A Quickie: Is It A Demented Ol’ Pussy Grabber?

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.

— National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Strokes

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:

http://www.c-span.org/video/standalone/?438214-1/president-trump-recognizes-jerusalem-israeli-capital

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?

Image Attribution

This imhttps://pixabay.com/photos/alzheimer-s-dementia-words-3068938/age was found using a Creative Commons search. It was found on Pixaby. It was created by Gerd Altman. It is licensed by Pixaby as free for commercial use without attribution.