Maybe Donald Trump Has Really Lost His Mind: What If the GOP Frontrunner Isn't Crazy, but Simply Not Well?
Channeling his inner Sarah Palin, Trump’s rants often seem to lose any connection with reality at all. Take the example of Trump’s interview with the Washington Post editorial board in March. During that exchange one of the editors asked Trump if he would consider using a tactical nuclear weapon against ISIS.Check out Trump’s reply:
TRUMP: I don’t want to use, I don’t want to start the process of nuclear. Remember the one thing that everybody has said, I’m a counterpuncher. Rubio hit me. Bush hit me. When I said low energy, he’s a low-energy individual, he hit me first. I spent, by the way, he spent 18 million dollars’ worth of negative ads on me. That’s putting [MUFFLED]…
RYAN: This is about ISIS. You would not use a tactical nuclear weapon against ISIS?
TRUMP: I’ll tell you one thing, this is a very good-looking group of people here. Could I just go around so I know who the I’m talking to?
We have become so accustomed to these sorts of ramblings that we don’t really register them as anything more than standard nonsensical Trump-speak—a pattern of speech we have seen crop up across the GOP in recent years, most notably in Palin’s gibberish. But I urge you to re-read the exchange above and register the range of nonsense—the lack of basic grammar, the odd syntax, the abrupt shift in topic, the disconnect from reality, the paranoia, and the seeming inability to even grasp the question.
what if his campaign isn’t a sign of a savvy politician channeling Tea Party political rhetoric and reality TV sound bites? What if it’s an example of someone who doesn’t have full command of his faculties?
There could be a good reason why. At times it can be very hard to distinguish between extreme right-wing politics and symptoms of dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association tells us that if two of the following core mental functions seem impaired then it is time to seek medical help: Memory, communication and language, ability to focus and pay attention, reasoning and judgment, visual perception.
Alzheimer’s carries other symptoms besides memory loss including difficulty remembering newly learned information, disorientation, mood and behavior changes; deepening confusion about events, time and place; unfounded su ions about family, friends and professional caregivers; more serious memory loss and behavior changes.
Scholars of the recent trends in GOP politics point to some of the very same tendencies happening across the extreme right-wing faction of the party.
it is now often difficult to distinguish Republican rhetoric from the ravings of someone suffering from diminished mental capacity. 
The next real warning sign was the doctor letter Trump trotted out to show that he was in fine shape. The Daily Beast jokingly said that the letter was more insane than Trump’s campaign. But, at the time, no one expected him to still be the frontrunner today. I urge you to take a look and re-read the letter now.
One might wonder how a physician could mess up the phrase “to whom it may concern” and not be asked for a revision from the Trump team, but the really disturbing tells are the reference to “positive” results (which in medicine means actually finding an ailment) and Trump being the “healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency” (a statement that can’t be proven).
Last October, Death and Taxes ran a piece wondering if Trump had dementia. They pointed to the fact that Trump’s father, Fred, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s six years prior to his death. They also highlighted Trump’s aggressive late-night tweets, his childish behavior, his name-calling and mood swings. They explained that it would be really easy for Trump take some tests and prove that he is mentally fit.
“Because if Trump can prove he’s not suffering from a degenerative neurological disorder that has left him with a damaged mind devoid of all shame or self-awareness, he might just be an asshole.”
One excellent example was John Oliver’s brilliant piece on Trump that ended by outing that Trump’s name had originally been Drumpf—a truth that was extremely ironic since Trump himself likes to mock others for their names.
Lee Camp’s Redacted Tonight reminded viewers that Trump speaks at a fourth grade level. That makes him, according to Camp, scientifically proven to be the dumbest candidate of them all.
But Camp’s joke is only funny if Trump is talking that way to attract voters who respond to his simplistic rhetoric.
It’s not funny if he really has lost the ability to speak like a healthy adult.
http://www.alternet.org/election-201...t-crazy-simply
After voting in Alzheimer's St Ronnie, how consistent if Repugs nominated a brain-damaged Trump.