Donald Trump's Mind 'Faltering,' Top Psychologist Warns

Trump's mental capabilities appear to be "faltering in a very dangerous
way," a leading psychologist said.

Speaking on the David Pakman Show on Monday, Harry Segal, a senior lecturer
in psychology at Cornell University who has been critical of the former
president's mental health since he was first elected, said Trump was
showing signs of onset dementia.

"I think of this cognitive decline as being another layer of danger on top
of an already erratic, mentally challenged person who shouldn't be anywhere
near the White House," Segal said.

His comments come after a number of mental health professionals, who have
also been critical of Trump, wrote statements claiming he was suffering
from symptoms of dementia.

They said Trump displayed behavior that typified a "confusion about
reality," and argued that he would have to be removed from office as he
would become "dangerously unable to fulfill the responsibilities" of
president.

At the time, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign told Newsweek that the
former president had "aced" a cognitive test twice and was "willing to take
a third test if Joe Biden sits in the same room and takes it at the same
time."

Critics of Trump point to occasions such as him confusing Barack Obama with
Biden and garbling words.
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In the interview on Monday, Segal said the examples were "intermittent,"
usually occurring during rallies at night rather than during interviews in
the daytime.

"This is something that's been observed in many people suffering from early
stages of dementia�and that's called sundowning," he said.

He added that because the "slippages" were occasional, Trump often spoke
normally, but Segal claimed: "The complexity of his language has changed.

"So when he's speaking�what appears to be�coherently, it's almost like he's
gumming together phrases that he repeats over and over again. Now, he's
always had a tendency to do this, but if you go back, as I have, to looking
at interviews in 2016, he was clearly more crisp [and] he was more complex
than he is now."

Segal went on to argue that these two behavioral shifts were something "I'm
really afraid of because they always lead to more. So we may not be seeing
it every time he speaks, but if he were to be elected, a year from now, how
would he be functioning?"

Newsweek approached the Trump campaign via email for comment on Tuesday.

The psychologist stressed that while he may have my own political views, he
was basing his claims on the observation of behavior.

In a November letter, Dr. Bruce Aronwald, Trump's personal physician, said
the former president's "overall health is excellent" and "his cognitive
exams were exceptional."

"To Americans, Biden looks much older than Trump," Segal said. "But to me,
Trump looks like he's faltering in a very dangerous way."