|
 |
This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. Become one 👇
“He doesn’t sleep and it’s actually a problem,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during Senate testimony this week.
Rubio was trying to make the point that President Trump is a dynamo — a near-superhuman leader who works deep into the night on the complex issues facing the nation and world. But Rubio inadvertently made the opposite point: Trump’s lack of sleep, evidenced by his frequently manic, late night Truth Social posting sessions, is a problem for the president’s clearly declining mental and physical abilities.
The signs of this decline are available for anyone who chooses to see them.
On Wednesday, after six days out of the public eye, Trump bumbled through a ceremony in which he signed a handful of executive orders, marveling at his own signature — “Oh, that’s a good one” — and asking aides to explain to him what the orders being placed in front of him actually did.
After listening to a lengthy explanation of an order that would expand the number of federal employees who can be fired by him, Trump still didn’t quite understand.
“And the reason for this was, what? Whose idea was that?” he said.
Then on Thursday, Trump sat in his chair dozing as members of his cabinet lavished him with praise.
Thursday’s embarrassment of an appearance in the Oval Office would be devastating for any other president. For Trump, it was just Thursday. And before that, it was just another Wednesday.
The on-camera dozing sessions that Rubio was being pressed about are one sign of Trump’s growing physical weakness — which is certainly not helped by staying up until the early morning hours voraciously consuming a Truth Social algorithm feeding him a steady and unhealthy diet of Trump-worshipping AI slop, election fraud conspiracies, and Boomer meme garbage.
Other signs of Trump’s body falling apart: swollen ankles, difficulty walking in a straight line, and unexplained bruising on both hands.
The garbage social media diet probably isn’t helping Trump’s declining cognitive abilities either. The president frequently appears unable to discuss complex matters like peace negotiations with Iran in any competent manner. (The peace deal has been just around the corner or days away, Trump has repeatedly said for several months. He now says the whole matter is “boring” to him.)
All of this madness is plainly viewable for anyone willing to look. And yet, Trump continues to be covered as if he’s a rational actor. “Trump optimistic on Iran deal,” read the chyron on Fox News on Thursday morning — as if the president is deeply involved with the complexities of negotiations and not clearly concentrating on things he actually enjoys, like White House renovations and preparations for his rally there later this month.
 |
|
Meanwhile, Republican members of Congress have turned themselves into punchlines by never hearing or seeing anything Trump says or posts, or insisting they would need to hear the full “context