Neurologists reviewed decades of Trump's interviews. Here's what they found.


The health news website Stat asked psychologists, psychiatrists, and experts in neurolinguistics to compare President Trump's way of speaking in 2017 to interviews he gave decades ago. "They all agreed there had been a deterioration," Stat reports, "and some said it could reflect changes in the health of Trump's brain."
Some of the experts noted that linguistic decline can result not just from neurodegenerative disease but also "stress, frustration, anger, or just plain fatigue." "In fairness to Trump, he's 70, so some decline in his cognitive functioning over time would be expected," pointed out New York City psychologist Ben Michaelis.
But others found the stark differences in Trump's way of speaking to be concerning:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In interviews Trump gave in the 1980s and 1990s (with Tom Brokaw, David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, Charlie Rose, and others), he spoke articulately, used sophisticated vocabulary, inserted dependent clauses into his sentences without losing his train of thought, and strung together sentences into a polished paragraph, which — and this is no mean feat — would have scanned just fine in print […] Now, Trump's vocabulary is simpler. He repeats himself over and over, and lurches from one subject to an unrelated one … [Stat]
"It's hard to say definitively without rigorous testing," said another New York City psychologist, John Montgomery, "but I think it's pretty safe to say that Trump has had significant cognitive decline over the years."
Dr. Robert Pyles of suburban Boston, who supports President Trump, said: "I can see what people are responding to" when they suggest there has been a decline. He added: "[Trump's] language difficulties could be due to the immense pressure he's under, or to annoyance that things aren't going right and that there are all these scandals. It could also be due to a neurodegenerative disease or the normal cognitive decline that comes with aging."
Read the full report at Stat, and read Ryan Cooper on why it's time to start talking about President Trump's mental health here at The Week.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants