Donald Trump is one of the most popular global leaders of all time, and naturally, with the increasing popularity comes jealousy, hate, and intense scrutiny from the media. Several reports about Trump’s age and physical and cognitive health from when he returned to office in January 2025 have been circulating as headlines.
Some claimed he is a narcissist, others say he is delusional, and the rest claim that he might be progressing towards dementia. Doctors John Gartner and Harry Segal highlighted a recent Truth Social post in which Trump referred to St. Petersburg, Russia, by its Soviet-era name, Leningrad, they suggest, as a sign of cognitive decline. “We are seeing him slipping,” Dr. Segal observed during the latest episode of his podcast ‘Shrinking Trump.’
As per The Irish Star, Dr. Segal shared a brief clip from an August press briefing where Trump, who is talking to the press, mixes up details and even fabricates them, which is reportedly a behaviour often associated with early-stage dementia. It is called confabulation, a psychological term for someone unintentionally mixing fact with fiction, often seen in dementia.
For example, Trump recently gave a long, inaccurate account of taking action to protect statues in Washington, D.C. He claimed he passed a law that imposed 10-year prison sentences on anyone who tried to damage a statue, referencing Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.
Cognitive Doctor discusses Trump’s Brain Damage
It’s not a joke, it’s not sarcasm.
“This is a neurological smoking gun.”
#TrumpIsUnfitForOffice, he has Dementia and it’s getting worse by the day. https://t.co/dNdzPaFedG
— John Francis (@JohnF1CDO) September 30, 2024
However, Dr. Segal said what Trump spoke about was instead fabricated or distorted: Trump had issued an executive order, not a new law passed by Congress, and the events he described never happened or were exaggerated.
Dr. John Gartner added that Trump’s decline is “grossly apparent,” even to those without a medical background. He said, “The fact was Trump tells it like it’s a story that happened to him in real time. And it’s just not true. None of that is true.” Dr Gartner added, “It’s cringey.”
A few weeks ago, Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist and the niece of Donald Trump, raised serious questions about her uncle’s cognitive health, citing a string of recent public blunders that were visible to the masses.
HE’S BACK but where did he go?
People like #DonOld Trump suffering from Alzheimer’s and Dementia experience momentary checkouts.
They Blank Out.As the diseases progress, the frequency, duration of those episodes increase.#TrumpisaDementedWeirdo pic.twitter.com/8PJbadbO4p
— John Francis (@JohnF1CDO) September 14, 2024
Speaking on her weekly show, “Trump Trolls Trump”, Mary highlighted several incidents that, in her view, point to growing cognitive decline. Chief among them was a bizarre claim Donald Trump made about his late uncle, John Trump, a MIT professor and the well-known domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber.
The former businessman stated that John Trump had once taught Kaczynski. Nevertheless, as Mary quickly pointed out, the timeline makes the story false as John Trump died in 1985, more than a decade before Kaczynski was publicly identified or arrested in 1996. “There is simply no way John could have said anything about Ted Kaczynski to Donald,” Mary said, calling the tale untrue.
She also claimed that Trump reportedly took the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which is a 10-minute test for dementia. However, the Trump administration manipulated the public and said that it was more like an intelligence test where he was given the “all is okay” sign. Meanwhile, Trump’s physical assessment declared that he was in “excellent health” in April, as he is recorded to be 6 feet 3 inches and weighs around 224 pounds.
Donald Trump’s doctor’s report from his annual physical was just released.
“Cognitive function, assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), was normal with a score of 30 out of 30.”
Not buying any of it. pic.twitter.com/3nob9p35TZ
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) April 13, 2025
In a YouTube video, Mary L. Trump also pointed out that POTUS often has difficulty remembering where he is or what he is supposed to do. “I’ve said this a lot recently. I sometimes wonder if Donald is oriented to time and place because most of the time, it doesn’t seem as if he is. Just as much of the time, it doesn’t seem like he is aware of who is around him or who he’s actually talking to,” she added.
Is the President’s cognitive capacity diminishing, or has he become slow and weak due to natural aging and the many responsibilities he has to manage daily? Either way, he is here to stay and rule; the external charter does not matter for our “tough guy Trump. “
