Krugman is not alone in calling out what some are calling Donald Trump's apparent cognitive decline, which seems to have become increasingly obvious over the past few days, and especially since Monday evening.
At a town hall in the suburbs of Philadelphia last night, two medical issues among audience members led the Republican presidential nominee to decide he would no longer take questions (he had taken just a handful) and declare the Q&A over. Instead, Trump said, he would like to play some music. The "impromptu D.J. session," as The New York Times generously called it, and a "bizarre musical event," according to NPR, went on for 30 to 40 minutes.
“Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music,” Trump told supporters at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center. “Let’s make it into a music ——. Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?”
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South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem, who was acting as the town hall's host, asked Trump, "Well sir, do you want to play your song and then greet a few people?" After the ex-president, apparently not understanding, questioned her, she explained, "Well, you had said you wanted to close with a specific song."
The GOP presidential nominee spent the rest of the evening on stage listening to music and occasionally dancing (photo.)
Trump on social media described the evening: "I had a Town Hall in Pennsylvania last night. It was amazing! The Q and A was almost finished when people began fainting from the excitement and heat. We started playing music while we waited, and just kept it going. So different, but it ended up being a GREAT EVENING!"
He also called those who suffered medical emergencies "patriots," as ABC News reported, which he has done before under similar circumstances.
"'Would anybody else like to faint?' Trump said as the second person made their way out of the Expo Center."
Former Trump White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci remarked, "The October surprise is that Trump has completely lost his marbles."
Even a Fox News reporter found the event "very strange."
"That thing Trump did last night is not explainable and it is not small," an apparently concerned U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) wrote. "It shows that he’s increasingly detached from reality. Everyone knows if Biden or Harris did that it would be media mayhem. He’s not ok, and you can’t ignore it anymore."
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Filmmaker and podcaster Andy Ostroy called it, "the craziest shit I’ve ever seen in politics."
While only a qualified medical professional can make diagnoses, more than a few commenters on social media suggested Trump was "sundowning," a term the Mayo Clinic describes as "a group of symptoms that occurs at a specific time of the day. These symptoms may affect people with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia."
Professor of Politics Jack Pitney, who left the Republican Party when Trump was elected in 2016, is the author of several books including, "Un-American: the Fake Patriotism of Donald J. Trump."
He writes: "Kristi Noem's face during Trump's sundowning episode gives a whole new meaning to Raymond Chandler's phrase: "that plastic smile people wear when they are trying not to scream."
Political scientist and professor David Darmofal adds, "I know the symptoms of dementia extremely well from being a caregiver for 7 years. 78-year-old Trump’s father had Alzheimer’s & now he’s showing undeniable symptoms of cognitive decline. I’m begging our national media to address this issue."
"Donald Trump's dementia is NOT a political issue," declared SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah, "it's a national security issue. Trump could be easily controlled/manipulated by top aides and foreign leaders to do what they want. This DEMANDS coverage from the corporate media!"
"There is something profoundly broken in our national press corps. Trump clearly had some kind of a mental break last night - those of us who have family members with dementia recognize it. He didn't know where he was. And they're pretending it was nothing," Democratic strategist Laura Chapin said.
Trump's night did not end with his town hall music event.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, the ex-president, who remains a convicted felon awaiting sentencing on November 26, lashed out at his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris—while defending his mental health and attacking her recently-released and very-detailed physician's report.
"Harris 'remains in excellent health,' her physician, Dr. Joshua Simmons, said in a letter on Saturday," ABC News reported. The report also stated: "She possesses the physical and mental resilience required to successfully execute the duties of the presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief."
"The doctor pointed to seasonal allergies and hives (urticaria) as a 'notable' part of her health history," ABC added. "He also listed a number of over-the-counter medications used to improve her symptoms, which he said have never been 'severe.'"
Trump, on his Truth Social platform, proceeded to falsely characterize the details of Harris's medical report.
"As to her completely desperate request for my Medical Statements, she is dying to see my Cholesterol (which is 180!), I have already provided them, many times, including quite recently, and they were flawless," Trump claimed. He has never released a thoroughly-detailed medical report.
"However, I have just seen Kamala’s Report, and it is not good. According to her Doctor’s Report, she suffers from 'urticaria,' defined as 'a rash of round, red welts on the skin that itch intensely, sometimes with dangerous swelling.' She also has 'allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis,' a very messy and dangerous situation. These are deeply serious conditions that clearly impact her functioning. Maybe that is why she can’t answer even the simplest of questions asked by 60 Minutes, and others. What is this all about? I don’t have these problems…"
"…I’ve put out more Medical Exams than any other President in History, and aced two Cognitive Exams (the Doctor stated that my 'cognitive exams were exceptional!')," Trump continued. "I am far healthier than Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden, but especially, Kamala. Also, I am far too busy campaigning to take time, from the 22 days left, as I am using every hour, of every day, campaigning, because we have to take back our Country from the Radical Left people that are destroying it. MAGA2024!"
Right now, "dementia" is trending on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
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