her “radical agenda that will crash the economy”:
“She did the second interview, with the other guy who was a nice guy from Philadelphia, I think, from Pennsylvania, and he was a nice guy who asked her all these questions… They just take it, they can’t handle it like that. I might take it. Anyone who wants to go, go, what difference does it make? And how dishonest was ABC? It was three against one,” he says, and then he gets into the discussion instead.
It is difficult to stay focused.
“It’s a very good idea,” says psychologist Ben Michaelis, who has administered cognitive tests to the New York Supreme Court. Independent Donald Trump is not in a “strong cognitive” place.
Trump is believed to be suffering from what is known as sundowning syndrome, a condition in which dementia patients find it more difficult the longer the day gets.
– It becomes difficult for them to stay focused on a subject. To be able to maintain that focus for a long time, very late in the day… you wouldn't think about it if it were your grandfather. Michaelis says he's now running for president.
He also refers to Trump's incoherent speeches as lugorhoia, the medical term for simply universal diarrhea.
“I don't diagnose it, but it could be a symptom of a major mental illness or dementia,” he says.
In an analysis of Trump's speeches over the past seven years, the Health and Science website published: State News I came to the conclusion that Trump was using shorter and shorter sentences, slurred word sequences, and more repetitive language, while the skewed interpretations became more frequent. Experts say there could be several different reasons for these changes: “Some are benign, others are more worrisome. It could be mood swings, a desire to appeal to different audiences, normal aging, or the onset of a cognitive condition like Alzheimer’s disease.
James Pennebaker, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, has delved into this material and says: Los Angeles Times Trump has increased his use of absolute terms like “always,” “never” and “absolutely” by 60 percent since 2015. He also uses significantly fewer positive words. Such a shift, he says, could indicate changes in cognitive ability.
– Points out that another person who has increased his “all or nothing” thinking is Biden.
Donald Trump's campaign has denied speculation that he is suffering from cognitive decline.
“Unapologetic writer. Bacon enthusiast. Introvert. Evil troublemaker. Friend of animals everywhere.”
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