President Donald Trump exhibited several “concerning” behaviors during a White House meeting earlier this week, behaviors that could point to a number of health-related issues, forensic psychologist John Paul Garrison suggested Friday.
Trump met with some of his top officials on Monday in the Oval Office to publicly discuss his administration’s health care policies, and during the meeting, appeared to doze off several times, as covered by countless media outlets.
Doing a deep analysis of footage of the meeting on Friday, Garrison said one moment involving Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stood out to him.
“As RFK Jr. is trying to say, 'you're the greatest ever, nobody could have done this but you,' President Trump isn't reacting at all,” Garrison said. “Typically, he's gonna smile, he's gonna nod, he's gonna let people know, 'I love people talking about me' — usually, there's a reaction to that. This really does show how out of it he is right now.”
Trump appeared to doze off again following RFK Jr.’s remarks, and exhibited a telling sign, Garrison argued.
“As he's getting tired again, you're noticing this side of his mouth was starting to droop down,” Garrison said. “He's falling asleep a few more times.”
At 80 years old, Trump is the single-oldest person elected to the presidency in U.S. history, and has faced renewed questions about his physical and mental health. He appears to doze off during cabinet meetings with growing frequency, and observers have also noted bruising on his hands, swollen ankles and a rash on his neck.
In their negotiations with the Trump administration amid the U.S. war against Iran, Tehran has taken to enlisting “senior psychologists” to help navigate talks believing Trump to be “legitimately mentally ill” and “operating in an impaired mental state,” according to Drop Site News’ Jeremy Scahill.
“So the big question is why is he falling asleep? Is it related to distinct health issues, neurological issues, is it related to medication?” Garrison said.
“If he's potentially having a seizure, he could be on anti-seizure medication and that can have sedating effects, so it's possible, if he's being treated for seizures, that could result in something like this. On the other hand, it's also possible that medical issues are causing the sleepiness. A wide variety of neurological conditions can cause daytime sleepiness like this.”
Garrison added, “I know I've shown videos of him falling asleep before, but I think the fact that this is happening in the middle of the day, in a bright room full of people, is so, so concerning.”