U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the members of the media, as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stand next to him, after attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, U.S., June 8, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
President Donald Trump's "stunning" chat with reporters before he boarded Air Force One to fly back to the White House after Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night raised red flags for one political analyst.
David Pakman, host of the "David Pakman Show" on YouTube, argued during a new reaction video on Tuesday that Trump's press gaggle with reporters revealed the state of the president's mental health. Trump seemed like a bird distracted by a piece of tinsel as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum responded to a reporter's question, Pakman argued. Trump then chimed in, taking the conversation in a strange direction.
"We have a lot of respect for a lot of the people before me," Trump said, standing next to Burgum on the tarmac. "I know some of you very well. But take a look at that plane. See that plane? That's in perfect mint condition."
"Take a look at that," the president said, pointing. "Look at that. Isn't that amazing? And everything should look that way. We work with the military. We do a real job. But you look at the polish. Everything is beautiful."
Pakman said Trump's comments were "stunning" and concerning for multiple reasons.
"His brain is mush," Pakman said, adding that Trump may have been "fully sundowning at this point in time," referring to a condition that is associated with dementia.
Pakman also noted that Trump's attack against ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, whom he called "Low-IQ" after Smith told the president not to attend the game, was a sign of another disturbing pattern of behavior from the president.
"This show is different in the sense that we don't really hurl allegations of racism and sexism haphazardly on this program. It's just not a big part of the political analysis that I tend to do. But I don't really have any other explanation for why Donald Trump's reflexive attack on Black women, Hispanic women, Black men is that they have a low IQ and he rarely applies to white men," Pakman said. And so is it overt racism? Is it implicit racism? I don't know. But it definitely seems to be something that Donald Trump goes to."