A former Johns Hopkins psychologist has warned that President Donald Trump is showing accelerating signs of dementia and poses a growing risk due to his declining cognitive abilities.
A psychologist has warned that President Donald Trump is exhibiting a “massive increase” in “clinical signs of dementia,” heightening concerns about his fitness to lead.
Dr. John Gartner, a former Johns Hopkins professor, told *The Daily Beast Podcast* that the 79-year-old president’s confused speeches and frequent memory lapses show “immense cognitive decline” and worsening “malignant narcissism.” He said Trump’s condition is amplifying his “grandiosity” and “paranoia,” adding, “It really would be impossible to overstate the grave risk that all of us are at right now.”
Citing Trump’s recent address to military leaders, Gartner pointed to the president’s erratic speech patterns—jumping from topics like Marine morale to “gorgeous paper”—as evidence of disordered thinking. “We’re seeing a stone skipping along the water,” he said.
Gartner described Trump’s speech errors as “phonemic paraphasia,” a symptom linked to dementia, and compared his memory lapses to those seen in nursing home patients. “This is like when you go to visit your mother… and she goes, ‘Who’s that nice lady that you brought with you?’” he remarked.
Calling Trump “someone who could wake up and… do something catastrophic,” Gartner warned that his disinhibited personality and cognitive decline could lead to “irrational and destructive” decisions as he continues in office.