Is Trump ‘exhausted’? Dems play the age card he used against Biden Trump’s campaign hasn’t released his medical report, which “tells me that there is data that is unhelpful… unflattering,” said Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine at George Washington University.
Donald Trump’s repeated gaffes: non sequiturs, and plain odd behavior have opened the door to questions from opponents about the 78-year-old candidate’s mental and physical fitness. From bopping to the beat of his music playlist for nearly 40 minutes at a recent swing state town hall to blaming Ukraine for
- Russia’s invasion, to riffing on locker room gossip about a pro golfer’s anatomy, Trump is providing plenty of fodder for rivals who’ve declared him “unhinged” and worse.
- As Republicans did to 81-year-old President Joe Biden earlier this year, Democrats including horror novelist
- Stephen King and former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are seizing every opportunity to bash Trump − and it’s a target-rich environment.
Trump’s “health appears to be in question as he demonstrates increasing moments of confusion and disorientation during interviews and rallies,” said former Trump attorney and current adversary Michael Cohen.
“It’s why he is currently obsessing over his medical records and declaring that he is the healthiest person running for the presidency in U.S. history,” Cohen said. Other critics say Trump has always been erratic but more people are noticing since Biden left the presidential race in July.
Trump’s allies reply that the former reality TV star simply has a unique style and that any attention paid to his unconventional behavior on the stump is political. Trump has never been a polished public speaker. From the beginning, his rallies have been long, rambling affairs with regular digressions to jab at rivals or deliver well-worn anecdotes.
They have grown longer: and more unfocused. at style is authentic and part of his appeal, supporters say. Trump fans regularly applaud that he doesn’t speak like a typical politician. Yet Trump repeatedly his raised eyebrows with his comments and behavior in the closing stretch of his third presidential campaign.
His age and refusal to release detailed health records are adding to the questions. Trump has released only general statements attesting to his health by U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, a former White House doctor.
- “The fact that the campaign won’t release any medical report tells me that there is data that is unhelpful… unflattering,” said Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at
- George Washington University, who served as a cardiologist for former Vice President Dick Cheney.
- Harris’ White House doctor released a detailed two-page medical report on Oct.
- 12 that said she “possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency…”
Pressed to follow suit, Trump’s campaign has pointed to a three-paragraph November 2023 letter from his physician stating Trump’s “overall health is excellent” and “his congnitive exams were exceptional.” Harris pounces Trump would be the oldest person ever to win the presidency if he prevails.
Harris and Democrats have leaned into questions about his fitness for office, using the former president’s secrecy about his medical records and recent episodes. He’s becoming increasingly unstable and unhinged. The American people are seeing it, witnessing it in real time,”
Harris said on Saturday: hours before Trump rhapsodized about the late professional golfer Arnold Palmer − with strong reference to Palmer’s genitalia − at a Pennsylvania rally. Trump told the crowd of men, women and children that when Palmer showered, “the other men, they came out of there, they said, ‘Oh my god. That’s unbelievable.’”
Trump stopped taking questions at a recent town hall in Pennsylvania after a pair of medical emergencies in the crowd, instead dancing and playing music for 39 minutes as supporters trickled out. Biden seized on Trump’s DJ set, telling a crowd in Pennsylvania last week it showed Trump was “unhinged,” a term repeated by Harris on Saturday.
The incident offered Biden the chance to return Republican jabs over his age and appearance of infirmity. After Trump’s brutally comic monologue at the recent Al Smith dinner, hosted by the Catholic archbishop of New York, former GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock said that “a slurring confused Trump was swearing in front of the priests, doing his mean girls revenge list and showing his brain is circling the drain.”
Even as Trump’s supporters say he has the energy and mental sharpness of a much younger man, there are signs he is showing his age. He has been canceling appearances recently, raising questions about whether he’s fatigued. Politico reported last week that online news site
The Shade Room, while angling for a sit-down with the former president, was told by Trump advisers that he was “exhausted and refusing [some] interviews…”
“His team is saying that he is suffering from exhaustion, that’s the excuse,” Harris told reporters Friday. “Being president of the United States is probably one of the hardest jobs in the world,” she said. “And so we really do need to ask ourselves: If he’s exhausted from being on the campaign trail, is he fit to do the job?”
Harris’ campaign later posted a collection of news headlines about Trump’s alleged exhaustion on X and wrote: “Okay Donald let’s get you to bed.”
Some experts don’t see a big decline: If anything is wrong with Trump − and only his doctor and family would know for sure − he doesn’t appear to suffer from a readily identifiable age-related condition, experts say. Trump has always had an unusual way of speaking, said Jamie Reilly, a cognitive psychologist at Temple University in Philadelphia. “Can you put a label on it? I don’t think so,” Reilly said.
- “He looks totally different from one day to the next,” Reilly said, which is not consistent with a diagnosis of diseases often associated with aging like Parkinson’s or dementia.
- Arthur McGovern, a professor of psychology at Nichols College in Massachusetts, said that, while Trump says much that isn’t true, his language is as “authentic” as that of a politician like
- Barack Obama, who is much better known for sticking to objective reality.
