Donald Trump recently misstated the birthplace of his father, was unable to pronounce the word origins, stated that wind power gives you cancer, called Tim Cook Tim Apple and a host of other missteps that could simply be called “faux pas” if taken individually.  However, these are not one off blunders – together they are screaming dementia.

Over twenty years ago, I had the horrific experience of witnessing my mother’s descent into galloping Alzheimer’s disease.  We attempted to ignore the initial symptoms – passing them off as mere aging or poor sleep habits or a myriad of other minor frailties.  Although dementia is sometimes difficult to diagnose when only a few symptoms present themselves, the days of denials disappeared rapidly due to severe memory impairment, aggression and paranoia to the point of her believing people were breaking into her apartment to murder her.  In a very few instances, one had to see a bit of humor in the situation.  As a Presidential election approached, she was angry that she was unable to vote.  She stated, nonetheless, that if she were voting, it would either be Republican or Communist.  The funny moments, however, were few and far between.

I suppose I could say that the process was mercifully short – a bit less than 2 years.  It was hell but I learned first-hand a number of the indications of mental deterioration.  What is frightening beyond words is how many of the symptoms are displayed by Donald Trump.  Here are some of them:

·        Impairments in language and communication.

·        Inability to focus and concentrate.

·        Diminished reasoning.

·        Verbal bellicosity.

·        Rapid mood changes.

·        Confusion.

·        Being repetitive in conversation.

·        Apathy.

·        Poor judgment leading to bad decisions.

·        Challenged in problem solving.

·        Aggression and frustration.

·        Suspicion and paranoia.

·        Short attention span.

·        Inability to handle complex tasks.

·        Agitation.

·        Inappropriate behavior.

·        Increased narcissism.

·        Forgetting details of current events.

·        Less interest in work with more time watching television.

·        False accusations.

·        Confusion with people’s names.

·        Inaccuracies stated as truths.

It’s beyond time.  The 25^th Amendment must be invoked.