What did Donald Trump do today?
He had a more deranged than usual public appearance, once he was feeling up to it.
Trump met privately today with Brazil's president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva—apparently. Following visits from foreign heads of state, presidents always hold a joint press conference, and one was scheduled for today at 11:00 AM. But hours went by after the meeting was concluded without Trump appearing or any explanation being offered. Eventually, Lula and his entourage left, without comment.
It might have been reasonable to assume that the meeting went badly, but in comments released later, Lula (who has taken a moderate stance on Trump in a country that loathes him even more than Americans do) gave no sign of any problems and said he was "very satisfied" with the meeting. Addressing Trump's glaring absence from the public events that had been remained on the press schedule even after Lula's party left the White House, the Brazilian president demurred, saying only that it seemed unnecessary.
But other circumstances suggest a different explanation. Trump's sleep schedule has been increasingly erratic, and it's playing out in full view of the public: he is wide awake in the middle of the night posting on his boutique social media site, and then unable to keep from nodding off on live TV during the day. As recently as yesterday, the swelling and bruising in his hands—both of them, now, in spite of the White House's continued claim that it comes from shaking hands—was worse than ever.
Trump remained hidden from public view all day until an unannounced motorcade trip to supervise his latest fixation, putting swimming pool liner on the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. After that excursion, Trump held a very brief press gaggle in which he
- said that peace talks with Iran were going well and that the ceasefire was intact, in spite of Iran firing directly on US Navy ships today
- implied in the same breath that he would launch a nuclear attack against Iran if they didn't "sign an agreement fast"
- called a female reporter a "baby" and "bitch" as staffers frantically tried to shoo the press away
A clear majority of Americans, 59%, said in a recent poll said that Trump is mentally unfit for the presidency.
Why does this matter?
- Losing the ability to mask anti-social impulses—like saying things you want to say, but know you're not supposed to—is a sign of cognitive decline.
- So is disrupted sleep habits in the very elderly.
- It's a problem if this is all happening to a man who really can order a nuclear strike.