Recently there has been lots of circumstantial evidence sited of the Ol’ Pussy Grabber having dementia. I have entertained the possibility, but have refrained from writing about it much since it is much more difficult to diagnose from afar. The symptoms of narcissism are obvious since you can parse his speech. The symptoms of executive dysfunction are obvious since you can see impulsiveness in action. The symptoms of malignance (cruelty and thus psychopathy) are obvious since you can see his callous disregard for how his behavior, words, and actions harm others. But, dementia is complicated and spotting the symptoms is difficult. Is a lapse in memory due to a momentary brain fart or is it something more sinister?
Dementia: Definitions & Diagnostic Criteria
Dementia in true form is not a single specific disease but, rather, a catch-all term describing a collection of symptoms that may or may not be present in every case. However, every instance includes a significant loss of cognitive functioning, i.e. interferes with the tasks of daily living.
Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning—the ability to think, remember, problem solve or reason—to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities.
Memory loss plays a significant role in dementia but, alone, is not sufficient for diagnosis. For a diagnosis, a person needs to exhibit significant impairment in two or more brain functions. You see, memory is but one brain function. Other brain functions are problem-solving, planning, language skills, visual perceptions (likely other sensory perceptions, too, but visual is the most noticeable), control of bodily functions (that’s incontinence, y’all, you know the inability to wait to make your wee and poo in the right places), emotional control, and focus and attention.
You can see how much these symptoms overlap with executive dysfunction. Executive functions are those abilities that allow us to plan, make decisions, manage our impulses and emotions, think rationally. The Ol’ Pussy Grabber ain’t got none. He don’t do none of those things. He’s all impulse and emotional over-reaction all the time. So, is that dementia or not? That’s the differential diagnosis, right there, am I right, Gregory House?
To make a proper diagnosis, you need a brain scan. You need to look for signs of atrophy in the brain. It can be caused by Alzheimer’s, cardio-vascular disease, or other neurodegenerative conditions.
Dementia: the Symptoms
So, what’s a snarky, sarcasticky, profaney blogger to do? Well, in the interest of maximizing views, let’s review the evidence and the possibilities:
15 November 2017 the Ol’ Pussy Grabber held a press conference to boast about how easily the Chinese had manipulated him, he became thirsty enough to pause in his bragging to seek quenching. Having found a bottle, he awkwardly lifted it to his mouth holding it in both hands. Judge for yourself, though.
https://www.nbcnews.com/widget/video-embed/1096724547856
6 December 2017 the Ol’ Pussy Grabber makes a speech announcing his intention to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Many people noted his slurring words. Is it from a dry throat or dementia or other cause? Did he slur his words at all? You can decide if you have twelve minutes of your life to give to the task:
18 December 2017 during a national security speech, the Ol’ Pussy Grabber AGAIN decided he was too parched to continue without drinking water, and AGAIN used the two-handed style to get a glass of water to his mouth.
Passages in Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House from a column in The Hollywood Reporter:
Everybody was painfully aware of the increasing pace of his repetitions. It used to be inside of 30 minutes he’d repeat, word-for-word and expression-for-expression, the same three stories — now it was within 10 minutes. Indeed, many of his tweets were the product of his repetitions — he just couldn’t stop saying something.
What was that about language being affected? Thought processes?
And then there was this enigmatic line ending the article, At Mar-a-Lago, just before the new year, a heavily made-up Trump failed to recognize a succession of old friends.
Interpreting the Dementia Symptoms
What to make of all of this evidence?
- The difficulty with raising a glass or bottle of water sounds like he might be having mild tremors or muscular weakness or coordination problems all of which can require extra focus to counter-act.
- His repetitiousness and fixations may be a disrupted thought process.
- Not recognizing people is definitely memory but also could be due to facial recognition or visual perception problems.
It could be dementia secondary to a stroke. The Ol’ Pussy Grabber could’ve had a series of mini -strokes that have disrupted his ability to function.
It could be that his brain, unlike the Grinch’s heart, has shrunk two sizes too small since the brain shrinks with age about five percent per decade past forty. With his hellish lifestyle of shitty fast food diet — Super Size Me anyone? — and the stress of the office, it could be that the effects of this natural shrinkage have been exponentially exacerbated and accelerated to warp speed.
Whatever the cause, though, it is clear, abundantly clear, that he is unfit for the job.
His extreme narcissism and executive dysfunction make him a real and present danger to the country and to the entire world. His possible dementia makes him incapable of fulfilling the functions of the office. So, the real question, why are the Repubes standing by him? Are they really willing to risk everything to further personal gain?
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Categories: BioPsych, Cognitive Psychology, Memory, Quick Thought
The Psy of Life 
and now we see him using both hands to drink water…. after thinking about it , I think he is also having tremors ,, consequently he needs to hold the glass with both hands so to not drop or spill ….. just a thought
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Howdy Francese!
Yes those were my thoughts exactly. The question is why is he having such tremors. Also, he needs to watch the glass or bottle be raised to his mouth. It suggests a compromised nervous system, but how has it been compromised? Alzheimer’s? Stroke? Parkinson’s? Dementia? There are lots of possibilities each with their own very worrying implications. But any way you slice it, he’s not fit for office.
Huzzah!
Jack
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I suspect that some of his tremors, are the back lash from some meds. I have seen this before !
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And that is also possible. Another possibility is his incredibly poor diet. Did you see the movie “Super Size Me?” That’s his diet but it has been most of his life and not just the month of the guy in the movie ate that fast food diet. The Ol’ Pussy Grabber’s life time of crappy dietary habits could be catching up to him.
Diagnosing his personality disorder was easy. It follows him like BO. But, his dementia is another story. Much more difficult to diagnose.
Huzzah!
Jack
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I was a Food service director in nursing homes for several years. Absolutely he is in full blow dementia. Perhaps it will take some full blown ” faux pas” for him to actually be forced to get medical help. The GOP will only take a certain amount of BS or a fit of the crazies for them to get a grip on him and either isolate him or throw him to the wolves and get him in a straight jacket . I predict it won’t be far off !
i
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Howdy Francese!
While there is some evidence of dementia, I would have to see him over an extended period to feel comfortable saying for sure that he is. His executive dysfunction and narcissism seem abundantly evident from his speeches, interviews, tweets, and interactions with reporters. However, I read today in Axios that he begins his work day at 11:00 AM and ends about 6:00 PM with an hour lunch. He has “executive time” appearing on his schedule several times a day meaning he gets to watch TV. It makes me think they are trying to minimize the demands on his cognitive and physical abilities as well as contact with outsiders. While it causes concern about his mental health, it also causes some worry about who actually is running the country because it don’t sound like it is him.
As for the GOP tolerance for him, I’d say it is pretty high and predicated only on how much he threatens their re-election. Fortunately, they seem to be deep into a groupthink situation and have convinced themselves that their hold on Congress is safe. Hopefully, they won’t come out of it until after the 2018 elections.
Huzzah!
Jack
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Unfortunately my remaining parent is afflicted by Alzheimer’s; took a couple three neurological tn the diagnosis over a period of time to settle on the diagnosis – vascular issues (dementia) present almost identically.
This has been ongoing for nearly 4 years. The family had to institutionalize her (assisted nursing facility) 3 years back.
There is absolutely no doubt among our family: Trump’s diminished. Whether it’s Alzheimer’s or dementia makes no never mind. The man is not mentally fit for his position, regardless of his other failings. The longer he is allowed to stay in his position, the more damage he will be capable of, again regardless of political trappings.
Sadly we don’t expect an honest diagnosis arsing out of hos promised “physical examination” this month
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Howdy Doc!
I’m so sorry to hear about Alzheimer’s striking your affecting your mother. I know how difficult it can be to cope with and watch a loved one just slowly slip away. Once you’ve seen it up close, though, you get a feel for what a person is like as they deteriorate, don’t you? Being in Mar-a-Lago and not recognizing people, which is something he was known for, really is worrisome.
To get him properly diagnosed will take the GOP to care about something and someone — really they are not caring about him by ignoring his obvious mental illness — other than their “agenda.”
Huzzah!
Jack
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Reblogged this on cabbagesandkings524 and commented:
Calico Jack – Trump – Dementia? Good Questions?
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Jack, I have some experience with dementia. I moved in with my father in 2006 at his suggestion. My mother had died in 2003 and it wasn’t clear why Dad wanted me to come, but it became apparent once I was here that he was having mild symptoms of dementia and knew he was slipping. He had resigned his position as Secretary of the local Rotary Club, in part because of UN-characteristic flares of temper with use of the “F-word.” I was able to keep him at home until late in 2013, and saw the whole process of deterioration up close. I think it is quite possible that Trump is showing signs of dementia, but as you observe, separating some of those from his other obvious dysfunctions is difficult. That said, he is at a prime age for the onset of some form of it, obese and reportedly not observing a diet that would promote cardio-vascular health (stroke risk?), and does not accept any form of critical feedback about his performance in any area. Clearly, if he is in a dementia process it can only exacerbate his other problem tendencies. It will be interesting to see what will result from the discussion of his condition and competence stimulated by the new book that nobody seems able to ignore, whatever they may think of its accuracy.
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Howdy Bob!
Among other jobs I had as a social worker was consulting with nursing homes and running an outpatient clinic for older adults. I saw a lot of dementia and Alzheimer’s, but it requires a lot more by way of testing to diagnose. I’m sorry hear about your father, but it is a testament to his character that he recognized his deterioration and took pro-active steps. Not many can do that.
That new book is bound to deepen the mental health crisis that he is already experiencing. I don’t know what’s going to happen if we have a major catastrophe though. Between his mental, emotional, and cognitive limitations and his understaffed, poorly organized, and inexperienced administration, we could be in real trouble. We could all end up like Puerto Rico or worse.
Huzzah!
Jack
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One safe bet is that under pressure, his grandiosity (“I’m a very stable genius.”) will get worse, and it will happen more often that others (such as congressional leaders and cabinet secretaries) will find that agreements and deals they thought they had didn’t actually happen.
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Howdy Bob!
Since the Ol’ Pussy Grabber’s world consists of whatever he believes at that moment, there have been many who have thought they’d made an ironclad deal with him only to find out, he wouldn’t honor it. I think it is a combination of his extreme narcissism and the insulation his wealth has given him from reality. Those of us who can’t buy our way out of our troubles have limits placed on what we want to believe reality is.
Huzzah!
Jack
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and God only knows what the hell they might be feeding him! Someone out there is trying to keep him in control…. but is it working ?
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Howdy Francese and Happy New Year!
I hope someone is trying to keep him in control, but I don’t think there is any controlling him. He may have dementia. I don’t know. It is just too difficult to diagnose without more testing. But, his diet and lifestyle certainly don’t help. He is said to only eat fast food. If you saw the movie “Super Size Me” then you know what that does to a body. So, mini-strokes are a definite possibility.
Huzzah!
Jack
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