Questions about Joe Biden's mental acuity ultimately "forced" the 81-year-old president out of the 2024 election race. Now Democrats are now "trying to flip that script" on Donald Trump.
It's not just Democrats doing that either. Medical professionals, political commentators and even former Trump allies have increasingly been alleging cognitive decline in the former president, who at 78 would be the oldest president ever elected if he wins in November.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the commentators say?
At the Pennsylvania event, Trump visibly retreated to a "comforting place in his mind, like being wrapped in a warm blanket", said political consultant Eric Schmeltzer in Newsweek. For "those of us" with family members suffering from dementia, "it was a familiar sight", he said.
"What's alarming is how the rate of Trump's bizarre speech and political decisions have been increasing," said Harry Segal, senior lecturer in psychology at Cornell University. He is now "avoiding events where he has to respond coherently and spontaneously", and has refused a second presidential debate. His "abrupt decision to play DJ is yet another sign of his accelerating cognitive decline".
Trump is "beginning to make Biden look like Oscar Wilde", said Lee Siegel in The New Statesman, but there is a "tacit prohibition against discussing Trump's obvious mental incapacity in public". There are "sound reasons" for declining to allege medical conditions in the absence of a diagnosis, but it is also simply harder to discern Trump's cognitive decline than Biden's because of Trump's documented history of eccentric and outlandish behaviour. Ultimately, "the liberal media cried wolf" about Trump's mental acuity in 2016 and now they are "afraid to ring the alarm bells".
That's beginning to change, said The New York Times. It's just that so often has Trump seemed "confused, forgetful, incoherent or disconnected from reality" that it "no longer even generates much attention".
An NYT analysis of Trump's rallies, interviews, statements and social media posts since 2015 shows a distinct change. His speeches have grown "darker, harsher, longer, angrier, less focused, more profane and increasingly fixated on the past", and uses swear words 69% more often, a trend that "could reflect what experts call disinhibition".
Trump "dismisses any concerns and insists that he has passed cognitive tests", characterising his digressions as a rhetorical device he terms "the weave". His campaign team has cited Trump's "extremely busy and active campaign schedule" as evidence of his "stamina".
What next?
Trump said in August he would "gladly" publish his medical records – but with less than three weeks to go until the election, his campaign team has yet to release "any basic health data", said Axios.
More than 230 doctors and healthcare professionals have publicly called for Trump to be "transparent" with his medical status given his "advancing age". Trump is "displaying alarming characteristics of declining acuity", said the letter organised by "Doctors for Harris", which is not connected to the vice-president's campaign, obtained by CBS News.
Harris shared her medical reports on Saturday in "a thinly veiled challenge to Trump to do the same", said The Independent. "It makes you wonder, why does his staff want him to hide away?" Harris said.
The Trump campaign insisted he was "in perfect and excellent health", and included links to medical reports from almost a year ago, and two about the wound to his ear after he was shot at in July.
Trump retorted on Truth Social that Harris should be the one to take a cognitive test. Her actions "have led many to believe that there could be something very wrong with her", he claimed.
-
Should Britain withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights?Talking Point With calls now coming from Labour grandees as well as Nigel Farage and the Tories, departure from the ECHR 'is starting to feel inevitable'
-
5 outspoken cartoons about Epstein survivors taking center stageCartoons Artists take on cover-ups, Trump surrounded, and more
-
Codeword: September 6, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Why are Trump's health rumors about more than just presidential fitness?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Extended absences and unexplained bruises have raised concerns about both his well-being and his administration's transparency
-
'The McDonald's menu board is one fascinating thing'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
The Secret Service is reportedly facing a massive sniper shortageThe Explainer The agency is reportedly dealing with a 73% shortage
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Why reports of Donald Trump's demise are greatly exaggeratedIn The Spotlight US president has once again brushed aside rumours that he's dead
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off VenezuelaSpeed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US
