The cognitive status of federal officials needs to be addressed. Too many of them manifest some degree of impairment and are not fit to serve in government. There is little question that our last president, Joe Biden, was intellectually diminished, and may have been suffering from a neurologic disorder. His speech was hesitant and slow when he wasn’t reading, he had difficulty answering questions, and his gait was abnormal. When he ran for president in 2020, he was more intact and deteriorated over the four-year course of his term. Biden is now 82 years old.
Our current president, Donald Trump, is 78 and will be 82 when he finishes his term. Trump at times misnames people and places when speaking and uses the wrong words occasionally. Some of his actions are impulsive, like his idea to take over Gaza, and some appear contradictory. It is unclear at this point whether he is mildly cognitively impaired, has a personality disorder, or possibly both. As people age, personality quirks, present when younger, tend to become more pronounced, particularly if cognitive difficulties have emerged.
