Trump shows every sign that he suffers from early dementia. Sundowning or twilighting (see reference) is defined as follows:

Sundowning (or twilighting) is increased confusion that people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia may experience from dusk through night. Also called “sundowner’s syndrome,” it is not a disease but a set of symptoms or dementia-related behaviors that may include difficulty sleeping, anxiety, agitation, hallucinations, pacing and disorientation. Although the exact cause is unknown, sundowning may occur due to disease progression and changes in the brain.

Trump has mixed up words and shown indications of early dementia in his afternoon speeches. I haven’t seen any videos of Trump speaking in the evening. What we are all familar with are his posts to Truth Social many of them made in the wee hours of the morning. These are where the most indications of cognitive impairment are evident.

The following is from “An unsettling look at Donald Trump’s social media rants” on Poynter:

He has traded combative tweets for even more belligerent screeds. Diatribes against his perceived enemies have drawn gag orders from judges in multiple cases. His media diet has become almost exclusively right-wing. And above all, he persists in spreading lies about his 2020 election loss, deep into his campaign for another term.”

They add this ominous line that Trump’s social media usage “offers an intimate view of what his second term could look like: isolated, vitriolic and vengeful.”

In this painstaking work, the Post analyzed all of Trump’s posts “from the official launches of his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2024 to show how his social media use has changed from his first presidential run.” In many of his untruthful posts, the Post adds footnotes to set the record straight or provide context.

Some of the numbers that the Post points out, on posts from Nov. 15, 2022, to March 15, 2024, are staggering:

• 760 posts are written in ALL CAPS.
• 570 posts are direct insults.
• 500 posts reference election denialism.

With Trump one has to separate manifestions of his malignant narcissim which includes his being a mean and sadistic bully from what may be symptomatic of early dementia. Mental health professionals are certain Trump meets the criteria for being considered a malignant narcissist. Some have made a case for also diagnosing him as a psychopath.

Others, like me in the Salon article “Clinical social worker: “With the Trump Bible, one must consider dementia”, have made a case for diagnosing him as having early dementia. Look up Trump and dementia here.

During a debate Trump may be able to control his manifestations of his malignant narcissism. However, manifestations of dementia are beyond conscious control. Considering the possibilty, perhaps the likelyhood, that Trump does have early dementia it makes sense that no matter what Trump demands Biden insist that the debate take place in the usual prime time slot which is 9:00 PM on the east coast and 6:00 PM on the west coast.

It is more likely that if Trump does have early dementia he will mix up words, show signs of confusion, go off on tangents, repeat himself, have lapses in memory or misremember things, stop talking in the middle of a sentence, and even get a befuddled look on his face. This will be in stark contrast to President Biden who is in complete control of his mental faculties.

Addendum: There is currently speculation (see article “Trump’s ‘toe pads’ spark social media firestorm: ‘What an alpha male’) that Trump uses toe pads to counter his tendency to lean forward”.

Excerpts:

One wrote, “He now uses foot pads to prevent himself from tipping over. If Joe Biden did this, Fox News would talk about nothing else.”

Others still speculated that his forward lean could be an indicator of health issues.

“That forward lean is an indicator of Frontotemporal Dementia. Some have thought he was in early stages when he ran in 2016. MAGA candidates relax: it progresses slowly,” a user postulated.

Other users suggested the same diagnosis with photos of the 2024 frontrunner and a list of symptoms, including “poor judgment,” “socially inappropriate behavior,” “loss of empathy” and “problems with balance.”

Another account posted another list of symptoms for Frontotemporal Dementia — but incorporated another rumour circulating about Mr Trump: “a decline in personal hygiene.”

Read previous Stressline blogs here