Donald Trump: mentally, physically, temperamentally compromised #7

"A friend of mine said, 'you have to be the most perfect person.' Isn't that true?" -- Trump

0:10 ( https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1276328928123195392 )

- Aaron Rupar @atrupar | 9:38 PM · Jun 25, 2020

Perfect specimen, sure. Of a certain type.

Person? Well, that's impossible. One has to be a human being first and he indisputably isn't.

Trump's niece's tell-all book does exactly that. How much of it is factual is the question that must be asked. Most of the revelations are really explanations of how and where the man's beliefs and behaviors came to be. In those cases, we all know what the truth is about his beliefs and behaviors, and don't really need to hear where they come from because we already know what a nasty individual and racist his father was -- outside the home, admittedly -- and that's truth, too.

But there's plenty of dirty laundry about the Trump family at home to be found in the book for readers who enjoy sorting soiled undies and sweaty gym clothes, I guess.

Trump ‘has been institutionalized for most of his adult life’ — and 5 other shocking revelations from Mary Trump’s book

Trump was twisted by his ‘sociopath’ father and his own sister thinks he’s a ‘clown’ — according to his niece

Mary Trump's scathing book claims Trump paid someone to take his SATs

Chicago Tribune highlights a few specific excerpts.

People without critical thinking skills, here and elsewhere, will just read her name and assumes she speaks on the subject with authority but some of this allegedly happened before her birth and for the rest, she's by her own admission "long been estranged from Donald Trump" ; so that's all basically hearsay.

>4 Kuiperdolin:

I won't assume everything she writes is true, but for me she does get a few extra points in any specific "he said/she said" situation because he has been proven to be a habitual liar -- I've seen and heard his lies on video many times.

"He said/she said" is generally used to describe cases where a man and woman give conflicting accounts of a situation where they were both involved.

Here it's situation after situation where the Donald was involved, and she wasn't. So it's not really the same thing.

>6 Kuiperdolin:

Fair point.

At the same time, I don't think the Donald is actually capable of telling the truth anymore. He opens his mouth, and whatever he thinks sounds best comes out. Things like "we're in great shape with the coronavirus." Yeah, not so much.

>7 amysisson: I think Trump is capable of uttering statement which are factually true. I just don't think that there's any sane person who believes that his uttering some statement qualifies as a reason to believe that statement. He is a perfect fog of bullshit, in the Harry Frankfurt sense.

I mean, there are probably still a few nut jobs who believe that what he says in some way reflects reality, but obviously nobody here is that dumb - I mean, that'd be like believing that he wrote the Art of the Deal. You'd have to be a complete nitwit!

>4 Kuiperdolin:

Actually, people with critical thinking skills will comprehend that her book is NOT "basically hearsay." It's basically eye-witness, especially when it focuses on his earlier years.

Being estranged usually is for a reason. I'm sure she was on the receiving end, beyond her witnessing, of toxic Trump. That is reason for estrangement. However, estrangement does not mean she is ignorant of his person, only that she/he no longer have a close relationship.

In short, pre-judging readers will jump to reasons NOT to evaluate the book. Instead, they will substitute their defensive condemnation ahead of time for any purported skills at all since they won't engage the book, having dismissed it from any reading at all.

She's an expert eyewitness especially when it focuses on the years before she was born... Anyways I already engaged bigly with that book, I read the blurb, a review and looked up the author and her birthdate. That's way more than I will (and can) give to most of published books this year. If it fails to convince me to give it more thst's on it.

Also her account of her and her father's estrangement is extremely self-serving. Junkies are horrendous to be around, and that goes treble for those who blame their despicable behaviour on everyone but themselves. Cutting them off is generallly the only safe option.

>10 Kuiperdolin: that goes treble for those who blame their despicable behaviour on everyone but themselves. Cutting them off is generallly the only safe option.

Yep. That's why November can't come soon enough!

>10 Kuiperdolin:

When you say "cutting them off," I take it you'd favor Twitter removing Trump's account on the same basis it removed Roger Stone's? Instagram, Facebook, too?

What Mary Trump’s book and the ‘Trump v. Vance’ case have in common
George T. Conway III | July 9, 2020

...(Mary L. Trump, a clinical psychologist who happens also to be niece of Donald Trump, the president of the United States)'s specifics all lead to the same brutal conclusions: “the sum total of who my uncle is,” she says, consists of “lies, misrepresentations, and fabrications.” He’s “incapable of growing, learning, or evolving.” He lacks true competence, his “real skills” being “self-aggrandizement, lying, and sleight of hand.” His own sister, a former federal appellate judge, thinks of her brother as a “clown,” unsuited for office...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/09/what-mary-trumps-book-trump-v...

Sarah Cooper @sarahcpr | 12:49 PM · Jul 10, 2020:

How to cognitive
0:32 ( https://twitter.com/sarahcpr/status/1281631729409822722 )

>15 amysisson:

That wins today's internet as far as I'm concerned.

>12 Limelite: : no I mean shunning his junkie brother. Donald Trump is not addicted to anything except maybe greatness.

>15 amysisson: : well that's modest.

>16 Kuiperdolin:

Better explain what you're addicted to for that laughable reply.

>16 Kuiperdolin:

LOL! I meant #14 wins the Internet!

>16 Kuiperdolin: Donald Trump is not addicted to anything except maybe greatness.

Poor man. The one thing that eludes him his entire life is the thing he's addicted to? I almost feel like you could make a sympathetic story out of this.

On DACA and Puerto Rico:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/leading-homeland-security-under-president-154723059.h...

Trump's former head of Homeland Security describing being blindsided by Trump, Miller and Sessions on DACA policy as well as Trump wondering aloud after Hurricane Maria whether he could sell Puerto Rico.....or just more of his usual racism.

Trump and his cult followers/voters have "ism" issues ~
racism/sexism/patriotism, etc. Their DNAs have too many gene
mutations to count.

This trumpian talking point that we hear parroted all the time from the chorus of loyal Trump republicans that the reason we have more and more covid cases is because we test so much as if if we stopped testing people wouldn't be getting sick with the virus and the asymptomatic wouldn't still be passing it around is just so stupid and asinine.

They would like to ignore the health ramifications of this disease altogether and it's completely disarmed their economic warrior spiels. They are hammering square pegs into round holes--the economy is not going to recover until the pandemic is dealt with in a serious and intelligent way. But here we are with the send the kids back to school shit and it's not going to work--it can only make things worse and probably a lot worse than they are. Bars, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, sports of all kinds, broadway plays, weddings---the jobs that depend on them are going to be taking hits all the time until we finally get around to having a national response and coherent strategy to this virus. People who are not on board need to get on board.

Asha Rangappa | 7/16/2020:
THREAD. Watching the interview with @MaryLTrump on @maddow and caught a small note which has enormous significance: She mentions how, when she provided the NYT with legal documents, she discovered things about the Trump estate which her “trustees” had never revealed 1/

2. A “trustee,” is a term with legal significance. Someone who acts as a trustee has a FIDUCIARY DUTY — in Mary Trump’s case, to act in her interest (she is the “beneficiary” of the estate being administered). In other words, they need to take steps to maximize *her* benefit 2/

3. What Mary reveals in her memoir is that her trustees — her aunts and uncles, including Donald — did not reveal to her the value of the assets held in trust for her and, it appears, did not give her what she was owed under that trust. So, should you care? Because it’s a pattern

4. The NY AG found that the Trump Foundation — run by Donald and his eldest three kids — violated their FIDUCIARY DUTY to the donors to that trust, using that money to benefit themselves rather than the causes they were meant for. The Foundation was shut down.

5. The Ukraine scandal was, at its core, about a violation of Trump’s FIDUCIARY DUTY to administer the funds appropriated by Congress in the way it intended, rather than for his personal benefit. When he was impeached for “abuse of power,” it was because he violated this trust

6. Everything that Barr is doing, at Trunp’s behest, is a violation of Trump’s FIDUCIARY DUTY, to the American people, to take care that the laws be FAITHFULLY executed. @jedshug and others have written about the fiduciary duty imposed by the word “faithfully” in Art. II

7. In short, this is a person who has no sense of acting in any fiduciary capacity to his OWN FAMILY — and has no qualms with pilfering from her. He has shown he will do the same from his own donors, from the Treasury, and from the American people. He has no interest but himself.

8. In case it’s not clear, as President, Trump is effectively a “trustee” for the American people, who are the “beneficiaries.” More ads/questions/talking points need to be framed in this way to fully highlight how he has violated and abused his power and the public trust.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1283941339361665025.html

#23--it's a bit confusing. From the wikipedia entry the Donald J. Trump foundation was shut down in 2018. That foundation according to that article was originally set up by Donald from proceeds from his own book The art of the deal and according to the article for a while he puts money into it though he also solicits monies from outsiders like the McMahon's--Linda who was in is cabinet and Vince the head of a fake wrestling empire. He and his kids had been using this foundation like a family of grifters--making all kinds of claims about donations to charities but really that foundation was a way for others to give money to them like they were a charity.

It strikes me that this isn't the foundation that Mary is talking about though. It seems more likely that she's talking about a foundation set up after someone dies to be administered by so and so for the benefit of some other so and so's. That Donald and maybe some other of the administrators of that trust used it to benefit themselves and not those it was intended for.

In any case if what they on the Maddow show were trying to establish last night was that Donald only gives a fuck about himself I came to that conclusion a long, long time ago. I've made mention of the fact several times recently that Donald likes to take credit for all kinds of 'good' things that were actually done by others. The researchers for instance who come up with the coronavirus vaccine---Donald is ready and waiting to take credit for their work and there are enough goofballs out there who will give him credit for it too. He has a lot actually in common with a virus--he is an unconscious unconscionable contagious malignance. The coronavirus is his real cousin--the pandemic is a fight not only against it but against him. Doesn't it seem like that?

I think #3 (Mary's family trust) is given as first example of Trump failure to faithfully administer on others' behalf, e.g.,
Trump Foundation (#4),
Congress-allocated monies to Ukraine (#5)
faithful execution of laws (#6).

I think my dad took this test in retirement home. (I remember hearing about the clock.)
At least one question detects problems other than dementia, though, e.g., repeating sentences
(Auditory Processing Disorder, correctable with Fast ForWord https://www.fastforwordhome.com/auditory-processing-disorder).

____________________________________________

Could you pass cognitive test Trump took?

Now’s your chance.
Image ( https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1284915687312457729/photo/1 )

- The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln | 2:19 PM · Jul 19, 2020

Even Fox News is now laughing at "their guy" in the WH.

Their viewers believe Biden has the mental chops but Trump? NO! A majority of Fox News fans no longer think Trump is mentally sound enough to be president. 51% just say "no" to Trump's mental acuity, while only 39% feel the same about Biden, giving Biden a double digit lead in the smarts department in their minds. NOTE: Without any proof from a simple cognitive function test being needed.

According to Trump, the last 5 questions are the hardest.

“… The first few questions are easy, but I’ll bet you couldn’t even answer the last five questions. I’ll bet you couldn’t, they get very hard, the last five questions.”

(Uhhh. . .That's most of the test and no pictures.) See for yourself here.

It's that apparent.

The fact this test was administered, plus Trump's fixation on it: more concerning almost than how he tested!

How to person woman man camera tv (1:41)
Sarah Cooper • Jul 23, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8oaaP68i4s

“#Unfit: The Psychology Of Donald Trump” Scheduled for release to select locations Aug 28, 2020.

Now, an upcoming documentary seeks to make sense of it all. (In) interviews (with) doctors and mental health professionals, the film offers an analysis of the behavior, psyche, condition, and stability of Trump, as well as his impact on society. . .the filmmakers conclude that Trump is a malignant narcissist, a psychological condition that combines narcissistic personality disorder, paranoia, sadism, and anti-social behavior.

Story:
#Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump’ Uses Science to Explain an Unhinged President

Clip:
https://youtu.be/SUbNC1tITEw

Film Website:
https://www.unfitfilm.com/

In secretly recorded audio, President Trump’s sister says he has ‘no principles’ and ‘you can’t trust him’
Michael Kranish | August 22, 2020 at 9:51 p.m. EDT
Add to list

Maryanne Trump Barry was serving as a federal judge when she heard her brother, President Trump, suggest on Fox News, “maybe I’ll have to put her at the border” amid a wave of refugees entering the United States. At the time, children were being separated from their parents and put in cramped quarters while court hearings dragged on.

“All he wants to do is appeal to his base,” Barry said in a conversation secretly recorded by her niece, Mary L. Trump. “He has no principles. None. None. And his base, I mean my God, if you were a religious person, you want to help people. Not do this.”

... “His goddamned tweet and lying, oh my God,” she said. “I’m talking too freely, but you know. The change of stories. The lack of preparation. The lying. Holy shit.”...

Lamenting “what they’re doing with kids at the border,” she guessed her brother “hasn’t read my immigration opinions” in court cases. In one case, she berated a judge for failing to treat an asylum applicant respectfully.

(Mary Trump) “What has he read?”

(Barry) “No. He doesn’t read”

..In response to a question from The Washington Post about how she knew the president paid someone to take the SATs, Mary Trump revealed that she had surreptitiously taped 15 hours of face-to-face conversations with Barry in 2018 and 2019. She provided The Post with previously unreleased transcripts and audio excerpts, which include exchanges that are not in her book.

“It’s the phoniness of it all. It’s the phoniness and this cruelty. Donald is cruel.”

...Barry told how she tried to help her brother get into college. “He was a brat,” Barry said, explaining that “I did his homework for him” and “I drove him around New York City to try to get him into college.”

“He went to Fordham for one year actually two years and then he got into University of Pennsylvania because he had somebody take the exams.”

(Mary Trump) “No way! He had somebody take his entrance exams?”

“SATs or whatever. . . . That’s what I believe,” Barry said. “I even remember the name.” That person was Joe Shapiro, Barry said.

...(Barry) recalled how she turned to Donald Trump for help when she wanted to be nominated by then-President Ronald Reagan for a federal judgeship. She believed that help could come from his attorney: Roy Cohn, who had played an infamous role in the 1950s as chief counsel to Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.) on the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Cohn was “like kissing buddies” with Reagan, she said.

“He had Roy Cohn call Reagan about needing to appoint a woman as a federal judge in New Jersey,” Barry told Mary. “Because Reagan’s running for reelection, and he was desperate for the female vote.” Then, she said, “I had the nomination,” and Donald Trump never let Barry forget it.

...“He once tried to take credit for me,” Barry said of her brother, quoting him as saying, “Where would you be without me?”

Barry said she told her brother: “You say that one more time and I will level you.” She told Mary that it was “the only favor I ever asked for in my whole life.” She said that she deserved the nomination “on my own merit” and that she was subsequently elevated to higher judicial posts without her brother’s intervention.

“Donald is out for Donald, period,” Barry said.

Mary questioned Barry about what he had accomplished on his own.

“I don’t know,” Barry said.

(Mary) “Nothing”

“Well he has five bankruptcies”

(Mary) “Good point. He did accomplish those all by his self”

“Yes, he did. Yes, he did. You can’t trust him”

...One day, Barry said, the president called her and said, “Did you watch Fox News?”
Maryanne Trump Barry tells President Trump she doesn’t watch Fox News

“No”

(Donald) “Why not?”

“I don’t watch much television at all”

(Donald) “What do you do?”

“I read”

(Donald) “What do you read?”

“Books”

(Donald)...incredulous. “You don’t watch Fox?”

One of the most emotional conversations between Mary and her aunt occurred when they discussed the . During that ceremony, Donald spoke more about his own accomplishments than his father’s life, Barry said.

“Donald was the only one who didn’t speak about Dad (1999 funeral of the family patriarch, Fred Sr.)” Barry said. She told Mary that “I don’t want any of my siblings to speak at my funeral. And that’s all about Donald and what he did at Dad’s funeral. I don’t know. It was all about him.”

(Mary) “I remember”...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/maryanne-trump-barry-secret-recordings/2...

The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln | 10:36 AM · Aug 29, 2020:
#TrumpIsNotWell is trending.

0:05 ( https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1299717585529982979 )
From The Lincoln Project

Fears ‘Trump has some health issues’ after the president has difficulty walking up short set of stairs

At a Friday evening rally in New Hampshire, Trump again sparked widespread conversation of having difficulty climbing a short set of stairs to the stage while Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American” plays:

Gravity has a well-known liberal bias. https://t.co/UZK1vOKc7p

— Quinn Cummings (quinncy) August 29, 2020

Your President has all the "best words." by the Lincoln Project.

Trump labeled our ‘elderly relative in cognitive decline’ after ‘delusional’ Fox News interview.

(Laura) Ingraham asked Trump who he thinks it is that are pulling Joe Biden’s strings.

“People you’ve never heard of,” Trump replied, without naming names for Ingraham to familiarize herself with.“People that are in the dark shadows,” Trump continued.

“What does that mean?” Ingraham asked. “That sounds like conspiracy theory, dark shadows.”

“No, people that you haven’t heard of,” Trump replied. “They’re people that are on the streets, they’re people that are controlling the streets.”

Trump then told an anecdote about somebody flying on a plane full of “thugs” who were wearing black uniforms.

But he refused to give any details.

This is not funny. This is scary.

More from the interview:
Trump warns Fox News of press fatalities from the boringness of covering President Joe Biden: ‘They’re all going to die’."

Still more. . .
Trump tells Fox News what women want — and how Black voters have ‘gotten along with the police’.

Oliver Darcy (CNN) @oliverdarcy | 10:24 PM · Aug 31, 2020:
"We had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend, and in the plane it was almost completely loaded with thugs, wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms, with gear and this and that. They're on a plane."

Trump says this is "under investigation right now."

0:37 ( https://twitter.com/oliverdarcy/status/1300620487207399424 )

---------------------------------------------------------
ETA
Claire McCaskill clairecmc | 10:32 AM · Sep 1, 2020:
If someone sat next to you on the bus or subway and
started talking about powerful men being controlled in “the dark shadows” and
groups of men in black gear moving around the country to hurt him...
you would change your seat.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump | 11:04 AM · Sep 1, 2020:
It never ends! Now they are trying to say that your favorite President, me,
went to Walter Reed Medical Center, having suffered a series of mini-strokes.
Never happened to THIS candidate - FAKE NEWS.
Perhaps they are referring to another candidate from another Party!

Maggie Haberman @maggieNYT | 11:15 AM · Sep 1, 2020:
So the president is denying something that no one has actually reported - that he had a series of mini-strokes.
____________________________________________

Pence was on standby to 'take over' during Trump's unannounced Walter Reed visit, new book reports
Paul LeBlanc | September 1, 2020

Vice President Mike Pence was put on standby to temporarily assume the powers of the presidency during President Donald Trump's unannounced visit to Walter Reed hospital in November 2019, according to a copy of New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt's forthcoming book obtained by CNN.

Trump had undergone a "quick exam and labs" as part of his annual physical out of anticipation of a "very busy 2020," the White House had said of the trip at the time.

Schmidt writes, however, that he learned "in the hours leading up to Trump's trip to the hospital, word went out in the West Wing for the vice president to be on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized." Schmidt does not specify the sourcing for this reporting beyond "I learned."...

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/31/politics/trump-walter-reed-visit-pence/index.html

Trump's odd denial of suffering a "series of mini-strokes" when no one asked has raised serious questions about his actual physical and mental state. Drudge Report a right-wing news aggregating site today posted pics of Trump that illustrate his right leg dragging; the video of his most recent stumble, losing his balance climbing a few steps to the podium in NH. Again, involving his right leg. Everyone remembers the incidences of Trump's two-handed drinking when his right hand alone couldn't manage to hold the container. And no one has forgotten his claim that the slight downward ramp that caused him so much trouble that he blamed the ramp for faults it didn't have. Add to that his accelerating mental incompetence that includes forgetfulness, slurred speech, inability to pronounce well known words like "plasma" and "Yosemite," and his worsening temper, and finally, his incoherent rants. The latest exhibition of which occurred during a Fox News interview yesterday.

Consequently, the media is beginning to notice a pattern of behaviors in the man and are putting 2 and 2 together with his odd denial of nothing to see here in combination with latest revelations surrounding his secret trip to Walter Reed last November. CNN's Dr. Gupta has said, questions arise because of the WH personal physician's actions at the time of the trip to the ER. It's customary for the MD to ride behind the president's limo in a second vehicle. That day at that time, the doctor climbed into Trump's limo and rode with nim to the hospital. This and the other revelation that Pence had been notified to be ready to act as interim president in case Trump needed anesthesia (NEVER needed for a regular annual check up; cardiac and neuro emergencies, yes) have produced a pile of evidence that Trump is NOT enjoying normal good health. Rather he has medical conditions that warrant suspicion that he is unfit to perform as president.

Flipboard has produced a running record of what I've summarized above -- and more. It's an important and comprehensive factual record that underscores Trump and the WH are covering up critical information that explains Trump's cascading physical and mental deterioration.

More:
Trump "Admits" Strokes
Trump Unfit
Drudge Front Page Today
Trump Frontotemporal Dementia Posture (condition and listed other symptoms can result from stroke)
Better image here.

WaPo Editorial "Trump Too Loony Even for Laura Ingraham"

“In a normal time, with a functioning Republican Party and a patriotic vice president, this might be the end of Trump’s campaign and an invitation to invoke the 25th Amendment,” said Rubin. “We, unfortunately, have spineless sycophants in the GOP and a zombie-like vice president who feels compelled to show allegiance to a president plainly unfit to hold office. Likewise, in most families, there would be a family meeting to stop him from embarrassing himself. (Perhaps not in families where its members stand to inherit millions of dollars.) No chance of that, but the thesis from the president’s niece, Mary Trump, that there is something seriously wrong with him looks pretty unassailable.”

Trump to Barr: Just Go After My Critics -- Never Mind That There's No Crime

Cray-cray POTUS in his own words proves he is a pro "law & order" guy of the Fascist Franco of Spain school. 'Trump has no specific crime he wants Barr to prosecute Biden and Obama for. He wants Barr to prosecute them for being his political opponents.' — Dean Baker (@DeanBaker13) September 2, 2020

“I say this openly: Bill Barr can go down as the greatest Attorney General in the history of our country, or he can go down as just another guy,” Trump told Fox host Laura Ingraham. “They have all the stuff, you don’t need anything else. You know they want everything. You don’t need anything else. They all lied to Congress, they were liars, they were cheaters. They were treasonous it was treason.”

Sounds like an inadvertent confession to me.

Biden, are you listening?

The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln | 10:20 AM · Sep 3, 2020:

What really happened at Walter Reed.
0:48 ( https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1301525393829056513 )

_________________________________________________

REESUS PATRIOT™ @ReesusP · 4h

The obvious
0:23 ( https://twitter.com/ReesusP/status/1301577744266870784 )
From PaulLittlecul

Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’

The president has repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members, and asked that wounded veterans be kept out of military parades, multiple sources tell The Atlantic.

When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true.

Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day.
(SNIP)
“Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed.

Is it any wonder that the latest poll shows that active duty members of the US military have rejected the Commander-in Heel-Spurs and are supporting Joe Biden for Commander-in-Chief, a man whose son served?

Just How Much Legal Trouble Is Trump In?
An update on the many investigations into the president’s business interests.
Ray Suarez | Sept 03, 2020

...One thing I’ve learned about Trump and about the country is that Trump has always exploited honor systems. He’s always looked for places where people obey the law not because they have to but because it’s seen as the right thing to do. They don’t want to go against social convention, and so they follow the rules—but when you break the law, it’s not like a cop steps out from behind a pillar and arrests you. He takes advantage of that. When he finds a place where there’s an honor system, he exploits it. He does what the honor system doesn’t expect. And he often gets a huge advantage out of that. He did that in his business often. He did it at his charity—he didn’t follow charity rules, and he took advantage of the fact that the charity system takes a long time to catch up with you if you do that.

And what we’ve found is that the presidency is an honor system. On purpose, we did not write a lot of laws that govern the presidency because that’s supposed to be held by a person of honor who will follow honor systems about not mixing government and private business, not mixing government and politics. And Trump has again taken advantage of that. There’s so many cases in which he said, I know it says I can’t do this or other people haven’t done this, but I’m going to do it. Try and stop me. I’ll see you in two years. What we’ve seen in all these court cases is that that worked. And also that Trump’s opponents, the Democrats in Congress and people in law enforcement, didn’t understand whom they were dealing with. Often they sort of seemed to expect that Trump would follow the honor systems, even when his whole life had shown that he would not...

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/trump-organization-legal-troubles-in...

MeidasTouch.com @MeidasTouch |
NEW VIDEO

Trump’s narcissistic personality disorder makes him the biggest threat to America’s security.
#DJTHasNPD

1:35 ( https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1303133959119712258 )
8:52 PM · Sep 7, 2020

Remember the sniffing during Clinton debate?
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2022866/trumpsniffl....

According to Noel Casler, NYC Based Stand Up Comedian and former Apprentice staffer ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kvsYCT9ZaM ):

NoelCaslerComedy @CaslerNoel | 5:58 PM · Sep 2, 2020:
https://twitter.com/CaslerNoel

Guys if you spent the last four decades snorting stimulants every day you would have mini-strokes when hit your 70’s too. Trump also had plastic surgery on his nose to repair ‘coke nose’ check out the bump. Makeup wouldn’t stick to it on ‘Apprentice.’

This pic was from today’s NYT. That’s called ‘coke nose.’ Also eyes are super bloodshot.
He was partying w/ Melania and Stephanie Wolkoff.
Image ( https://twitter.com/CaslerNoel/status/1301343694256320512/photo/1 )
-------------------------------------------------------

Image ( https://twitter.com/HeatherHale88/status/1301304067910758401/photo/2 )
___________________________________________

NoelCaslerComedy @CaslerNoel | 2:42 PM · Sep 7, 2020
Trump had white sh*t, otherwise known as crushed Adderall*, flying out of his nose again today.
But he was probably just waiting for Melania. @realDonaldTrump

Quote Tweet
Melish @Midmomel · 20h;
Something flew out of his nose. #TrumpPressConference
0:03 ( https://twitter.com/CaslerNoel/status/1303040933328498688 )

* https://americanaddictioncenters.org/adderall/snorting
___________________________________________

Deviated Septum from Cocaine or Meth Use
https://luxury.rehabs.com/cocaine-addiction/deviated-septum/#cocaine

#43--did you get a good look at the photo below the Heather Hale link? Jesus. It makes sense of a lot of things though including the makeup.

No better analysis of Trump's mental "instability" has been detailed than in this Slate article by William Saletan, "The Trump Pandemic: A blow-by-blow account of how the president killed thousands of Americans."

Saletan traces the history of Trump's veering and lurching from ignoring, to denials, to fairy tales, to misrepresentations, to false accusations, to boasting, to conspiracy theories, to lies, to ultimately washing his hands of responsibility for any policy to address the crisis that distilled in his famous Pontius Pilate quote, "It is what it is," that signaled his final disintegration and failure of leadership in addressing the most significant crisis of his administration.

The conclusion? A summation of why the 2020 election is a referendum on Trump and why even a tuna fish sandwich or a can of tomatoes is viewed as a better choice than him for president in the eyes of his former supporters who now support Joe Biden.

It’s hard to believe a president could be this callous and corrupt. It’s hard to believe one person could get so many things wrong or do so much damage. But that’s what happened. Trump knew we weren’t ready for a pandemic, but he didn’t prepare. He knew China was hiding the extent of the crisis, but he joined in the cover-up. He knew the virus was spreading in the United States, but he said it was vanishing. He knew we wouldn’t find it without more tests, but he said we didn’t need them. He delayed mitigation. He derided masks. He tried to silence anyone who told the truth. And in the face of multiple warnings, he pushed the country back open, reigniting the spread of the disease.

Now Trump asks us to reelect him. “We had the greatest economy in the history of the world,” he told Fox News on Wednesday. “Then we got hit with the plague from China.” But now, he promised, “We’re building it again.” In Trump’s story, the virus is a foreign intrusion, an unpleasant interlude, a stroke of bad luck. But when you stand back and look at the full extent of his role in the catastrophe, it’s amazing how lucky we were. For three years, we survived the most ruthless, reckless, dishonest president in American history. Then our luck ran out.

Unless you're not convinced about Donald's drug abuse and need to SEE, don't go to thread, especially near mealtime...

Dr. Jack Brown @DrGJackBrown | 9:11 PM · Sep 7, 2020:
https://twitter.com/DrGJackBrown/status/1303138818745196544

1/ THREAD: Large, white, particulate debris ejected from Trump's mouth/nose 5 times during his Press Conference/Campaign event at White House today...

2/ Today, during Trump's Press Conference/Campaign event at the White House, at least five times, he ejected large, white debris from his mouth and possibly his nose.

3/ While this is an unpleasant and for some, a nauseating topic to discuss and watch, it is highly relevant. Many witnesses have made public statements regarding Trump's chronic abuse of cocaine, Adderall, and other drugs.

4/ Trump's bilateral, intermittent, extremely dilated pupils (oftentimes 8 or 9 mm in both eyes) are a result of drugs. From a neurologic and ophthalmologic perspective, no other explanation is logical. These pupillary findings are quantifiable, long-standing, and documented.

5/ This first image is from 32:06 in the above-attached video, just after Trump says the word, "but". The debris could be from his right nostril or his mouth. This is not spittle. It's a fairly large piece of debris.

6/ If we follow the trajectory, it lands on the front edge of the lectern and remains there for the duration of Trump's speech. A piece of spittle would not do this. This was solid debris.

7/ This second example occurs during 36:08, as Trump says, "millions". Again, this is not a piece of spit. This is also solid.

8/ Another, third, projectile flew from Trump's mouth an instant after he said, 'percent' during 37:51. Again, sizeable and solid.

9/ Yet another, a fourth large piece of white, solid, debris shot from his mouth during 38:05 as "a year".

10/ The fifth piece of debris is from 43:33 as Trump says the word, "accurately". Once again, this is solid and substantial. It's not spittle.

11/ What is this debris? Denture adhesive? No. Toothpaste residue? No. Food? Possibly, but highly doubtful (why didn't this occur in the first 32 minutes of his speech?).

Is this drug residue/debris? Yes, this is quite possible.

12/ I scrutinize slow-motion videos frequently as part of nonverbal analysis, and unless someone is speaking while they're eating, this degree of particulate projectile expulsion from the mouth (or nose) is significantly rare.

13/ Cocaine has vasoconstrictive properties, which along with other secondary effects, lead to ischemia and subsequent perforation of the hard palate (the roof of the mouth).

14/ SUMMARY: Donald Trump expelled at least 5 relatively large pieces of white, *solid* debris out of his mouth and possibly his nose today while speaking. This is consistent with the expulsion of drug residue.

15/ With high probability, Donald Trump has a prosthesis device on the roof of his mouth in an effort to treat/block perforation(s) of his hard palate. Today, this prosthesis probably became dislodged, allowing debris from his nasal cavity to pass through to his mouth.

16/ Donald Trump is a long-term, severe, drug-abuser.

END
Body Language and Medical Analysis №4221: Why are Donald Trump’s Pupils Intermittently Dilated?
Why are Donald Trump’s pupils intermittently so Dilated?
https://medium.com/@DrGJackBrown/body-language-and-medical-analysis-4221-why-are...
_____________________________________________________________

Bad to the Bone @jm54115290 | 9:55 PM · Sep 7, 2020

Screenshot of DT dancing at MaL next to Epstein. Geeked out on coke? Notice his pupils.
https://twitter.com/jm54115290/status/1303149952743493632/photo/1

_____________________________________________________________

Andrew Feinberg @AndrewFeinberg | 10:33 AM · Sep 11, 2020:
Wow. At the Flight 93 memorial commemoration in Shanksville, PA, a visibly sedated @realDonaldTrump
is bragging about the deaths of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Bakr al-Bagdhadi (neither of whom had anything to do with 9/11).

______________________________________________________________

Projecting:

Aaron Rupar @atrupar | 1:31 PM · Sep 11, 2020
"I think there's probably, possibly drugs involved. That's what I hear." --
during interview with Judge Jeanine*, Trump casually accuses Joe Biden of using performance enhancing drugs
0:18 ( https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1304472674375262208 )

* https://people.com/tv/jeanine-pirro-denies-being-drunk-first-at-home-broadcast-c...

#46--makes you wonder who Donald's supplier is. Reminds as well of that movie with Denzel Washington where he's an airline pilot. That guy could at least land a plane in an emergency. Donald piloting the United States---good fucking lord---time for atheists even to break out the rosary beads.

Available on a number of platforms, documentary:

#UNFIT: The Psychology of Donald Trump
2:20 trailer ( https://unfitfilm.com/ )

CONTRIBUTORS
(in order of appearance):
Malcolm Nance, Author “The Plot to Betray America"
George Conway, Attorney, Co-Founder “The Lincoln Project”
John Gartner, Psychologist, Author “The Hypomanic Edge"
Lance Dodes, Psychiatrist, Author “Breaking Addiction"
Justin Frank, Psychiatrist, Author “Trump on the Couch"
Ramani Durvasula, Psychologist, Author
Anthony Scaramucci, Former White House Communications Director, Author, “Trump: The Blue Collar President”
Suzanne Lachman, Psychologist
Rick Reilly, Author, “Commander in Cheat”
Bill Kristol, Conservative Commentator, Editor, “The Bulwark”
Richard Painter, Ethics Attny George W. Bush
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Historian, Author “Strongmen”
Cheryl Koos, Historian, Professor of Interwar European History
Sheldon Solomon, Research Psychologist, Co-Author, “Worm at the Core"

Remember That Projection Thing Pathological Narcissists Have?

‘Sleepy’ Donald Trump mocked for ‘sedated slurring’ speech at Constitution Day event.

Adderall overdose? A drug he's purported to use and/or misuse. This performance from the guy who "accuses" Joe Biden of being on meds (that make him 'Sleepy Joe'?) one minute and "performance enhancers" the next. The long-term effects of Adderall use certainly seem to contribute to Don-Boy's personality defects

People who abuse a great deal of Adderall over a long period of time may experience:

Sleep difficulties
Inability to concentrate
Lack of motivation
Depression
Irritability
Lethargy
Fatigue
Aggression
Thoughts of suicide
Mood swings
Paranoia
Hallucinations
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Heart disease
Weight loss
Headaches
Tremors
Constipation

Brandon Friedman @BFriedmanDC | 11:19 PM · Sep 17, 2020:

"The people I like the best are the people that are less successful because it makes you feel so powerful.
I always say it. Never go out with a successful person."

This guy is so broken inside.

1:26 ( https://twitter.com/BFriedmanDC/status/1306794870170935297 )
From Aaron Rupar

Presidents don’t typically face waves of former employees and officials coming out against them, depicting them as dangerous and unfit, and endorsing their opponents. It’s a sign of a uniquely disastrous president.

Here's a partial list of the "disgruntled" (WH adjective, not mine).

Former FBI Director James Comey
Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton
Senior State Department official Mary Elizabeth Taylor
Pentagon official James Miller
Senior analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency Kyle Murphy
Assistant to the president Omarosa Manigault Newman
Former Trump campaign staffer Alva Johnson (accused Trump of sexual misconduct)
Michael Cohen
Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
Former Defense Secretary James Mattis
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman
________________________________________________________

Is it any wonder they're disgruntled? And in a related bombshell: Anti-Trump Republicans claim to have backing of a ‘top’ official still working for the president.

While all America knows that Trump is his own worst enemy, apparently there's also a "viper at his bosom."

Former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci,. . .a member of REPAIR, told CNN last week that he had “first-hand” knowledge about plans for at least one current Trump official to resign in October and denounce the president.

Speculation abounds as to whom this might be. Guess we'll have to wait for the October Surprise.
________________________________________________________

"BOOM! Boom! boom!" still echoes in the news cycle. Earlier in the week, one of the newest former Trumpists who announced her defection to Joe Biden created panic in the WH. Olivia Troye's highly publicized "disgruntled" defection has caused Don-Boy to freak out.

“She is providing that firsthand testimonial that Donald Trump, on the most important national security issue of his entire presidency, was totally, totally checked out, to the extent that he was more focused on his re-election than he was on saving American lives. . .
(SNIP)
“You need to think of her as a domino that will start a chain reaction that will encourage more people to have the courage to speak up about this president and presidency and some of the damage that’s been done by Donald Trump and why we need to repair it,” he said. “So I think this is just the beginning,”

New Hot-Mic Video: What Trump Told His Lawyer When He Didn’t Know a Camera Was Rolling (7:18)
The revealing footage was shot during a deposition in the Trump University fraud case.
David Corn | August 27, 2020

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/08/new-hot-mic-video-what-trump-told-h...

----------------------------------------------------------------

Donald Trump Wanted to Keep This Video Deposition Secret. We Got a Copy. (26:49)
He and his lawyer hoped to prevent this footage from the Trump University fraud case from “getting into the hands of the media.”
David Corn | 9/18/2020

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/09/donald-trump-university-fraud-lawsu...

The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln | 1:15 AM · Sep 30, 2020:

Don't use the word "smart"

1:22 ( https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1311172884337840128 )

>53 margd:

Read my thoughts, exactly!

"Pivotabubble" moment in the debate. Not to worry, Don-Boy, we'll never use that word, "smart," with "Donald J Trump." Never.

Then, there's this. . . File under 'Own Worst Enemy.'

An estimated 9 million voters requested mail-in ballots as of Monday with Democrats far outweighing their Republican counterparts. In their reporting, The Washington Post identified mail-in voters as 52 percent Democrats, 28 percent Republicans and 20 percent unaffiliated.

"Rats! Foiled myself again." -- DJT 9/30/20

In the inimitable words of Wile E. Coyote, of Looney Tunes cartoon fame.


Let's see. . .that's 4,680,000 votes in the bank for Joe Biden; 2,520,000 of which only some will be for Trump since many will be for Biden, judging by the number of Rs who have declared they are Ridin' with Biden in 2020; and leftovers dividing themselves into a number of candidate camps. Fierce!

Vipin Narang (MIT prof) @NarangVipin | 2:34 PM · Oct 7, 2020:
Just your daily reminder that—*especially* if he gets wiped out in a landslide on Nov 3—
this man would still retain the sole authority to launch nuclear weapons until Jan 20 and no one could legally stop him.

Quote Tweet
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump | 2:04 PM · Oct 7, 2020
Wow!!! NOW DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, THE BIGGEST OF ALL POLITICAL SCANDALS (IN HISTORY)!!!
BIDEN, OBAMA AND CROOKED HILLARY LED THIS TREASONOUS PLOT!!!
BIDEN SHOULDN’T BE ALLOWED TO RUN - GOT CAUGHT!!!
https://twitter.com/AMErikaNGIRLLL/status/958194412101799936

C.S. Blennerhassett @CSBlenner | 2:34 PM · Oct 7, 2020
He's retweeting a two-year old tweet with a #FireRosenstein hashtag?!?

David Frum @davidfrum | 2:30 PM · Oct 7, 2020
Is 12 exclamation marks a Trump per-tweet record?

Maddow Blog @MaddowBlog | 10:08 PM · Oct 6, 2020:

"...what we do know is that not only does that medicine, dexamethasone, frequently cause mood swings, even manic-ness, euphoria,
but Covid can also alter your thinking. And particularly in elderly people."
- Dr. Robert Wachter, chair and professor, UCSF Department of Medicine

5:11 ( https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1313662534021451776 )

>57 margd: apropos, this came from a chat with a friend the other night:

"Do you remember a few years ago when Pepper* was put on a new medication and he went crazy for a few weeks and started eating random things?

That's the drug our beloved leader is on right now."

* The family dog. Name has been changed to protect the innocent.

Just leave the window open and tell him Biden/Obama/Hillary can fly, but he can't? (Okay, put a net under, but good test, huh?)

>59 margd: Can't hurt to try it.

Net? Sure, if you must.

>60 kiparsky:

I say the first three prove it. A few months ago I would've traded Trump, but now that I see he's the only one attempting to expose the corruption in Washington, we can't afford to lose him.

>61 Cubby.R.S.:

Oh, please. Trump is right at home in the swamp. Don't forget what he was impeached for.

>61 Cubby.R.S.:

Trump has only succeeded in revealing the corruption of his own campaign, administration (arrests, convictions), and himself (taxes, education, wealth, health, and indebtedness -- all lied about). His indebtedness to Russian and Chinese interests would disqualify him from even running for office and absolutely disqualifies him for security clearances now.

Under normal circumstances, Trump's gutting of and replacing the US Justice system with sycophants and henchmen whose loyalty is to him, not their oaths, has provided him with the cover to bob and weave to avoid the prosecution for his fraud, when in any uncorrupted government, he would have been indicted, tried, and jailed by now.

You must be the only person on Earth who refuses to see Trump for what he truly is but can only see the Obama Administration and Hillary Clinton (especially) for what they absolutely are not! That is the perfect example of cognitive disconnect from reality, abandoning it for a conspiracy that earns a tin foil crown.

Sorry that Biden's lead in the opinion of voters keeps growing with each day Trump opens his mouth. Sorry that QAnon is the only "club of nuts" outside Republicans in Congress and the WH that still believes any of the two dozen (that I can think of) conspiracy theories from "birtherism" to Obama "treason" to Clinton ditto, to Biden family corruption in Ukraine, down to Covidiocy. ALL of WHICH HAVE BEEN AND STILL ARE PROVEN FALSE.

But you choose to be on the wrong side of history, preferring Trump's TV production, tail wagging the dog rule over intelligent, capable, considered, respected, and honest leadership. And that tells me that you don't know what the word "honest" means because you support and campaign here for a lying charlatan who's only claim to fame is failure and a fraudulent reputation. There'a a word for that. Hillary Clinton used in in 2016 to accurately describe Trump fans and Trump himself. It begins with "d."

BREAKING

"Pelosi, Dems to introduce legislation related to 25th Amendment." -MSNBC

George Conway calls 25th Amendment Commission ‘a reform that should be given strong consideration.’

A brief explainer: As a default, Section 4 vests power in the Vice President and the Cabinet to make a determination of a president's inability to carry out his or her duties. But … pic.twitter.com/hdY5UOTfnJ

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) October 8, 2020

That wouldn't, however, affect the remainder of Section 4, which ultimately places the determination in the hands of supermajorities of both houses of Congress. pic.twitter.com/UTGtETr22L

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) October 8, 2020

___________________________________________

Mike Pence abruptly cancels trip to vote early in Indiana — but spokesman claims ‘nobody’s sick’.

For our tinfoil hat wearing readers: Did you notice his pink eyes in last night's debate? Do you recall his hostility against a Plexiglass barrier being placed close to him on the debate stage in Utah? Doesn't that require some reassessment after Trump refused to participate in an online town hall instead of a live shared stage debate in Miami? Why couldn't both men be just as effective with those precautions as without them, considering it only a battle of words? Why try to change it into a novel coronavirus shedding event when that danger can be avoided?

Vice President Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence had been scheduled to travel to Indianapolis to cast their ballots by early voting. The trip had been on the books for at least 9 days. The White House provided NO EXPLANATION for Pence’s sudden change of plans.

— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) October 8, 2020

Trump’s Captain Queeg Crackup
Richard North Patterson | October 10, 2020

Yesterday’s bonkers behavior—from his paranoid tweets to his f-bomb on Rush Limbaugh’s show to his bizarre pseudo-checkup on Fox—show he has gone utterly around the bend.

...Until now, only in feverish political potboilers do lunatic presidents propose to jail the opposing candidate. No man this unmoored should be permitted to hold—and abuse—such power.

...The language itself shows a president who has exceeded his limited capacities for self-control, rhetorical and behavioral. “If you fuck around with us,” he informed the Iranians, “if you do something bad to us, we’re gonna do things to you that have never been done before.”...

https://thebulwark.com/trumps-captain-queeg-crackup/

Trump—in the last 2 weeks—
delivered a widely criticized debate performance,
mixed with donors after a top aide tested Covid+,
tested Covid+ himself,
sent stocks sliding by halting stimulus talks,
restarted talks,
pulled out of 2nd debate &
attacked his top 2 Cabinet secretaries.

- Michael C. Bender (WSJ) @MichaelCBender | 9:33 AM · Oct 10, 2020

i have written a poem about Donald Trump too

>69 Kuiperdolin: Don't quit your day job.

Does Everyone Go Crazy in Florida?

At the rally tonight. . .

Trump demands Puerto Rico vote for him. Does the man know anything -- a shred, even -- about the Federal Government? PR doen't vote for president.

Then, this:

Trump told his MAGA-loving supporters in Florida, “Now they say I’m immune. I can — I feel so powerful… I’ll walk into that audience, I’ll walk in there, I’ll kiss everyone in that audience. I’ll kiss the guys and the beautiful women …” He continued, “I’ll just give you a big, fat kiss.”

Some reactions:

On a scale from 1 to Keith Richards; how fucked up is Trump right now? https://t.co/GzfPvuImuq

— YS (@NYinLA2121) October 12, 2020

Empathy much?

Ben Meiselas @meiselasb | 9:34 PM · Oct 14, 2020:
Trump tells Iowa MAGA crowd how angry he was to see the
Iowa news talk about Iowa floods and problems with Iowa crops instead of his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize
(*anyone can be nominated).
Even the MAGA audience is confused

1:02 ( https://twitter.com/donwinslow/status/1316520801135333376 )
From Aaron Rupar

Jake Tapper (CNN) @jaketapper | 3:39 PM · Oct 16, 2020

Former WH COS (chief of Staff) John Kelly has told friends, about Trump:
“The depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me. The dishonesty, the transactional nature of every relationship, though it's more pathetic than anything else. He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life."

Photo of Trump and Kelly ( https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1317188482251608066/photo/1 )

Donald Trump is getting desperate — and his mental pathology is getting worse every day
As mental health professionals, we see a disturbed and destructive man whose psyche is unraveling before our eyes
Alan D. Blotcky - Seth D. Norrholm | October 21, 2020

Alarmingly, Trump is losing his grip on reality. He is agitated. He seems to be hypomanic — quite likely exacerbated by his COVID-19 medications. He has become paranoid. He has been calling out for his political opponents to be indicted. He has been preoccupied with a totally fake conspiracy theory about Barack Obama and Joe Biden spying on his campaign. He is lashing out at some of his most loyal cabinet members. He is even blaming Gold Star families for giving him COVID-19.

...Trump now feels cornered and exposed. His sense of entitlement is threatened. His grandiosity and superiority are crumbling. What he fears most is being embarrassed and humiliated. After all, he has spent his whole life branding himself as smarter and stronger and richer than anyone else. His "false self" persona is being chipped away hour by hour.

As Trump's desperation grows, his mental pathology is becoming more amplified. He is looking unhinged because he is unhinged. It is all we can see — a man who is erratic and unrestrained and debilitated. He is always defensive. He grumbles and roars and blames others. He is incapable of taking responsibility for his own decisions and behavior. He is incapable of leading and governing.

Trump's desperation includes a scorched-earth mentality. If he is going down, he wants to bring everyone and everything down with him. He has no hesitation to break laws or destroy people. Democratic institutions and principles mean nothing to him. All that matters is his survival, his preservation, his continued power.

The end is in sight. But Trump will go down fighting. He will hold onto power until the last possible moment. It will have to be stripped away from him. He will not facilitate a peaceful transfer of power to Biden. He will cry out that he is the victim of a conspiracy. Unbelievably, he will seek sympathy for himself. He will urge his supporters to strike out in anger and aggrievement. He will bask in the glow of his victimhood...

https://www.salon.com/2020/10/21/donald-trump-is-getting-desperate--and-his-ment...

>74 margd:

As if this hasn't been the story for four years...boo, boo, boring, boo and from Salon, boo. What a waste.

We Are Entitled to Ask President Trump for His Brain Scan

Trump’s ‘forward-leaning posture’ and ‘body tics’ are cause for serious concern, says Professor of Neurology at George Washington University, Richard E. Cytowic M.D. Trump's bent posture is seen in Alzheimer’s Dementia, movement disorders of the basal ganglia, and as the side effect of certain medications.

Also noted are the the sudden, spastic, jerking movements of Trump’s right arm (as seen in videos of Memorial Day wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery) when he grabs his wayward arm with the left one in an effort to keep it under control.

It is common for affected individuals to incorporate the flinging into deliberate movements such as scratching or smoothing the hair as if to make them less noticeable. Most recently at the end of the first debate, Trump appears as though he may be trying to camouflage his jerking arm by grabbing Melania’s hand.

Trump's documented troubles lifting a water glass in his right hand; his difficulty negotiating a ramp; his bizarre periodic leg-swinging when he walks -- all on his right side -- and his speech-slurring are all indicators of neurological incapacity.

According to Cytowic, “. . .individuals who have balance and gait issues similar to those observed in Trump can have degenerative brain disease in the frontal lobes, such as fronto-temporal dementia or Pick’s Disease. Other possibilities are normal pressure hydrocephalus, sensory ataxia, peripheral neuropathy, small lacunar strokes in the basal ganglia, supranuclear palsy, the effects of too many medications, and Parkinson’s Disease, which can begin on one side and also show early cognitive impairment.”

Regardless, “The president is a public figure whose judgment we must trust,” Cytowic said. “The American public is entitled to know about his neurological health given the enormous responsibilities placed on our Commander in Chief.”

Clinical psychologist: President Trump is “so obviously impaired and so obviously disordered”
Sarah K Burris | October 28, 2020

...As Trump goes into the final week of his campaign, Dr. Blotcky anticipates seeing more desperation from Trump. He thinks that Trump will bring more "wild accusations, conspiracy theories and threats." It has become clear that the president is reverting to what worked for him in 2016, "his old bag of tricks," as Dr. Blotcky described it. The only difference is that this time around, it not only isn't working to move the needle, but his multi-rally strategy is also serving as superspreader events...

https://www.salon.com/2020/10/28/clinical-psychologist-president-trump-is-so-obv...

The Mentality of Conspiracy Theory Embracers

Donald Trump's presidency is bereft of policy to help America be better but it's long on conspiracy theories that keep it from still being great. Here's why.

These disturbing facts about Trump show his abnormal mental state is an existential threat to humanity
Alan D. Blotcky, Seth D. Norrholm & David M. Reiss | October 30, 2020

...Trump’s being an existential threat to humanity is not a diagnosis, it’s a demonstrable fact.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/these-disturbing-facts-about-trump-show-his-abn...

A President Unhappy, Unleashed and Unpredictable
Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt | Dec. 23, 2020:

President Trump remains the most powerful man in the world, but powerless to achieve what he most wants: to avoid leaving office as a loser.

...current advisers have described a daily struggle to keep Mr. Trump from giving in to his impulse to listen to those who are telling him what he wants to hear. And former advisers say the most worrisome issue is the gradual disappearance of the core group of West Wing aides who, often working in unison, consistently could get him to turn away from risky, legally dubious and dangerous ideas.

...Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel who has implored Mr. Trump to steer clear of proposed maneuvers like having federal officials seize control of voting machines to inspect them, has become a target of the president’s anger.

Mr. Trump has characterized Mr. Cipollone derisively, invoking his own mentor, the infamously ruthless and unscrupulous lawyer Roy Cohn, as what a White House counsel should aspire to be like.

The White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has objected to some of the president’s desires, like appointing Ms. Powell as special counsel examining voter fraud, but he also made a trip to Georgia on Tuesday to investigate ballot safety measures. Mr. Meadows, a former House member, has also leaned into the effort by his old colleagues to challenge the vote in Congress, something that might keep the president from engaging further with Ms. (Sidney) Powell, but which many Republicans consider destructive to their party.

Other advisers have simply absented themselves at a time when the president is particularly unsteady.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/23/us/politics/trump-end-of-presidency.html

This might be fun, but maybe not good idea to trigger a cornered rat?

Don Winslow donwinslow | 8:12 PM · Dec 23, 2020:
NEW VIDEO! #EverybodyIsTurningOnTrump SOUND UP!
...
1:49 ( https://twitter.com/donwinslow/status/1341914721604136960 )

#78--actually I think Trump has been imbibing swamp/sewage water for some time now and FWIW he's a teetotaler. A lot of us actually think that his anti-alcohol ways are part of his problem and all that said he has no compunctions at all from profiting from the sale of alcohol. Making money is commandment no. 1 for him no matter where or how.

Trump somehow botches the word "America"
0:07 ( https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1346298561194024961 )

- Aaron Rupar @atrupar | 10:32 PM · Jan 4, 2021

Here's a header that should reassure all of us. Uh-huh.
Trump knows more about bizarre online conspiracies than the QAnon rank-and-file: extremism expert. And he believes it more, too.

Journalist Ben Colliins on MSNBC "Morning Joe"

"I was startled by his knowledge and grasp of really specific conspiracy theories that even didn't make it out of the Qanon internet," Collins said. "They didn't make it to the civilian internet where most people live. They barely made it to Facebook rumor-level stuff. For example, the president targets this woman named Ruby Freeman, who is an election worker. She's a black woman, and 4chan, an extreme website, said this woman was rigging the election using suitcases -- this is an elaborate conspiracy theory -- and the president specifically targeted this one hashtag called 'where's Ruby.' This was a Qanon hashtag, only a few hundred people retweeted this thing and it was all Qanon accounts."

You s'pose Trump has given up Fox TV entirely in favor of spending his "working" days cruising the Internet "Dark Web"?

Aides weigh resignations, removal options as Trump rages against perceived betrayals
Philip Rucker, Josh Dawsey, Shane Harris and Ashley Parker | Jan. 7, 2021

...People who interacted with Trump on Wednesday said they found him in a fragile and volatile state. He spent the afternoon and evening cocooned at the White House and listening only to a small coterie of loyal aides — including Meadows, deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, personnel director Johnny McEntee and policy adviser Stephen Miller. Many of his top confidants — Meadows, son-in-law Jared Kushner and first lady Melania Trump, among others — were publicly silent.

“He’s got a bunker mentality now, he really does,” the close adviser said.

As rioters broke through police barricades and occupied the Capitol, paralyzing the business of Congress, aides said Trump resisted entreaties from some of his advisers to condemn the marauders and refused to be reasoned with.

“He kept saying: ‘The vast majority of them are peaceful. What about the riots this summer? What about the other side? No one cared when they were rioting. My people are peaceful. My people aren’t thugs,’ ” an administration official said. “He didn’t want to condemn his people.”

“He was a total monster today,” this official added, describing the president’s handling of Wednesday’s coup attempt as less defensible than his equivocal response to the deadly white supremacist rally in 2017 in Charlottesville.

Some aides were mortified that Trump was so slow, and resistant, to telling his supporters to vacate the Capitol, and believed he did irreparable damage to his presidency and legacy.

... (a) former senior administration official speculated that the day’s events made Pence more popular than Trump. “One man acted like a toddler and the other acted like the second-highest-ranking constitutional official in the nation”

...John F. Kelly, another former White House chief of staff who has shied away from rebuking Trump over other transgressions, suggested the president’s leadership was wanting. “Three men made comments today, two of them very helpful and meaningful, and should be remembered...“McConnell’s remarks this afternoon, just before the riots, were, I think, words for the ages — and not from a politician, but from a statesman. President-elect Biden’s were presidential and right to the heart of what we have to do to heal ourselves...We need to look infinitely harder at who we elect to any office in our land — at the office seeker’s character, at their morals, at their ethical record, their integrity, their honesty, their flaws, what they have said about women, and minorities, why they are seeking office in the first place, and only then consider the policies they espouse"...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-resignations-25th-amendment/2021/0...

‘I can’t stay here’ — Mick Mulvaney resigns from Trump administration, expects others to follow
Amanda Macias | Jan 7 2021

...I called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last night to let him know I was resigning from that. I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” Mick Mulvaney (special U.S. envoy to Northern Ireland, former chief of staff / congressman from South Carolina / director of the Office of Management and Budget / director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) said...“Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they’re worried the president might put someone worse in...We didn’t sign up for what you saw last night...We signed up for making America great again, we signed up for lower taxes and less regulation. The president has a long list of successes that we can be proud of...But all of that went away yesterday, and I think you’re right to ask the question as to ‘how did it happen?’” ...

Mulvaney added that Trump was “not the same as he was eight months ago.”...

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/07/mick-mulvaney-resigns-from-trump-administration-...

Donald Trump the most heroic precedent.

>86 margd: Mulvaney added that Trump was “not the same as he was eight months ago.”...

This is a really interesting thing for him to say. Do we believe it?
Personally, I don't. I think Trump is the same delusional, psychotic imbecile that less than half of America elected four years ago, and what's changed is only that Mick Mulvaney now realizes that his future as a political functionary may be threatened by his service to this man.
The fact that it took a seditious riot to make this clear to him tells you much about Mick Mulvaney, all of which boils down to the simple and inescapable fact that he should never, ever, be allowed to serve in any job ever again that does not require him to wear a name tag and a uniform and a big smile.

But suppose we do believe him. Suppose he has really seen a change in Trump's cognitive capacity in the last eight months. Considering that we started from a massive cognitive impairment - and any idiot who tells me that Trump was not cognitively impaired in 2016 is just going to have to shut the fuck up because I'm done listening to bleating morons - that means that Trump is now in the end stages of serious brain decay and is a massive and imminent threat to this country as long as he remains in office.

If Mulvaney is to be taken seriously, and if he meant what he said, then he had no business whatsoever resigning. He should have stayed in his job, and walked straight into Pence's office to demand a 25th Amendment proceeding, immediately, to remove Trump from office before he can cause any more Americans to lose their lives. Resigning in protest is something you do if you want to call attention to a disagreement over principles. It's not a way to deal with a president who has lost his last marble.

Yeah, all the rats seeing the light and jumping the ship now are just going through the last-minute desperate ass-covering.

I'm appalled at how few arrests have been made so far, btw...

>89 LolaWalser: I guess I'm not surprised by the rats that are jumping ship. A little surprised that they think they'll get away with it, but they're probably even more cynical than I am, and they're probably right.

What really amazes me is the rats that still haven't jumped. What the fuck are they thinking, I wonder.

All the rats jumping ship, claiming they don't recognize Trump these days, that he's "lost it," is "out of his mind," remind me of the defeated Nazis and German citizens who, in the immediate aftermath of WWII, claimed, in the words of TV Nazi, Sgt. Schmidt, "I know notzink!"

>88 kiparsky: Trump clearly has some geriatric cognitive decline, but all the suggestions that he is in some kind of late stage brain decay seem pretty far out to me.

We can accept testimony that Trump is different now to how he was 8 months ago. The question then is what has changed?

Cognitive decline would be slow, but I think what *has* clearly changed for Trump is that he has lost. He was repudiated at the election. He knows he failed with the pandemic. He faces the unravelling of everything as he contemplates the fact that his criminality has a potential to catch him up, and his business is at risk from its debt mountain.

He is in a dark place. He is Tom Ripley, and the movie is coming to an end. He has to admit his lies will always leave him alone.

That is why he has changed. It is not cognitive decline, it is just plain old terror.

Speaker Pelosi on "60 Minutes"

Describes her experience last Wednesday to Lesley Stahl.

YouTube Video

If you can't watch, here's a summary article.

Trump Hotel Employees Reveal What It Was Really Like Catering to the Right Wing Elite
Four years' worth of stories about VIP visits and grooming protocols, palm-greasing, rotten vegetables, and that time they lost Steve Mnuchin’s coat.
Jessica Sidman | Published on February 19, 2021

...Everyone knew Table 72 belonged to the President. The round booth in the middle of the Trump Hotel’s mezzanine was impossible to miss. It didn’t matter how many Congress members were clamoring for a reservation at the steakhouse or whether some tourist tried to slip a manager some cash (which they definitely did). No one sat at Trump’s table except the President, his children, and, occasionally, an approved member of his inner circle like Rudy Giuliani or Mike Pence.

...when the star appeared, you had to stick to the script. A “Standard Operating Procedure” document, recently obtained by Washingtonian, outlined step by step exactly what to do and what to say anytime Trump dined at BLT Prime, the hotel restaurant.

As soon as Trump was seated, the server had to “discreetly present” a mini bottle of Purell hand sanitizer. (This applied long before Covid, mind you.) Next, cue dialogue: “Good (time of day) Mr. President. Would you like your Diet Coke with or without ice?” the server was instructed to recite. A polished tray with chilled bottles and highball glasses was already prepared for either response. Directions for pouring the soda were detailed in a process no fewer than seven steps long—and illustrated with four photo exhibits. The beverage had to be opened in front of the germophobe commander in chief, “never beforehand.” The server was to hold a longneck-bottle opener by the lower third of the handle in one hand and the Diet Coke, also by the lower third, in the other. Once poured, the drink had to be placed at the President’s right-hand side. “Repeat until POTUS departs.”

Trump always had the same thing: shrimp cocktail, well-done steak, and fries (plus sometimes apple pie or chocolate cake for dessert). Popovers—make it a double for the President—had to be served within two minutes and the crustaceans “immediately.” The manual instructed the server to open mini glass bottles of Heinz ketchup in front of Trump, taking care to ensure he could hear the seal make the “pop” sound.

Garnishes were a no-no. Melania Trump once sent back a Dover sole because it was dressed with parsley and chives... Trump himself never returned a plate, but if he was disappointed, you can bet the complaint would travel down the ranks. Like the time the President questioned why his dining companion had a bigger steak. The restaurant already special-ordered super-sized shrimp just for him and no one else. Next time, they’d better beef up the beef.

“It was the same steak. Both well done. Maybe it was a half ounce bigger or something, I don’t know,” says Williamson, who had previously run the kitchens of DC staples Birch & Barley and the Riggsby. The chef had always prepared a bone-in rib eye or filet mignon for Trump. After Steakgate, he switched to a 40-ounce tomahawk. Trump would never again gripe that he didn’t have the greatest, hugest, most beautiful steak.

One more thing. Don’t forget the snacks. A tray of junk food needed to be available for every Trump visit: Lay’s potato chips (specifically, sour cream and onion), Milky Way, Snickers, Nature Valley Granola Bars, Tic Tacs, gummy bears, Chips Ahoy, Oreos, Nutter Butters, Tootsie Rolls, chocolate-covered raisins, and Pop-Secret.

https://www.washingtonian.com/2021/02/19/trump-hotel-employees-tell-all-what-it-...

I bet he doesn't tip after all the special routines.

The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln | 1:54 PM · Mar 1, 2021
He always did have the best words....

1:01 ( https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1366461824347099136 )

INBOX: A statement from the former president of the United States about Karl Rove:

Image ( https://twitter.com/dsamuelsohn/status/1367632723695788036/photo/1 )
Image ( https://twitter.com/dsamuelsohn/status/1367632723695788036/photo/2 )

- Darren Samuelsohn (Politico) @dsamuelsohn | 7:27 PM · Mar 4, 2021

Good to see that Mr. Trump remains just as loyal, fair, honest, and coherent as he was when he was the president.

Former CIA profiler Jerrold Post on Donald Trump's "dangerous charisma"
Longtime CIA psychologist breaks down the damaged personality of our "dangerous, destructive charismatic leader"
Chauncey DeVega | December 2, 2019

...If Donald Trump is impeached but not convicted, or loses the election in 2020, how will he respond?

In the last chapter of my new book I quote one of my favorite poems, which is, "Do not go gentle into that good night, but rage, rage at the dying of the light." I do not believe that Donald Trump will go gentle into that good night. In a close election, there is a very real hazard in terms of both potential outcomes. Should Trump win, as he did in 2016, he will make it a much bigger win and talking about the fraudulent election support on the Democratic side. But should Trump lose narrowly, I think we can be assured that he will not concede early. Trump may not even recognize the legitimacy of the election.

As for impeachment, should the Senate not vote to convict, Trump will take that as the indication that it was all somehow a “witch hunt” by the Democrats against him. Whatever happens, Trump will not go gentle into that good night.

https://www.salon.com/2019/12/02/former-cia-profiler-jerrold-post-on-donald-trum...

Reality Bites Trump. . .Again

Former Florida Man issued three false claims that voting fraud and irregularities cost him Arizona’s electoral votes. How could it be otherwise since 'Cyber Ninjas' is overseeing the Republican audit scam? The company has no experience and no credentials in forensic auditing (Repub. Senate label) of elections. Its CEO, Doug Logan, only got the job once he qualified for it by spreading false conspiracy theories about the election that tickled Trump's ego. Wouldn't be surprised if he swore a loyalty oath to the Orange Shitegibbon, although I don't know why. Chances are he won't get paid, regardless. Anyway, here's the claptrap, analyzed and dismissed below. With a few more blats and slap-downs thrown in.

TRUMP: “168,000 fraudulent ballots printed on illegal paper (unofficial ballots)”

THE FACTS: All of that is false. The ballots were not unofficial or printed on illegal paper, and even Logan never alleged they were fraudulent.

If that isn't the stupidest lie to put out there. SO easy to disprove. Look at the damn paper. DUH! I've heard of "dumber than a box of rocks." Trump is stupider than a sheaf of paper!

TRUMP, citing “74,000 mail in ballots received that were never mailed (magically appearing ballots).”

THE FACTS: No, there were no magically appearing ballots. He is alleging that the number of filled-out ballots received in the mail by election officials exceeded the number of people who had asked earlier for mail-in ballots, by 74,000. But that’s not at all what happened.

Believing in magic when one is an adult is proof-positive of cognitive disability. When you want to twist the truth into a quasi-acceptable alt, "I believe in magic!" isn't a viable strategy. Except to a total nut job.

TRUMP, claiming “11,000 voters were added to the voter rolls AFTER the election and still voted.”

THE FACTS: There’s nothing untoward about voters rolls growing after Election Day. The rolls are simply updated to reflect people whose provisional ballots are added to the tally after election officials verify that they were eligible to vote.

. . .provisional ballots are cast by people who do not appear on the voter rolls or don’t have the proper identification on Election Day. They’re only counted if the voter later shows he or she was eligible to vote. To be eligible, such voters must have registered before the deadline.

Crazy Man hubris strikes again. Trump's speeches are nothing more than repetitive "poor me" rants. His lies belie themselves because they wander off into La-La Land. He'd be well advised to just shut up because his mouth runs him off over the cliff.

Even magic isn't enough to believe in when one is pathologically delusional. Nonsense is needed by the gross.

TRUMP: “all the access logs to the machines were wiped, and the election server was hacked during the election.”

THE FACTS: That flies in the face of the evidence. Maricopa County’s election server is not connected to the internet and independent auditors found no evidence the election server was hacked.

The election management system is “air gapped,” or kept disconnected from the rest of the county’s computer network and the wider internet. Two firms certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to test voting systems found Maricopa County’s machines were not connected to the internet and did not have malicious hardware or software installed.

Each succeeding lie is more outlandish than the preceding one. And the last is outright made up from thin air. Or from math illiteracy, which probably goes hand-in-hand with the kind of general ignoramousness Humpty Dumbpty is famous for around the world.

Conclusion?

County election officials identified 182 cases where voting problems were clear enough that they referred them to investigators for further review, according to an Associated Press investigation. So far, only four cases have led to charges, including those identified in a separate state investigation. No one has been convicted. No person’s vote was counted twice.

Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes out of 3.4 million cast. Of the four cases that have resulted in criminal charges, two involved Democratic voters and two involved Republicans.

Reality sinks its teeth into Chump's bum. And his cultist supporters', too. When the truth hurts, use a great big band-aid instead of a Q-Anon binky.

George Conway @gtconway3d | 9:19 PM · Jul 18, 2021
If we didn't have years of evidence of tfg's (The Former Guy's) sociopathy already, this would probably suffice.

Quote Tweet
Blake News @blakehounshell · 18h
A dangerous turn of events as Trump flirts with anti-vaccine sentiment.
Image-Trump statement on vaccine hesitancy ( https://twitter.com/blakehounshell/status/1416804914379038727/photo/1 )

>102 margd: Haven't seen or heard anything of Kelly Ann (George's wife, right?) in quite a while. Didn't really miss her to tell you the truth.

Paul Ryan was convinced Donald Trump had narcissistic personality disorder
Chris Cillizza | September 16, 2021

..."Ryan began, on his own, to research how to deal with someone who is amoral and transactional. The exercise initially was difficult. Ryan liked to call himself a 'policy guy' but his wonkiness did not extend from the realm of Social Security and Medicare into psychiatry.

"Then a wealthy new York doctor and Republican donor called Ryan and said 'You need to understand what narcissistic personality disorder is.' "

The doctor sent Ryan a memo on "how to best deal with a person with anti-social personality disorder" and a variety of links to medical journals on the disorder. Ryan, Woodward and Costa note, "studied them for weeks, convinced that Trump had the personality disorder." A spokesperson for Ryan didn't respond to a request for comment.

Ryan eventually decided that dealing with Trump was simply not worth it -- shocking the political world by announcing his retirement in early 2018.

This episode is one of a series in "Peril" that suggests that top Republican leaders, even while insisting all was well with Trump on the surface, believed that something could be very wrong with the President...

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/16/politics/paul-ryan-donald-trump-narcissistic-pers...

Scott MacFarlane (CBS) @MacFarlaneNews | 10:37 AM · Jun 12, 2022:

Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) tells Face the Nation … “I don’t really know many people around (Trump) who truly believe the election was stolen.”

Rep Kinzinger (more): “If (Trump) truly believes the election was stolen, he’s not mentally competent to be President”

Barr's Moment of Truth Comes Far Too Late

We learned today from former USAG Bill Barr and many other Republicans in and surrounding the Trump Administration, that Donald Trump willfully disregarded the truth because he needed to perpetuate the Big Lie in order to -- in fact -- steal the election. That is awareness of criminal intent.

In today's airing of recorded testimony Americans heard the truth that Barr kept from them when they needed to hear it -- when he was USAG.

Former President Donald J. Trump’s attorney general testified that he believed the president had grown delusional as he insisted on pushing false claims of widespread election fraud that he was told repeatedly were groundless. . .

“He’s become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff,” William P. Barr, the former attorney general, told the panel, adding, “There was never an indication of interest in what the actual facts were.”

Barr obviously knew this well before he made this admission under oath before the committee, otherwise he could hardly testify to it. He knew this a month after the election when he first told DJT that there is no evidence of voter/election fraud that would overturn the results of the 2020 election. He summed up his discussion, "The claims of fraud are bullshit."

Trump Universally Seen As 'Unfit'

It's not just the 'normal' people who realize Donald Trump is, was, and would be untenable as president. It's more and more of everybody according to David Smith of The Guardian who garnered these quotes for his article.

"The hearings have painted a portrait of a man detached from reality, peddling paranoid conspiracy theories and putting himself before his country," he notes that a Trump insider told NBC News, "I look at this and say there is nobody in America who is watching this (is) – even with all that’s going on in the world with Joe Biden –. . .saying, ‘Donald Trump should be the next president of the United States’. Nobody.’”

Longtime conservative pollster Frank Luntz concurred.

“I see people no longer drinking the Kool-Aid. I see people moving away from Trump for the first time," Luntz explained. "His endorsement matters more than anybody else in the Republican party by far, but he does not control the Republican party any more. He’s the loudest voice, he has the most influence, but he’s losing control every day.”

When the scales finally fall of their eyes, they fall hard and it's cruel. And it's gonna get cruel-er and cruel-er.

I always thought that Trump had something on pols such as Lindsay Graham and Kevin McCarthy who so abruptly became Trump champions. I bet Jeffrey Epstein had lots of such info to share...Alan Dershowitz...

Trump’s Tastes in Intelligence: Power and Leverage
Julian E. Barnes, Michael C. Bender, Maggie Haberman | Sept. 1, 2022

...Mr. Trump devoured intelligence briefings about his foreign counterparts before and after calls with them. He was eager to deepen his relationships with autocrats like Kim Jong-un of North Korea or Xi Jinping of China and to get leverage over allies he took a personal dislike to, such as Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada. Among the materials that the government retrieved from Mar-a-Lago was a document listed as containing information about Mr. Macron.

“He is all about leverage,” said Sue Gordon, a former principal deputy director of national intelligence. “It is not my experience that he has an ideologically held view about anything. It’s all about what he can use as leverage in this moment.”...

With many world leaders, Mr. Trump, whose own dalliances were the stuff of gossip columns for years, was fascinated by what the C.I.A. had learned about his international counterparts’ supposed extramarital affairs — not because he was going to confront them with the information, former officials said, but rather because he found it titillating...

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/us/politics/trump-intelligence-briefings.html

John Kelly Read Assessments About Trump's Mental Health: Book
Kelly came to believe Trump was a "pathological liar whose inflated ego" was the sign of a "deeply insecure person,” according to upcoming book "The Divider."
Mary Papenfuss | Sep 15, 2022

Trump’s behavior was so disturbing that members of his own Cabinet tentatively discussed utilizing the 25th Amendment to force him out of office just months into his term, according to “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021” ... by Peter Baker of The New York Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker...

...feared flaws in the (25th) amendment could make Trump more dangerous if they failed to get him out of the White House

...{unnamed senior official} ...“I think there’s something wrong with Trump. He doesn’t listen to anybody, and he feels like he shouldn’t. He just doesn’t care what other people say and think. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/john-kelly-mental-health-experts-25-amendment-tru...

Ron Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski | 8:52 AM · Sep 30, 2023:
Editor-in Chief http://MeidasTouch.com, Co-host Uncovered, Attorney, Marine, Former Federal and State Prosecutor, Republican Party Insane Asylum Escapee

Montage of 33 clips of the stupidest, most vile, insane, weirdest, addled dementia-ridden, psychotic statements made by Trump over the past two weeks.
4:31 ( https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1708102400668561890 )

>110 margd: Despite all his bluster he is I think terrified of going to prison and something he's always done is lash out. Also if you look at the differences between 2015 and now he was vile then but not nearly as demented as he is now. The years have taken a big toll on him which by the way isn't uncommon and almost to be expected for people who have held the presidency but if you were a seriously bad person to begin with it's only going to accentuate all that even more.

Republicans do like to go off on Biden's mental condition when they're not accusing him of being a mastermind of all kinds of manipulative conspiracies. They can't always make up their minds about whether he's got dementia or he's an evil genius. They don't look at Donald very hard though. I can't say I was ever thrilled about Biden being the Democrats choice in 2020. More than annoyed at Obama and that goofball Clyburn from South Carolina for manipulating that end. That said I'll say this for Joseph so far his two + years have been better than any of the 8 Barack was president. I also appreciate a break from all the fucking Hollywood and celebrity schmoozing and bullshit and out on the golf course almost every single day of the last 12 years (particularly the last 4). Whatever Biden does in his free time it hasn't been all that happy horseshit.

The Case for Amplifying Trump's Insanity
Brian Klaas | Oct 1, 2023

The "Banality of Crazy" has warped American politics, as few voters recognize just how deranged, delusional, and dangerous Donald Trump is...because the press rarely reports on his routine insanity.

...There are now two leading candidates for the American presidency.

One of them is a 77 year-old racist, misogynist bigot who has been found liable for rape, who incited a deadly, violent insurrection aimed at overturning a democratic election, who has committed mass fraud for personal enrichment, who is facing 91 separate counts of felony criminal charges against him, and who has overtly discussed his authoritarian strategies for governing if he returns to power.

The other is 80 years old with mainstream Democratic party views who sometimes misspeaks or trips. (There may be other reasons to criticize Joe Biden, but the main one discussed in the press is his age).

One of those two candidates faces relentless newspaper columns and TV pundit “takes” arguing that he should drop out of the race. (Spoiler alert: it’s somehow *not* the racist authoritarian sexual abuse fraudster facing 91 felony charges)...

https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/the-case-for-amplifying-trumps-insanity

>112 margd: The thing is a reasonable person who votes for Biden can see he's elderly and sometimes does things elderly people do and I would guess that 99% of those who voted for him realize all that. Even so there's nothing really sinister or evil going on with him. Nothing uncommon or really deranged for someone of his age. He comes across pretty much as a normal 80 year old. Would I like someone younger.....a bit more in tune with the world? Yep I would. I would also like someone who wasn't such an establishment political figure. But......he's actually been okay.

Trump OTOH increasing comes across as off the rails. In a recent rally he's debating whether he'd rather be electrocuted in a boating accident or eaten by a shark. He's not fucking normal. It's not normal to be threatening violence all the time---and if we look at his Jan. 6 speech and compared them to recent attacks on judges, prosecutors, witnesses, military generals, journalists, rival politicians of both parties he encourages surrogates to do it for him all the time. Jan. 6 is just a part of a pattern. One could say he's a lot more lively 77 year old than the 80 year old Biden but physical prowess is not the same as mental stability and he's clearly the most fucked up of everybody.

Hitler: “All great civilizations” die from “contamination of the blood…the poison which has invaded the national body…{an} influx of foreign blood.”

Trump on migrants: “It’s poisoning the blood of our country.”
\
Trump spokesman: “A normal phrase that is used in everyday life.”

-Kurt Andersen KBAndersen 9:45 AM · Oct 8, 2023

Is Donald Trump okay?

From Republican Accountability
0:13 ( https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1720211124350521647 )

- Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump | 6:47 PM · Nov 2, 2023

Thanksgiving greetings from 45th and wouldbe 47th President of the US, that nasty whacko:

Truth social ( https://twitter.com/JonLemire/status/1727673315689463890/photo/1 )

>116 margd: What a nut-job.

Duty To Warn 🔉 @duty2warn | 9:45 AM · Mar 1, 2024
An association of mental health professionals warning NOW about TrumpISM.

19 tweets • 6 min read •
Read on X https://twitter.com/duty2warn/status/1763576383635124486
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1763576383635124486.html

1/19 The medical evidence for Trump's dementia:
An interview in Salon with Dr. John Gartner.
"In my opinion, Trump is showing a level of symptoms where no real expert would think that there is not something seriously wrong with his brain."...
---------------------------------------------

"Like someone pulled the metaphorical plug": Dr. John Gartner on Trump's "accelerating dementia"
"Trump looks blank, stops in mid-sentence (or mid-word), his jaw goes a little slack"
Chauncey DeVega | March 1, 2024
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/01/like-someone-pulled-the-metaphorical-plug-dr-jo...

>118 margd: Are we sure this isn't just his way of appealing to the traditionalist Reaganites in the party? I mean, they're not too sure about him now, but if they hear he's demented like Reagan was, that might sway some of them...

>119 kiparsky: Evidence for dementia or something like is accruing, that's for sure...this isn't garden-variety problem with word retrieval.

0:11 ( https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1764089216470839300 )
0:06 ( https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1764024825255710925 )
0:05 ( https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1764012655432360014 )

A confused Trump claims he passed veterans legislation that was signed by President Obama in 2014
0:12 (https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1764024150660723083)

Trump’s White House Was ‘Awash in Speed’ — and Xanax
Noah Shachtman, Asawin Suebsaeng | March 3, 2024

Under Trump, the White House Medical Unit was “like the Wild West,” and staffers had easy access to powerful stimulants and sedatives, sources tell Rolling Stone

...The Trump administration was well known for its chaotic, often-erratic approach to policymaking — and for its atmosphere of paranoia, where staffers regularly spilled their colleagues’ secrets and bureaucratic factions often spent as much energy attacking one another as addressing matters of state. It’s impossible to know how much of that was fueled by the widespread availability of drugs like Xanax and Provigil. But what’s clear is that there was a breakdown of medical standards and safeguards at the highest levels of the American government; some staffers even believed that confidential information about their mental health was at risk. With Trump pushing to return to power on an agenda even more vicious than his first, a full accounting of the misuse of powerful stimulants and sedatives by his staff isn’t just a matter of historical interest. It’s a preview of a very possible future...

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-white-house-drugs-...
---------------------------------------------------

Molly Ploofkins™ @Mollyploofkins | 7:46 PM · Mar 2, 2024:
Retired Army Medic | Registered Nurse...

What's Trump on?
Observable Symptoms: Sniffing, sweating, rapid speech, flight of ideas, mania, dry mouth, and word salad.

Press: Top psychologist says Trump likely to fall off mental cliff
Bill Press, opinion contributor - 04/02/24

...one of America’s leading psychologists, Dr. John Gartner, who was professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical Center for 28 years and, along with 36 other psychiatrists and mental health professionals, was a contributor to the 2017 bestselling book, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gartner_(psychologist)}

...First, I asked Gartner whether he perceived any difference between the cognitive ability of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Absolutely, he replied. “It’s like comparing apples and rotten oranges.” It’s not just a case of two old men roughly the same age, both showing signs of diminishing sharpness of the mind, Gartner stressed. There’s a huge difference between the two, he said. He could not have put it more clearly: “Biden is aging. Trump is dementing.”

As a mental health professional, Gartner’s been observing Trump for years, I noted. Has he seen any diminishment in mental acuity, I asked. Totally, he replied. When he first wrote about Trump in 2017, Gartner was talking about intermittent examples of mental collapse. “Now,” he said, “he is getting worse. He can’t get through a whole rally without revealing himself. And, because this is a progressive illness, he will continue to get worse. And if he is like most patients like this, at some point, he is literally going to fall off the cognitive cliff and he will be completely incapacitated.”

“Do you think he’s close to the edge?” I asked. And here’s where Gartner stunned me. “I am certain that if he is reelected,” Gartner said, “he will become cognitively incapacitated. There’s no way at the rate of deterioration that he’s showing that he can make it through four more years without falling off the cliff.” ...

https://thehill.com/opinion/4568794-press-top-psychologist-says-trump-likely-to-...

>123 margd: Apparently Trump's people are starting to make cracks about Biden and incontinence. Given what we know about Trump, what this tells me is that Trump is shitting himself on the daily. I don't think it's a matter of "becoming" cognitively incapacitated - that ship clearly sailed some time ago.

>124 kiparsky: So Trump may end up with immunity--from incompetency, if not Presidency--if he can delay court proceedings just a leetle bit longer?

Competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility
... a diagnosis of dementia should call into question an individual’s competency to stand trial and criminal liability, as dementia may impair one’s ability to provide informed consent for their legal defense strategy and understand court proceedings (Padama, 2018). In a study of those age 60 or older among the forensic population, defendants with Alzheimer’s Disease were found to be incompetent to stand trial at a rate of 30 to 50% (Sfera et al., 2014). Determining competency is a critical psycholegal factor during the adjudication process; however, there is a lack of clarity regarding how neurocognitive impairments potentially affect functional abilities related to competency to stand trial (Miller, 2020). State definitions vary, but generally a defendant is deemed incompetent to stand trial if, as a result of mental disorder or disability, they are unable to understand the criminal proceedings and assist in their defense (Bartos et al., 2017)...
https://www.nri-inc.org/media/0h0fbcju/2022-dementia-crim-just-rpt.pdf