Decline, Delusion, and Deception in the White House

Trump turns 80 in June. He will be two years older than Biden when Biden took office. Republicans, claiming the president’s decline “was a persistent and obvious truth that was evident for years to anyone who was willing to see it,” began investigative hearings last summer. The goal was clear: “We need to know who was in charge.” Assessing a president through public statements and appearances is at best difficult and likely produces inconclusive results. Still, since Republicans convincingly argued that such a significant national concern should be not left to hindsight, Congress should begin its assessment of Trump’s potential deterioration now. While an investigation will have the resources to uncover more, a list of concerning events is already established. Trump confused Obama and Biden repeatedly during his reelection campaign, including during a March 2024 event in Richmond: “Putin has so little respect for Obama that he’s starting to throw around the nuclear word.” In July…