Donald Trump: Clinical psychologists find potential signs of cognitive decline after analysing his speeches

At 78 years of age, it’s natural to have the effects of aging show on you…but what if there’s more to it? When President Joe Biden was running for re-election, concerns that he was too old for office emerged from everywhere - especially after his debate performance with Donald Trump. The 81-year-old eventually backed out of the race.

After Biden, the focus is now solely on Trump. Competing against 59-year-old Kamala Harris for the White House’s ultimate positions, clinical psychologists have analyzed how aging has affected the former POTUS.

Donald Trump’s speaking style shows signs of ‘aging, cognitive decline or Alzheimer’s’

According to experts in memory, psychology, and linguistics, Trump has shown signs of aging over the years. Some of his traits of speaking could also suggest a cognitive decline or impending Alzheimer's looming over the former president.

An analysis by STAT in 2017 showed that Trump’s speaking style had deteriorated from the 1980s. In 2024, their recent analysis further adds that there has been a significant reduction in Trump’s ‘linguistic complexity.’ Meaning, he now uses shorter, simpler sentences indicating he doesn’t have complex thinking anymore.

Analysis found Trump often loses track of his own statements and jumps from one topic to another with little to no connection with each other - also known as tangentiality, reports The Independent.

Four experts reviewed four clips of Trump’s speeches in recent months and compared them to his 7-year-old speeches in 2017. What they found was worrying, considering Trump may lead the US nation in a few months. According to their analysis, Trump’s 2024 speeches included more confused words, repetition, short sentences and digression.

Another expert, James Pennebaker, a social psychologist at the University of Texas, performed a deeper research that studied a complete transcript of Trump’s interviews from 2015 till now. In the 35 interviews that he analyzed, Pennebaker ‘used statistical software to track word use in detail.’ His analysis revealed that Trump now has an ‘all-or-nothing-thinking’ more so than ever with a 60% increase in words like ‘always,’ ‘never,’ and ‘completely.’

Pennebaker added that since returning to civilian life, Trump’s statements have fewer positive sentences - which combined with his thinking could be signs of depression. Trump’s focus on the past has also increased by 44% which is striking as presidential candidates are often forward-looking.

While none of these experts could give a diagnosis without an examination, all of them agree that Trump has started showing potential signs of aging, cognitive decline or diminishment, or Alzheimer’s.

Is the STAT analysis credible?

STAT is a media organization that focuses on health. The award-winning newsroom aims to deliver ‘trusted and authoritative journalism about health, medicine, and the life sciences.’ The company’s entire focus lies in finding and telling compelling stories about health. The Boston-based media firm was launched in 2015 and has since then delivered many stories that highlight its aim, according to its About US website page.

The website reports that some ‘of the best-sourced science, health, and biotech journalists’ work for them ensuring the content is as accurate as possible.

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Sources Used

STAT: Trump keeps losing his train of thought. Cognitive experts have theories about why

The Independent: Experts say Trump’s speaking style shows ‘potential indications of cognitive decline’

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