Trump's deteriorating ability to clearly communicate is a consequential feature of his 2024 candidacy. That deterioration may not have been as noticeable when Trump, 78, had 81-year-old President Joe Biden as an opponent. But it's all the more clear as he now faces off against 59-year-old Vice President Kamala Harris. Questions about Biden's mental acuity were rightly raised in this election cycle. Questions about Trump's mental acuity should be raised, too. The incoherence of a recent campaign speech Trump gave in Potterville, Michigan is just one of countless examples. During another event in Wisconsin, Trump's response to a question from the audience about reducing inflation entailed darting from his belief that Americans don't eat bacon anymore to his assertion that wind energy doesn't work. During remarks this spring, he stumbled from an attack on Biden's age into a nonsensical reverie about the actor Cary Grant, which then spun off into an anecdote about a conversation he had with Michael Jackson. Compared even to his first term in office, Trump's inability to focus on one train of thought appears to be growing significantly worse. This is a preview of Zeeshan Aleem's latest article. Read the full column here. |
