Donald Trump is โhauntedโ by the prospect of facing the same cognitive decline that affected his father, according to a pointed analysis shared on MSNBCโs The Weekend: Primetime.
Timothy L. OโBrien, senior executive editor at Bloomberg Opinion, joined the programโs second-ever episode to unpack Trumpโs recent comments about wanting a third term in office, something barred by the U.S. Constitution.
OโBrien, a long-time Trump observer, said the former president is largely driven by either โself-aggrandizementโ or โself-preservation,โ and suggested that while Trump might fantasize about staying in power indefinitely, he doubts heโll actually pursue another term.
โHeโd love to live until heโs 300,โ OโBrien joked. โAnd heโd probably like to be president for 200 of those years.โ
But at 78, Trump is not immune to the passage of time. โWhat struck me, watching that clip, was just how much Donald Trump has aged,โ said OโBrien. โWhen we talk about what might stand in the way of a third term, yes, there are voters, and yes, the 22nd Amendment, but thereโs also the reality that he turns 79 in June.โ
Though the Constitution bars anyone from being elected president more than twice, OโBrien said Trumpโs health, especially his fear of mental decline, is a more pressing issue, per The Washington Post.
โHe lives in fear of following the same path his father did, from dementia to Alzheimerโs,โ he said. โItโs a burden heโs carried for a long time.โ
Fred Trump, a successful real estate developer, died in 1999 at age 93 after a years-long battle with Alzheimerโs. He had first been diagnosed with dementia in 1991 but continued to work well into his decline. โHe came into the office every day until the day he went to the hospital,โ recalled family friend Richard Levy.
OโBrien noted that Donald Trump rarely addresses the topic, in part because of the political risk. He has repeatedly mocked former President Joe Bidenโs mental acuity, making any public acknowledgment of his own concerns tricky. But, OโBrien added, those close to Trump have noticed the signs.
โCompare him now to Trump 1.0, the speech is more slurred, the posture is slouched, the energy seems drained,โ OโBrien observed. โI question how much genuine enthusiasm he has left for the job, beyond the fact that it keeps him out of prison and in the spotlight.โ
Trumpโs nephew, Fred C. Trump III, echoed similar sentiments in an interview last year with People, saying heโs seen signs of mental decline in his uncle that feel eerily familiar.
โLike anyone else, Iโve noticed the shift,โ said Fred, 61. โAnd I see it unfolding in a way thatโs very similar to how my grandfather declined. Anyone claiming dementia isnโt in the Trump family is ignoring the truth.โ
