MS NOW's Joe Scarborough wondered if President Donald Trump's advanced age explained his increasingly erratic policies.
The president will turn 80 years old next month, the "Morning Joe" host said reacting to a newly published piece in The Atlantic by co-host Jonathan Lemire that highlighted growing concerns about Trump's age-related decline.
"Any suggestion that Donald Trump has dementia or islosing whatever, it's ridiculous," Scarborough said. "I said the same thing about Joe Biden, went and talked to himfor three hours, and, yes, Bidenwas moving very slow, verystiff. Donald Trump may beslowing down, but I think whatwe're really seeing here, andwhat I really pulled from yourarticle is that for thepresident, who's about to turn80 this month, this next month,for a president, who is always been erratic, as he turns 80, weare seeing some diminishedcapacities with anybody whowould turn 80."
"But thaterraticism, we are seeing itexaggerated, and I wonder ifthat's what we see playing out,where he's just not just sayingthe quiet part out loud," Scarborough added. "He'sscreaming it."
Scarborough pointed to the president's increasingly erratic and belligerent foreign policy as an example.
"He wants toabandon our Polish allies, hewants to abandon Ukraine, as heas he continues to do," Scarborough said. "He wantsto abandon our German allies.he wants to do everything hecan do to help Vladimir Putin.Because make no mistake of it,all the people that have beengoing around yelling 'Russiahoax, Russia hoax, Russia hoax,'and will be triggered by thisbecause of their own uniqueversion of 'Trump derangementsyndrome.'"
"What you actuallyhave is a president doingeverything that Vladimir Putin would want him to do," he added. "Just askanybody that's been in thisfield – Vladimir Putin, couldn't callthese shots any better himself, and so whatever draws him to Vladimir Putin, whatever drewhim to Putin in his 70s, itseems to be even moreexaggerated now as he turns 80."
Lemire agreed, saying Trump has become even less inhibited as he ages.
"What's reallyhere, and people I've talked tosuggest that as he has aged, hehas even less and less of afilter," Lemire said. "Now, let's be clear, Donald Trump has never been onefor self-censoring, but he issomeone who now is more purelyhimself as he ages. It'sdisinhibition, there'swhatever pops in his head, hesays, and he also relies moreand more, as you just said, Joe,falls back on these instincts,one of them being reflexivelysort of, you know, deference tostrongmen, whether that is Xi Jinping and China. We saw thaton vivid display last week, andcertainly for a decade or more,what we have seen with Vladimir Putin, and there really is noother reason for this."