'Unhinged' Trump is treating election as 'life-and-death' as trial starts: former advisor

The pressures of defending himself in civil and criminal trials while also running for the presidency is having a serious effect on Donald Trump's well-being.

That is the opinion of former Trump White House advisor Miles Taylor, who recently observed that his old boss seems "unwell" and that his decline since he lost re-election is readily apparent.

In an interview with Salon's Chauncey DeVega, Taylor — who wrote the book "A Warning" about White House goings-on in 2019 under the pen name of "Anonymous" — claimed he is even more alarmed by the former president's desperation to win the election in November.

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Taylor, who served the former president as an appointee in the Department of Homeland Security, was asked what he has recently seen in Trump's demeanor that has made him raise red flags about his former boss's third bid for the presidency.

"First, he’s more unhinged," he began. "Second, he’s less restrained by semi-rational advisers, most of whom are gone. And third, he has vastly more command and influence over his followers and the GOP than ever before. Add those up. The sum is one of the greatest dangers to America in the modern age."

Taylor also drew attention to a growing concern about the former president's mental acuity which he claims has deteriorated since he worked with him.

"His apparent cognitive decline is evident. The man is unwell," he bluntly stated. "More alarming than that, he sees winning the presidency as life-and-death. In his mind, if he loses, he’s liable to lose his fortune, his freedom and his future. Literally."

He then added, "He’s rightfully worried he’ll go to prison if he doesn’t retake power and try to use that power to prevent such an outcome. You do the math. A man like that is more dangerous than any presidential candidate in American history."

Calling Trump a "reckless fool," he later added, "History has shown us that the only people more destructive than such impulsive leaders are the slavish supplicants who surround them. Trump will have many in a second term. They could be the architects of democracy’s undoing."