‘He has trouble completing a thought’: Growing questions over Trump’s mental health

Increasingly erratic public appearances by President Donald Trump are raising fresh concerns about his cognitive health, according to a new Guardian analysis, which draws striking parallels with the scrutiny once faced by his predecessor, Joe Biden.

A professor of psychology and psychiatry quoted in the report says Trump’s disjointed speech patterns, sudden shifts in tone, and inability to stay on topic suggest a clear breakdown in self-regulation and narrative coherence.

Now 79, Trump’s erratic public behavior has drawn alarm from psychologists, lawmakers, and even former White House insiders. Over the past year, Trump’s speeches and interviews have been punctuated by false memories, disjointed tangents, and troubling outbursts, leaving experts increasingly convinced that the president may be unfit for office.

A pattern of confusion

The report included recent incidents, such as what happened during a recent cabinet meeting intended to address critical global issues, from the flooding disaster in Texas and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, to new tariff strategies,Trump veered off-topic for nearly 15 minutes to discuss the interior decor of the cabinet room.

“Look at those frames, you know, I’m a frame person,” he said. “Sometimes I like frames more than I like the pictures.”

He praised the chandeliers and china, referenced films like Tora! Tora! Tora! and wondered aloud whether the corners of the room should be gold-leafed. He then launched into a story about ceiling medallions and lamp chains, seemingly oblivious to the presence of senior officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who sat silently waiting for direction.

In isolation, such moments might be dismissed as eccentric. But they are part of a pattern. According to The Guardian, this isn’t an occasional lapse; it’s become the norm.

Confabulations, contradictions

Psychologists say Trump frequently exhibits signs of confabulation, the blending of truth with fiction in a way that suggests failing memory.

One example: Trump recently claimed that his late uncle, Dr. John Trump, once taught the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, at MIT. He recounted a warm conversation about what kind of student Kaczynski was. But the story falls apart under scrutiny: Kaczynski never attended MIT, and Trump’s uncle died in 1985, 11 years before Kaczynski was identified as the Unabomber.

Another incident came during his recent UK visit, where Trump derailed a conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen by abruptly switching to a bizarre monologue on wind turbines.

“The other thing I say to Europe,” Trump said, “we will not allow a windmill to be built in the United States. They’re killing us. They’re killing the beauty of our scenery.”

He continued for two minutes, unprompted, claiming windmills drive whales “loco” and kill birds, despite data showing that domestic cats and power lines are far greater threats to birds.

Dr. Harry Segal, a senior lecturer at Cornell’s departments of psychology and psychiatry, said these digressions show a lack of self-regulation and narrative coherence. “He’ll just switch topics without thinking. There’s no structure. It’s impulsive.”

Misremembering aid, ignoring facts

The same lack of clarity was evident when Trump was asked about US humanitarian aid to Gaza. He claimed, falsely, that the US had donated USD 60 million “two weeks ago” and that no other country contributed anything.

In reality, the UK had pledged £60 million in July, and the EU committed €170 million. The US did approve a USD 30 million grant in June, but that aid went to a controversial group criticized for ties to violence against Palestinians.

Despite being widely debunked, Trump repeated the false claim, adding that “nobody acknowledged it” and “you really at least want to have somebody say thank you.”

Dr. Segal says such moments reflect confabulated thinking and a growing gap between reality and Trump's self-narrated world.

Rambling, repetition, and decline

On the campaign trail, Trump’s speeches have grown even more rambling. In July, asked about his next campaign promise, he delivered a long-winded, often incoherent answer about water pressure in household plumbing.

“You have a shower head… you think it’s not working. It is working. The water’s dripping out and that’s no good for me,” he said. “I like that hair nice and wet… you have to stand in the shower for 20 minutes before you get the soap out of your hair.”

He described how he passed laws to reverse restrictions and joked about gold-leafing bathroom moldings—all while avoiding the original question.

During the 2024 campaign, after a medical emergency at a rally, Trump was seen swaying on stage for 40 minutes, saying nothing, while music played. His signature speech style—what he calls “the weave”—has deteriorated from entertaining improvisation into erratic word salad.

“Any fair-minded mental-health expert would be very worried,” wrote Dr. Richard A. Friedman, professor of clinical psychiatry at Weill Cornell. “If a patient presented to me with this level of verbal incoherence and tangential thinking, I’d refer them for immediate neuropsychiatric evaluation.”

Dr. John Gartner, a former psychiatry professor at Johns Hopkins, warned in June: “Trump used to be articulate, even in the 1980s. He was a jerk, yes—but a coherent one. Now, he has trouble completing a thought.”

Gartner believes Trump is showing classic signs of dementia: “gross deterioration from baseline.” He warned: “It’s going to get worse. That’s my prediction.”

White House response

Despite mounting concerns, the Trump administration has forcefully rejected claims of cognitive decline.

“The Guardian is a left-wing mouthpiece,” said Trump’s spokesperson Liz Huston. “President Trump’s mental sharpness is second to none.”

Trump’s former physician and now GOP congressman Ronny Jackson went even further: “He is mentally and physically sharper than ever before… the healthiest president this nation has ever seen.”

Dr. Sean Barbabella, Trump’s current White House physician, released a statement in April declaring Trump’s cognitive function “normal” and his physical health “excellent.”

Still, critics remain unconvinced—especially in light of how Trump ridiculed Biden for far less.

“Joe Biden was hounded for his age-related gaffes,” The Guardian wrote, “but Trump’s increasingly strange behavior has largely been ignored.”

A double standard?

The comparisons to Biden are unavoidable. After Biden’s disastrous 2024 debate, which led to his decision not to seek re-election, questions over age and mental fitness dominated the news cycle.

Yet Trump, who is only three years younger, has evaded similar scrutiny, despite multiple, documented incidents of confusion, fabrication, and incoherence.

Now, as Trump enters the final stretch of his second term, Democrats like Rep. Jasmine Crockett and California Governor Gavin Newsom are calling for more transparency.

“The American people deserve to know who’s actually running the country,” Crockett said.

If Trump’s current behavior is any indication, the question of cognitive fitness may define the next presidential race—even more than policy.