Trump’s Bizarre Town Hall Shows ‘Steep Cognitive Decline’: Mary Trump

Mary Trump, the niece of former President Donald Trump, has expressed concerns about her uncle’s cognitive abilities following his latest town hall appearance.
The vocal critic of the former president’s mental fitness for office took to social media and her newsletter, The Good in Us, to highlight moments in the town hall on Monday in Oaks, Pennsylvania, that she found particularly troubling.
In her article, titled “He’s Decompensating Before Our Eyes,” the clinical psychologist said Donald Trump’s performance during the event exhibited signs of what she believes to be severe mental deterioration.
“This is serious, serious stuff and yet the media are, once again, falling down on the job,” she said. “If nothing else matters—the criminality, the cruelty, the misogyny, the racism, the viciousness, the freaking fascism—[then] surely the steep cognitive decline of a man who is running to be the leader of the free world should matter.”
She also pointed out that her uncle is “the oldest person in American history ever to run for the presidency,” and that “he can’t pronounce words or stay on topic,” and “engages in a worrisome degree of tangential thinking.”
Mary Trump then referenced the bizarre point in the gathering where Trump stopped taking questions altogether, instead opting to listen to music, saying: “Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music […]Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?”
“Donald asked for music and for the next 39 minutes, which is a very long time, he stood on the stage, listened to an odd mix of songs, sometimes swinging his body around, sometimes standing stock still, on occasion mouthing the lyrics, and mostly seeming lost, broken and beyond reach,” she said.
She also heavily criticized the media for what she believes to be a failure in their coverage of Trump, and for not holding him to account for his misdemeanors.
“Over time, we learned that, as far as the corporate media were concerned, all of that—the mendacity and the bigotry—was baked in.
“Eventually, the list of egregious things we were supposed to ignore grew to include Donald’s two impeachments, the big lie, an attempted insurrection against his own government, the theft of highly sensitive government documents, 93 indictments in four jurisdictions, being found liable for sexual assault and defamation, being found guilty of 34 felonies, his cruelty, his viciousness, his fascism and stochastic terrorism… I could go on, but you get the idea.”
Mary Trump has previously noted instances where her uncle seemed confused or struggled to articulate coherent responses, often veering off-topic or repeating himself. In the article, she compared this to reporting of similar instances with President Joe Biden, saying:
“The relentless coverage of every single one of Biden’s missteps overshadowed the fact that his opponent spent the entire debate lying, engaging in delusional conspiracy theories, and promoting his fascist agenda”
Referring to her concerns regarding Trump’s cognizance, she stated: “All of these are potential signs of cognitive impairment, but none of it engages the sustained attention of the media. Why not? How bad does it need to be before they sit up and take notice?”
Mary Trump has previously raised concerns about the former president’s mental health, even before he assumed the top job.
In her 2020 tell-all book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, she discussed what she described as her uncle’s long-standing personality flaws and alleged psychological problems. Her latest remarks appear to go a step further, implying that his mental faculties are now in serious decline.
In her article, Ms. Trump suggested the media “need to have a panel of experts, including psychologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, neurologists, gerontologists and anybody else who could give us insight into what is happening with Donald Trump—emotionally, psychologically and neurologically.”
Newsweek contacted The British Psychological Society and the American Psychological Association via email on Wednesday for comment.
Political analysts and mental health experts have debated the appropriateness of diagnosing public figures from afar, but Mary Trump’s comments are reigniting the conversation about the former president’s fitness for a return to the White House.
Donald Trump has consistently dismissed concerns about his health. Newsweek contacted his campaign and Mary Trump via email outside of normal working hours on Wednesday for comment.
The town hall, which was broadcast to a national audience, drew mixed reactions from viewers. While Trump’s supporters continued to champion his candid remarks and charisma, others expressed unease at the apparent lapses in focus.