Democrats will make Donald Trump’s cognitive health a central part of their messaging ahead of the midterm elections, warning voters the president is “losing his mind” and not fit for office.
Amid ongoing questions about the 79-year-old’s health, Democrats are sharpening their attacks on his mental acuity, with strategists telling the Daily Beast they plan to “lean in” to his rambling speeches, his tendency to doze off in public, and bizarre behavior as signs of decline.
“Trump has lost the economy, is losing his mind, and is going to lose the midterms,” Democrat National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement after the president’s often shouty address to the nation on Wednesday night.
“Tonight, Americans watched him and asked themselves: This is the guy in charge?”
Wednesday’s address was an attempt by the White House to recalibrate amid polls showing his approval rating has hit record lows as his first year back in office wraps up.
But over the course of 11 minutes, Trump fired off multiple mistruths about his administration’s achievements, often at furious speed, while attacking his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Martin described the speech as “an attempt to sell us a s--t sandwich,” while doctor and CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner, who served as Vice President Dick Cheney’s cardiologist for three decades, sounded the alarm over the address.
“I’m seriously concerned about the health of the president,” Reiner posted on X. “No one should be happy to see the president like this. He looks unwell.”
The White House insists the president is in great shape, both physically and mentally.
Trump has also bragged about “acing” three cognitive tests he has taken, writing on Truth Social this month: “In addition to the Medical [assessments], I have done something that no other President has done.
“On three separate occasions, the last one being recently, by taking what is known as a Cognitive Examination, something which few people would be able to do very well, including those working at The New York Times, and I ACED all three of them in front of large numbers of doctors and experts, most of whom I do not know.”
But Democratic insiders say that after years of Republicans attacking Biden’s cognitive decline, they were now flipping the script.
California Governor and potential future presidential contender Gavin Newsom has already spent months trolling the president online, openly warning that he is slipping.
“He is not the same person that I dealt with just four years ago, and he’s incapable of even a train of thought,” Newsom told Fox earlier this year. “He’s lost it.”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who is now running for a Senate seat in Texas, has also repeatedly challenged Republicans to “start calling (Trump) out and start questioning his mental acuity.”
And with the midterms approaching—where Democrats hope to regain control of Congress from Republicans—the DNC has used its social media accounts to spotlight the president’s gaffes, moments when he appears to dozed off during public events, or the mysterious bruising he has sought to cover up.
In response to Martin’s comments, White House communications chief Steven Cheung told the Daily Beast: “Nobody knows who this loser Ken Martin is. He’s as relevant as a wet paper bag. President Trump gave one of the best speeches to a primetime audience, which every broadcast and cable news network took because they knew they’d get a massive ratings spike.”
But Trump’s health is nonetheless a sensitive topic for the administration, which points to his busy schedule as a sign that he is in great shape for his age.
The White House revealed in July that he was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, but only after being asked repeatedly about why his ankles appeared so swollen at various events.
It has also been evasive about MRIs that the president has had, with the public only learning about them after Trump let it slip during a gaggle aboard Air Force One.
And last week, under questioning from the Daily Beast, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was forced to explain why the president had been spotted at numerous public gatherings with bandages on the back of his hand.
She put it down to constant handshaking.
“The Oval Office is like Grand Central Terminal,” Leavitt said.
