Trump's 'therapy session' with Elon Musk exposes 'teetering' mental state: biographer

Trump biographer Tim O'Brien came away disturbed after watching former President Donald Trump conduct an interview with X CEO Elon Musk that he describes as akin to a "group therapy session."

Writing for Bloomberg, O'Brien said that Trump's interview with Musk, along with his rambling Mar-a-Lago press conference last week, show that he is "teetering" psychologically after Vice President Kamala Harris erased his lead in 2024 election polls.

"Taken together, both events also are stark reminders that Trump doesn’t really sit for interviews or conduct press conferences," writes O'Brien. "He convenes group therapy sessions with the public, using everyone’s time to sort through the skein of insecurities, instabilities and inanities that inevitably cling to him."

O'Brien notes that Trump has regularly conducted such "sessions" for years, but he believes that Harris' rise in the polls has him in a much darker place than what Americans are accustomed to seeing.

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"The bile and paranoia he’s unleashed lately is of a different caliber, stoked by misgivings about Vice President Kamala Harris’ sudden ascent and presidential campaign," writes O'Brien. "Uncertain how to respond substantively to her candidacy, he’s defaulted to racism and loony claims that she’s using artificial intelligence to inflate attendance at her rallies."

O'Brien also took note of the many times Trump slurred his speech during his interview with Musk and warned that the former president will only deteriorate further going forward.

"His speech was frequently slurry during their conversation, and he has declined and aged noticeably over the last year," he wrote. "He appeared to be hard of hearing at his Mar-a-Lago briefing. There will be more of this in the weeks ahead, but what’s already landed should prompt voters to recognize that the man aspiring to the highest office in the land is teetering."