Trump’s Memory Lapses Highlighted in New Compilation Video
Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty
Former President Donald Trump is once again under scrutiny for apparent memory lapses, as highlighted in a newly released compilation video. The footage shows Trump repeatedly forgetting names, including that of his former White House physician, Rep. Ronny Jackson, whom he mistakenly referred to as ‘Ronny Johnson’.
These concerns come amid renewed discussions about Trump’s cognitive abilities, sparked by his recent challenge to President Joe Biden to take a cognitive test. Trump has claimed to have aced such a test in the past but stumbled over details, including the name of the doctor who administered it, according to HuffPost.
Ramin Setoodeh, co-editor-in-chief of Variety, also noted Trump’s apparent memory issues during recent interviews for his upcoming book, describing the former president as “meandering and confusing” at times. These incidents are likely to reignite debates about Trump’s fitness for office, as questions about his cognitive health continue to swirl.
@ArtCandee tweeted, “Biden has a stutter. What’s Trump’s excuse?”. @schoolin_cons joked, “Lol, Trump will do great at the debate”. @AreMond2 remarked, “DJT is losing it”. @BeaReno commented, “Perfect campaign ad for @JoeBiden!“. @ChrisDJackson tagged @BillAckman, “because we know how important things like this are to you”.
In February, Trump addressed his recent mixing up of names, claiming it was intentional. In a speech last month, Trump confused Nikki Haley, his last remaining rival for the Republican presidential nomination, with former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He also suggested former Democratic President Barack Obama was still in office. “When I purposely interposed names, they said I didn’t know Pelosi from Nikki,” Trump said at a rally in South Carolina on Wednesday. He described calling Obama the current president as sarcasm, not a gaffe. “I’m a great speaker,” Trump added.
The issue of age and mental competence has become a focal point of the 2024 election campaign. A recent report suggested U.S. President Joe Biden was suffering from memory lapses, while Biden allies have pointed to verbal flubs by Trump, including the Haley and Pelosi mix-up and the Obama remark.
Trump, currently the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, is eyeing a rematch with Biden in November’s general election. Nikki Haley has advocated for mental competency tests for presidential candidates, including Biden and Trump, both of whom are the oldest men elected to the U.S. presidency.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday, 78% of respondents, including 71% of Democrats, believe Biden is too old for government work. Trump faces less skepticism about his age, with 53% of respondents considering him too old for government service. Biden recently confused the names of several world leaders, including France’s former president Francois Mitterrand with its current president, Emmanuel Macron.
Special Counsel Robert Hur, a Republican and former U.S. attorney in Maryland during Trump’s administration, noted in his report on Biden’s handling of classified documents last week that Biden was described as a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. During the investigation, Biden could not recall when his son, Beau Biden, passed away. Biden responded angrily to the report, asserting that his memory is fine.
