A lot of on-screen pixels have been dedicated lately to alarming concerns about the state of Donald Trump’s mental deterioration.
Analyses of his slurred speech, his grasping for words, and his nonsensical utterances have been interpreted as signs of the rapid onset of the president’s dementia — a diagnosis much promoted by George Conway, the husband of White House Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway and a noted never-Trump Republican.
Even his forward-leaning posture and shuffling gait have been set forth as evidence of a worsening of his degenerative mental disease.
Now we have another report to add to that mounting batch of incidents that support the idea that our 73-year-old president is slipping into the proverbial fog of forgetfulness and confusion that accompanies the mental decline in some seniors.
This one comes from Manu Raju, the CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent, who related an anecdote from one of Trump’s recent meetings with FEMA officials to discuss the oncoming Hurricane Dorian as it approaches the coast of the Southeast United States, having strengthened to a massive Category Five storm.
Trump, meeting with FEMA officials: “I’ve seen some category fours, you don’t even see that many of them. But a category five is something that, I don’t know if I’ve ever even heard the term, other than I know it’s there. That’s the ultimate and that’s what we have unfortunately”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 1, 2019
Many would find Trump’s claim to have never even heard of a Category Five hurricane quite disturbing, especially since he’s lived through three other storms of the same intensity during his two and half years in office alone as Raju pointed out in a subsequent tweet.
Per @nikkicarvajal: Dorian is the fourth category 5 hurricane to threaten the United States since Trump has taken office.
Irma, Maria and Michael were all category 5 hurricanes that formed in 2017 and 2018
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 1, 2019
CNN reporter and fact-checker Daniel Dale pointed out that this isn’t the first time that Trump has discussed a hurricane of this strength in similar terms.
President Donald Trump on the existence of Category 5 hurricanes, 2017-2019. pic.twitter.com/IRRny20hfp
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 1, 2019
It’s bad enough that Trump still refuses to believe that the earth is in an actual climate emergency that requires immediate action.
It’s bad enough that his administration has demolished the Obama era environmental regulations designed to prevent a worsening of the climate crisis.
It’s bad enough that he has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement that could a least play a role in getting the entire global community on board to stop our mutual destruction.
That we must count on Trump to oversee the preparations for the fourth massive Category Five hurricane to strike our shores during his term, however, when he doesn’t even know enough to realize how much more frequent these massive superstorms are becoming is a horrifying prospect.
Americans deserve a president who is fully compos mentis — one in full possession of their mental faculties and prepared to lead the nation through a national emergency. We deserve more than post-hurricane, paper towel-throwing displays of phony concern.
We need Trump to be declared incompetent under the 25th Amendment and removed from office. Now that would make us all feel a lot safer, no matter how strong a storm may be brewing.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.