Latest Insights: Trump's Developing Dementia and Democrats' Tepid Response to Justice Alito
What can we glean from the latest round of news about the state of our democracy? Check out what I've been reading and why.
May 30, 2024
We’re only six months away from one of the most important presidential elections in U.S. history.
Yet we have news anchors and analysts telling us this election is business as usual, as well as Democrats tip-toeing around vital issues like the health of our Supreme Court.
They possess a questionable lack of trepidation, sense of urgency, or calling for swift accountability when an abuse of power takes place or begins to transform before their very eyes or even as Trump lumps together Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi into one person (“the big bad lady”) all while thinking he is running against Barack Obama (a hint at his decaying brain health or dementia as hundreds of mental health professionals and physicians have stated).
The truth is: the United States is on the precipice of something sinister, a movement toward minority rule that favors authoritarian regimes.
The tall tales of SCOTUS Justice Samuel Alito should be evidence enough. The fact that Alito won’t recuse himself from hearing or voting on Jan. 6th-related cases should raise alarm. All of this, even after the news broke he flew an “Appeal to Heaven” flag at his vacation home, a symbol associated with the Christian nationalist movement responsible for the violence and destruction at the Stop the Steal Rally on Jan. 6, 2021, an insult to the democratic process itself.
As Americans United, a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that advocates for the Separation of Church and State, recently said in a public statement:
That this partisan Christian Nationalist flag flew at the beach house of a Supreme Court justice raises serious questions about impartiality and the fair administration of justice at the nation’s highest court. Congress must hold hearings to assure the American people that Justice Alito will honor his oath of office and put the Constitution first, before the tenets of the Christian Nationalist movement.
Not only that, Alito, along with the 6-3 Conservative SCOTUS majority, recently ruled in favor of an explicitly racist South Carolina electoral map. In his argument, Alito stated that any gerrymandering based on race is inherently political so SCOTUS has no role in intervening (even though SCOTUS was critical in its position to pass the milestone 1954 Board vs. the Board of Education case that ended school segregation). Historically, black voters have been violently excluded from their right to vote, especially in Southern states like South Carolina.
Oh, by the way, SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas has also suggested rolling back the desegregation wins of Brown vs. Board of Education, as well as the legal right of same-sex couples to marry. It’s a wonderful day in America, the supposed land of the free, where freedom only belongs to those who deserve it or are born with it.
In his most recent newsletter, journalist Marc Cooper has called for Alito’s immediate resignation, and I wholeheartedly agree.
Where are the Democrats on this? Cooper writes that their response “looks more like an overcooked noodle than a serious and stiff political response.” (Don’t worry, I’m not delusional – I will be voting for Biden this November and so should you. See why here, even if you don’t like Biden’s response to the ongoing Gaza War. This should come as no surprise — with Democratic leadership, we have more opportunity to create positive, lasting change than through the GOP.)
As most of us know (or should know!), our democratic government by and for the people requires that all federal judges never engage in or exhibit displays of partisan politics, per the judicial code.
I guess, though, the virtue known as character is in short supply these days. I witness it each day when individuals sling insults and words at each other online or when self-righteous drivers swoosh past me on the road, proudly sporting their ridiculously decorated vehicles, featuring large American flags and other confrontational MAGA imagery. I also hear about people proudly bringing their guns to Church, though the Christian New Testament shows Jesus distinctly saying “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 25:52, New International Version)
I, too, recognize the silence of those around me, who could make a difference by involving others in their progress. (Remember, if you go to Church, it’s on you to address the systemic racism that exists in American Christianity, not on anyone else. Have the conversations; share the history. It might also be time for you to check out the work of Jemar Tisby, Historian of Race & Religion.)
Don’t let me be alone in this.
For a while now, I’ve discussed the clinical nature of Trump’s malignant narcissistic personality disorder, as well as how these toxic characteristics align with his most devout followers.
I was astonished to recently discover this chilling interview with Duty to Warn founder & psychologist John Gartner. Read it here.
The interview encompasses his clinical breakdown of Trump’s decline into dementia, as well as a chunk of the opinions of hundreds of mental health professionals and physicians who see the signs, too.
Unlike most people who undergo the testing to meet the diagnostic criteria for dementia, health professionals have HOURS of documented footage and conversations with Trump to confirm their expert opinions.
I will leave this pull quote here:
"What are the real risks to our nation of a president who is exhibiting signs of dementia? I can imagine a list of horribles, but what are some of the ones that spring foremost to mind?
It’s an axiom that when a patient with a personality disorder becomes demented, everything about their personality-disordered behavior gets exponentially worse. Trump will become more horribly Trumpian, if you can believe it. Everything evil and destructive about him will become even more exaggerated in an unbound, and even more erratic way, until he is nothing but rageful id, with no rational control or inhibitions. It will be pure chaos. From that point, there’s simply no bad outcome that you can think of that’s inconceivable.
People need to understand dementia is a progressive illness, which means the Trump you see today is the best Trump you’re ever going to see. It’s all downhill from here. Trump’s rate of decline is accelerating, and if he’s typical, at some point, he will “fall off a cognitive cliff” and become completely disabled.
Trump could be found wandering the lawn of the White House in his pajamas confused about where he is. I’m not joking. I honestly believe that will happen if he’s reelected. At the rate that he’s deteriorating, I don’t believe it would be possible for him to get through the next 4 and a half years without becoming incapacitated while in office.
In the Middle Ages they said: “A bad king is better than no king. And no king is better than a child king.” That’s what we would have: a king (because he’ll be a dictator from “day one”) who, while always a child temperamentally, will have becomes a child mentally, as well.
Even in this scenario where his cronies try to control him, I see Trump escaping his handlers, and seizing control, even in his demented state, to wreak catastrophic havoc, destruction, and revenge.”
P.S. As I finish writing this article, the jury in Trump’s hush money trial in New York has found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records, setting the precedent that no one, not even a former president, is above the law.
I don’t have time to dig into this now, but you can read the latest here. -Meghan