Doctors have proposed a fascinating theory about why it is former President Donald Trump, and not current Joe Biden, who is at greater risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
Biden, 81, has suffered a series of public gaffes, lapses and memory lapses that now mean a large majority of Americans do not believe he is fit to run for office.
Trump, 77, is also no stranger to high-profile verbal gaffes, which his supporters say are a result of the informal public speaking style for which he has become famous.
However, experts now say there are key, if nuanced, differences in Trump’s and Biden’s gaffes that could have major implications for their health.
Dr. Elizabeth Landsverk, a geriatrician and dementia expert, told DailyMail.com that Biden’s mishaps tend to be brief and severe, such as stumbling while climbing stairs or losing his memory. And she usually notices her mistakes, however embarrassing, which, she believes, is a sign of her old age.
Despite appearing more physically robust than Biden, Trump’s mistakes typically cause him to ramble for an extended period of time and not correct himself, which could be a sign of underlying brain problems, several experts told this website.
Doctors have previously told DailyMail.com that President Joe Biden should be tested for dementia due to a pattern of confusion, mix-ups and a damning report by special prosecutor Robert Hur that called him “a well-intentioned old man with a bad memory.”
One psychologist called the situation “a tale of two brains,” stating, “Biden’s brain is aging.” “Trump’s brain is going crazy.”
Several of the experts DailyMail.com spoke to said the fact that Trump’s father had dementia fueled their concerns, because genes are a risk factor.
Dr. Landsverk gave the example of Trump repeatedly confusing former Speaker Nancy Pelosi with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley during a campaign speech in January and claiming that Governor Haley “was in charge of security.” during the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
She told this website: ‘He often rambles, sometimes incoherently, for long periods of time. Her comments tend to be confusing, disjointed, and full of factual errors.
While Biden may confuse names and dates, psychologist and senior lecturer at Cornell University Dr. Harry Segal told DailyMail.com that it is more worrying that Trump is actually confusing people.
He had previously said several times that he was running for office against former President Barack Obama and claimed at a rally earlier this month that Biden had won against Obama in previous unspecified elections.
Their mistakes are not just “slips,” Dr. Segal said, they are “derails” that have become more frequent and result in major digressions that make no sense.
These “semantic alterations,” the verbal confusion of facts, could be early signs of dementia, he added.
Additionally, Dr. Segal, who told DailyMail.com that he has not treated Trump as a patient, said the former president’s verbal errors are examples of phonemic paraphasia, the swapping of words for similar-sounding ones, which also It may be an early sign of dementia. .
He told this website: “I think the concern is that we’re seeing these slip-ups more and more at rallies that are nighttime, that last several hours.”
In patients with dementia, the symptoms of their disease often worsen at night, known as “sundown.”
And Dr. Segal said Trump’s frequent gaffes as the sun sets during long rallies could be a sign of that.
Dr. John Gartner, psychologist, saying on David Pakman’s show that, with respect to Trump, a key sign of cognitive decline “is the lack of awareness that you have cognitive decline when you make these mistakes and you don’t correct yourself because you’re not aware that you’ve made them.” I made a mistake.’
On the other hand, experts say, Biden often detects and corrects his mishaps, such as when he said inflation was linked to “a war in Iraq,” but quickly clarified: “Excuse me, the war in Ukraine.”
There have, however, been multiple occasions when he has not realized his mistakes, such as when he misidentified Laken Riley, a student allegedly murdered by an undocumented immigrant, or when he confused the presidents of Mexico and Egypt.
And doctors have previously told DailyMail.com that the president should be tested for dementia because of his pattern of confusion, confusion and a damning report by special prosecutor Robert Hur that called him “a well-intentioned old man with a bad memory.”
Dr. Gartner called the situation “a tale of two brains,” stating, “Biden’s brain is aging.” “Trump’s brain is going crazy.”
The graph above shows some of the main factors that previous researchers considered when estimating which man was most likely to survive another term. The figures below show the estimated probability of any of the candidates surviving the next four years.
President Joe Biden is helped up after falling during the graduation ceremony at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. He fell while handing out diplomas to cadets
Dr. Landsverk, who currently serves as medical director of two dementia care centers, told DailyMail.com that Biden’s verbal errors may be a result of his lifelong battle with stuttering being seen. exacerbated by his age.
She said: “He overcame this problem in part by making a conscious effort to slow down his speech, which can give the mistaken impression that he may be suffering from another, more serious problem.”
“Sometimes you have trouble remembering names and dates, but that’s pretty common as you get older. What’s ultimately important is what you say.
“When you remove ‘style’ from the equation and focus solely on the content of his remarks, Biden delivers clear, well-thought-out comments, often sprinkled with humor.”
These experts are far from the only ones sounding the alarm about Trump. More than 1,800 medical and mental health professionals have signed the petition: ‘Our diagnostic impression of Trump is likely dementia.’
In addition to the cognitive signs that the former president presents, Dr. Elisabeth Zoffmann, forensic psychiatrist, said Salon has observed a change in his gait and movement, having developed a wide stance and a sway in his right leg.
She believes Trump suffers from behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), a progressive disease that causes changes in personality and behavior and a failure of neural circuits in the brain that control cognition, emotions and decision-making.
Dr. Landsverk, also author of “Living in the Moment – A Guide To Overcoming Challenges and Finding Moments of Joy in Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias,” agreed: “Dementia-related gait changes (DRGC) – a condition characterized by a dramatic slowdown in speed, shorter strides, and increased need for support – are directly related to deterioration in cognitive function.’
Dr. Zoffmann said the former leader should be evaluated by experts specializing in (bvFTD).
While more and more people are talking about Trump’s health, the focus on Biden’s ability to lead is not likely to fade before the election.
Dr. Stuart Fischer, an internal medicine doctor in New York, told DailyMail.com that a cognitive test for the president was “long overdue.”
He said: ‘If you want to prove to the public (that you are mentally and physically healthy), you have to prove it to them.
“You’re in the highest position in the country… you have to be able to produce.”
Dr Jane Orient, executive director of the right-wing Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, also told this website: ‘Speaking as a citizen who watches him speak and observes his gaffes, I have reason to be very concerned.
“The person who is commander in chief of our military and makes very critical decisions every second of our lives may not know what he is doing.”
He called for “basic cognitive tests” to be conducted and made public.
However, the ages of both candidates must be taken into account, as Dr. Landsverk told this website: “Both Biden and Trump are elderly and we know that the chances of being diagnosed with dementia increase as we age: there is an incidence of 10 percent.” among those over 65 years of age and increases to 50 percent at age 85.’
He added: “A general slowing of function is common as we age. What is not normal is when we begin to experience significant alterations in our thinking, memory, learning, reasoning and habitual behavior patterns.
“When these interruptions start to interfere with our daily lives, we may have dementia.”