Donald Trump is not mentally well. News media that reported President Biden's physical health must investigate Trump's declining cognition

It seems strange and troubling that the mental capacities of Trump, almost 80, are yet to command a rigorous and concerted examination from more mainstream news organizations.

Echo opinion essay published in the Boston Globe by 

Are mainstream news media finally ready to examine Trump’s mental fitness❓

"Trump is undergoing a 'significant decline' in his mental faculties, citing alleged dementia and saying the president is 'a man who is clearly insane', ” Ty Cobb.  "He often engages in late-night or early morning posting sprees, churning out dozens —sometimes hundreds — of so-called 'truths' and 're-truths' over a span of a few hours."

A recent New York Times story and prominent MAGA defections could be signs of the dam breaking.  (Maine Writer opinion- Donald Trump obviously has multiple personality disorders, pathological narcissism and a sociopathic problem with being civil and lacking appropriate emotional reactions to people who are struggling.  He threw paper towels to survivors of the category four hurricane Maria, when they were overwhelmed by the storm's disaster. He stooped to another low by expressing happiness about the death of the highly respected former FBI director Bob Mueller. Trump said, "Good, Im glad❗🤢) These and many other examples are symptomatic of mental illness and age related declining cognition.)

By Jill Abramson, is a former executive editor of The New York Times, teaches journalism at Northeastern University and is a contributing Globe Opinion writer.

Donald Trump’s obvious signs of mental decline have not received the national news media attention that would be commensurate with the problems they pose to the world. Hopefully, that’s beginning to change.

Peter Baker, reporter for The New York Times, dug deeply into the president’s erratic, bizarre, and dangerous behavior, social media posts, and other statements for an article released this week. Baker’s article was chock-full of recent examples, including Trump’s threat to annihilate Iran (dangerous), his since-deleted AI-generated Truth Social post portraying himself as Jesus and his fight with Pope Leo XIV (bizarre), and his out-of-the-blue discourses about Sharpies and White House drapes (erratic). The article showed definitively a president in decline and — though it stopped short of saying it — a man who, many believe, is losing his mind.

The news media were accused of helping cover up former President Joe Biden’s slipping mental acuity until a halting, disastrous debate performance put it on national display and forced Biden out of the 2024, election.

It seems strange and troubling that the mental capacities of Trump, almost 80, are yet to command a rigorous and concerted examination from more mainstream news organizations.

But, often, they lack the reporting muscle to investigate what happens inside the Trump White House or to pierce government stonewalling. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has put unprecedented pressure on the media, making government reporting more challenging, even as some Trump administration anti-free press moves are withering in the courts.

The Times story could be a sign of the dam breaking. So, too, are the defections of MAGA celebrities like Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, and former representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said, “President Trump has gone mad” and called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked.

Ty Cobb, a former White House attorney during the first Trump administration, has also publicly stated that Trump is undergoing a “significant decline” in his mental faculties, citing alleged dementia and saying the president is “a man who is clearly insane.”

Though the traditional press, cable, and television networks no longer enjoy the reach, trust, or influence they once had, global publications like the Times can still set the news agenda. 

With an increasingly atomized news media landscape, it isn’t surprising to see the online subscription Substacks of individual journalists, other online sites, and the foreign press stepping up to fill gaps left by traditional the lack the reporting muscle to investigate what happens inside the Trump White House or to pierce government stonewalling.  (Check my Juliana LHeureux Substack post about Donald Trump's age related disabilities, at this link here)

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has put unprecedented pressure on the media, making government reporting more challenging, even as some Trump administration anti-free press moves are withering in the courts.

With the earliest coverage of Trump’s mental decline often coming from new media, a sea change is visible. But writers on Substack and other new media platforms are not necessarily bound by traditional sourcing rules and reporting techniques. Because they may not have firsthand sources inside the White House who actually witness the president’s behavior, they tend to rely on opinion polls showing that a majority of the public doubts Trump has the mental capacity to govern, or medical experts who also lack firsthand knowledge.

That hasn’t prevented an array of mental health professionals from commenting on Trump’s apparent decline. In 2017, forensic psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee published an anthology, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,” with essays by 27 psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals describing the danger that they felt Trump’s mental health posed. A new edition, “The Much More Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 50 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Warn Anew,” came out in 2025.  Recently, Dr. Vin Gupta, a medical analyst for NBC News, discussed the Trump family history of dementia, stating that he was observing a “trend line” with the president and “it seems like it’s getting worse.”

STAT, a health news site that shares a parent company with The Boston Globe, provided early coverage of Trump’s potential mental decline. Some Substacks have also smartly addressed the topic of Trump’s mental challenges.

John Ellis, editor of the News Items Substack newsletter and a former columnist for Globe Opinion, cited a recent poll showing a majority of Americans believe Trump “lacks the mental sharpness to serve effectively” as president. Given that concern, he says, it’s odd that mainstream news organizations have not attacked the story more aggressively. “It is arguably the most important story in the world,” he told me.

Former New Yorker and Daily Beast editor Tina Brown, who has also written smartly about Trump’s mental health, said on her Substack, Fresh Hell, that “Trump’s psychosis is our biggest national export.”

During his first term in 2018, Trump boasted of scoring 100 percent on a 10-minute cognitive test administered by his doctor. (More recently, he said he aced two other cognitive tests.)

It was laughable when Trump in 2018, reacted to a negative portrayal of himself in Michael Wolff’s book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” by calling himself a “very stable genius.” Now, when he is leading an illegal war of his own choosing and his troubling utterances and actions pile up, his apparent lack of mental fitness is no laughing matter.

Trump’s Russian Troubles Grow Even Worse

Attorney Jay Sekulow is one of a gaggle of attorney's paid by tax money to defend Donald Trump in the growing Russia investigation. (Nice mug shot)

It's impossible to understand- because it's hypocritical- but how is it the paranoid Republicans were ready to indict Secretary Clinton with no evidence about the horrible Benghazi attack (for which she had no direct responsibility), but they refuse to hear FBI, CIA and other intel about Donald Trump and his clandestine relationship with Russia?

Russia is holding something over Donald Trump's head and the Republicans are refusing to ask the salient question about whatever it is.  In other words, "What is Donald Trump protecting with Russia that's more valuable to him than American democracy?'

Another expensive attorney, Ty Cobb, representing Donald Trump (Is he a Gabby Hayes look-a-like?)

Donald Trump is in trouble.

The Russian probe isn’t going away. In fact, the investigation is growing even deeper and broader, and the stories are breaking quicker than most people can even comprehend. As one major, earth-shattering story is splashed across the headline, another tends to follow quickly on its heels.

On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that Trump was exploring the possibility of pardoning his aides, his family, and himself. 

As CNN reported, the chilling fact that the president is exploring the possibility of a self-pardon “seems directly linked to the ongoing special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the foreign power.”

The idea of a president pardoning himself has raised some really tricky legal questions, and even more really tricky legal answers. 

Attorney Marc Kasowitz - looks like a luxury Lexus rental car sales person?  One in the gaggle who are representing Donald Trump.

Can the president pardon himself? (Even the Pope cannot absolve himself of sin!)

Trump could face indictment while in office, if the charge is treason. In fact, Trump is in even bigger trouble than he (and his expensive legal team) previously thought. This following memo was found by investigative reporters from The New York Times, using the Freedom of Information Act (FIA)- data from the special investigation by Ken Starr:

“It is proper, constitutional, and legal for a federal grand jury to indict a sitting president for serious criminal acts that are not part of, and are contrary to, the president’s official duties. In this country, no one, even President Clinton, is above the law.”

Gulp! Marc Kasowitz, Jay Sekulow and Ty Cobb, et al.

Your hourly billable time x 3 must be the equivalent of at least $2,000 (two thousand) dollars an hour (minimum before expenses). This trilogy of cash is a terrible waste of tax money, especially because Donald Trump is, already, over his head in trouble. He should resign.

How many lawyers does it take to defend the White House?

There's a fountain of cash flowing out the White House because practically all the staff are paying retainer fees to a gaggle of lawyers.  How many lawyers does it take to create a hostile and paranoid work environment?  I can't imagine what it's like to work in a job where a lawyer is on retainer for nearly every employee. 
Notwithstanding, the stress caused by loss of revenue due to paying essential representation.

Working in the White House should be a prestigious job. Even the maintenance people enjoy a special resume notice for their service to America's first family.  Instead, with the Donald Trump administration, the jobs in today's White House seem to be like wearing a legal albatross.  I can only imagine the cynicism the current White House employees are facing.  In fact, it's possible they might erase this experience from their resumes.

Nevertheless, even with the high class legal cottage industry flowing in and retainer money seeping out, the low quality of representation doesn't seem to be worth the cost.  For example Jay Sekulow keeps reminding the litany of interviewers who he speaks with about how he represents "the president of the United States", like he needs to remember the name of his employer. Sekulow's marathon appearances on news shows hasn't done anything to improve Donald Trump's credibility.  

Moreover, in my opinion, Sekulow has diinished his integrity with motor mouth, and meaningless responses to questions about Donald Trump, and Russia lies and emails. 

Ty Cobb - a Gabby Hayes reenactor

Newly hired White House attorney Ty Cobb has a new job in the cottage industry. Too bad, he had to sink to this level for employment, because he could've easily kept his self worth protected as a Western stand in on a Gabby Hayes movie sequel.

Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of lawyers are needed to defend the White House, and the administration and staff,  Evidently, those involved in paying the extraordinary retainer fees must protect themselves from each other, as well as from potential crminal shadows caused by the illegal or perjurious activities of their bosses.  

How many lawyers does it take to defend the White House? As many as the staaff can afford. It's possible the lawyers themselves should hire a legal administrator to keep their stories straight and their clients organized.  

Remember that exciting playground the Obama family installed on the White House lawn so their children could play, while their father watched?  Let's make that the legal antechamber. 

In fact, it taks a lot of money to defend the White House, particularly when the boss, Donald Trump, doesn't know what he's doing.