Donald Trump’s rambling speeches and stream-of-consciousness press briefings could be symptoms of his “cognitive decline,” according to one of America’s top rhetoric experts.
The warning comes as Trump and his aides are seeking a congressional probe into Joe Biden’s mental state during his one-term presidency. The extent to which Biden, now 82, hid his capability has led to major questions over whether he was fit to lead the country.
Now, Trump, who was the oldest president to be inaugurated at the age of 78 and seven months in January, is facing scrutiny over his position as the most powerful man on the planet. His father, Fred, was reportedly diagnosed with dementia in the early 1990s and died of pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease at age 93 in 1999.
Dr. Jennifer R. Mercieca, professor of Communication and Journalism at Texas A&M University, told the Daily Beast that the president’s communication patterns are a cause for concern.
“His lack of focus makes it seem as though he’s experiencing cognitive decline, that his brain is not well-disciplined, and he’s unable to maintain a thought and carry it through to a logical conclusion,” she said.
Dr. Mercieca, the author of Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump, added: “Trump sees himself as someone who is unscripted and not teleprompted. He likes to brand himself as a “truthteller” who can and will say anything that comes to mind.
“Unfortunately, that makes his speeches difficult to follow as he digresses from thought to thought-seemingly connecting ideas at random.”
The White House has been contacted for comment.
The president’s April 11 annual physical, carried out by his physician Sean Barbabella, found him to be in “excellent health.”
“President Trump’s days include participation in multiple meetings, public appearances, press availability, and frequent victories in golf events,” Barbabella said in his report. “President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.”
The physician also gave Trump a perfect score for his mental health, claiming: “Cognitive function, assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), was normal with a score of 30 out of 30.”
But in recent public appearances, Trump has shocked audiences with sudden changes of subject and repeated topics and claims.
He continually brings up Biden’s alleged cognitive decline while in the Oval Office, blames the previous administration for the nation’s ills, and goes back to his favorite issues like the price of eggs, the dangers represented by undocumented immigrants, and DEI time and time again.
In a speech on Saturday at the prestigious West Point military academy, the president took credit for boosting recruitment and thanked parents for attending, which would be in line with most expectations.
But during the nearly hour-long speech, Trump also strayed to say the forces should not “host drag shows”, there would be no teaching of critical race theory, he insisted that men playing women’s sports would no longer be permitted, and claimed he was investigated “more than the great, late Alphonse Capone.”
Going off on a tangent, he continued: “Alphonse Capone was a monster, he was a very hardened criminal. I went through more investigations than Alphonse Capone, and now I’m talking to you as president, can you believe this?” (This isn’t true—Trump was indicted four times, and Capone was indicted six times).
Even more bizarrely, the president told graduates not to marry “trophy wives.”
“The job of the US Armed Forces is not to host drag shows, to transform foreign cultures, or to spread democracy … at the point of a gun,” says @POTUS.”The military’s job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America — ANYWHERE, ANY TIME, and ANY PLACE.” pic.twitter.com/u1dv6mCAzQ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 24, 2025
In December, Trump said that while his ramblings may appear incoherent, they were “genius.”
“I do the weave,” he explained. “You know what the weave is? I’ll talk about, like, nine different things that they all come back brilliantly together. And it’s like friends of mine that are like English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen.’”
“But the fake news, you know what they say, ‘He rambled.’ It’s not rambling. What you do is you get off a subject to mention another little titbit, then you get back on to the subject, and you go through this and you do it for two hours, and you don’t even mispronounce one word.”
His explanation came after his “weave” involved linking the cannibal serial killer Hannibal Lecter with his immigration policies. At one rally, reported The Guardian, he described the “late, great Hannibal Lecter” as “a wonderful man.”
While the price of eggs coming down has been a recent topic, before his inauguration, he claimed that the price of wind power had driven up inflation so that people weren’t buying bacon.
“You make a speech, and my speeches last a long time because of the weave, you know, I mean, I weave stories into it,” Trump told podcaster Joe Rogan. “If you don’t, if you just read a teleprompter, nobody’s going to be very excited. You’ve got to weave it out. So you, but you always have to, as you say, you always have to get right back to work. Otherwise, it’s no good. But the weave is very, very important. Very few weavers around. But it’s a big strain on your, you know, it’s a big, it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of work.”
Dr. Mercieca said the idea of the “weave” was an attempt to deflect criticism.
“In order to counter the perception that these digressions are actually a strategy, Trump has branded his speaking style ‘the weave’ and claims that experts in rhetoric believe it’s a good way to communicate,” she told the Beast.
“It’s not a good or effective way to communicate. It shows a lack of discipline and control,” added the award-winning historian of American political rhetoric and rhetorical analyst.
The American public doesn’t appear to be convinced by Trump’s assurances about his robust health.
A YouGov/Economist poll, conducted last week, found that 45 percent felt Trump had been “not at all” or “not very” transparent about his health.
The poll also found that 31 percent believed Trump’s age and health severely affected his ability as president.
The post Trump Shows Signs of ‘Cognitive Decline’ Says Speech Expert appeared first on The Daily Beast.
