Rachel M February 19, 2017 Journal

The dumbest of the dumb

It’s hard to see how the Donald Tump presidency will survive four years given the amount of lunacy and chaos he has unleashed in just three weeks. Sometimes I feel a bit sorry for him because he has become a laughing stock and I don’t think he realises it. Every week there’s something new and outlandish to poke fun at. Here’s Seth Meyers on his first solo press conference last week:

There’s one word that comes to my mind when I think of Donald Trump: thick. I realise I’m not exactly a smarty-pants but I know my limitations whereas Donald Trump is classic Dunning-Kruger. Smart people under-estimate their ability whereas dumb people over-estimate it. Dumb people who don’t realise how dumb they are are the dumbest of the dumb.

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1

Ed Davies on February 19, 2017 at 1:14 pm
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A few weeks ago I read a speech of his from a decade or so ago and thought it was much more coherent than his current ramblings. The next day I saw a couple of comments on Twitter saying pretty much the same thing. There’s been some commentary on his not strictly meeting some of the diagnostic standards for particular mental disorders but I can’t help thinking there’s something specific wrong with his brain; it’s not just stupidity though limited (maybe rather narrow) intelligence is obviously part of the problem.
- 2
  
  Rachel M on February 19, 2017 at 3:17 pm
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  That’s interesting – it’s hard to believe he was once relatively coherent. Maybe it’s just age?
  - 3
    
    PedalWORKS on February 19, 2017 at 5:07 pm
    
    I hadn’t heard of this but would certainly explain some of his behaviour.
4

Hangaku Gozen on February 19, 2017 at 7:09 pm
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For several months now, I’ve read speculations that Trump may be in the early stages of dementia. He’s the right age, 70. His speech seems at times to fumble as he grasps for words, and he often falls back on very simple terms which he repeats in a series of short sentences. (“the best,” “huge”) He also rarely smiles, and his facial expression seems dull and listless, which are also symptoms of a stroke or other neurological problems. I don’t say this lightly either, though I can’t stand the man. When I listen to him talk and watch his orange visage, I’m reminded of my mother as she began her slow descent into dementia accelerated by a stroke. She showed her first symptoms at 70, though it wasn’t until she about 80 that she became incompetent to drive, handle money, and deal with household tasks. I’m thinking that if Trump stays in the White House for two terms, he’ll be nearly 80. And who knows where the US will be by then. 😦
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  Rachel M on February 19, 2017 at 8:31 pm
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  This sounds plausible and would explain the way he repeats things over and over. It’s a bit concerning too as he doesn’t seem like the sort of person who would accept this. He doesn’t even admit to mistakes.
6

sevencyclist on February 19, 2017 at 7:20 pm
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Every night, after work, I turn on CNN to get the latest entertainment … that’s the best way to describe it. More interesting than any other fictional tv show out there. And now, I just hear he was spouting off about some terrorist attack in Sweden … uh, what attack? Sweden doesn’t know about it.
- 7
  
  Rachel M on February 19, 2017 at 8:33 pm
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  I do the same thing except for me it’s in the morning and I wake up wondering what he’s done now. The statement about Sweden was very odd.
- 8
  
  Victor Venema (@VariabilityBlog) on February 20, 2017 at 12:09 am
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  They found the problem in Sweden.
  
  Pray for Sweden. #LastNightInSweden #SwedenIncident pic.twitter.com/cZmOW2pXm7
  
  — MadlyMad (@Madly_Mad) February 19, 2017
  - 9
    
    Rachel M on February 20, 2017 at 6:49 am
    
    Haha. I saw a good Tweet about that too.
    
    Scenes of appalling despair #LastNightInSweden pic.twitter.com/qpKPPtJdd0
    
    — Julian Power (@JueRobWilPo) February 19, 2017
10

Ed Davies on February 21, 2017 at 9:26 am
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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/21/long-winded-speech-could-be-early-sign-of-alzheimers-says-study

Funny that it “happens” to compare US presidents. OK, they’re people whose speech is recorded and watched very closely so it’s not too surprising.
- 11
  
  Rachel M on February 21, 2017 at 11:34 am
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  That is interesting and very apt.

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