Okay, so maybe he does have early Alzheimers.

[pnwmom]

Why did Merkel have to repeat -- ten times - the fact that the US couldn't negotiate any trade agreement just with Germany, that any agreement had to be with the EU?

Was he experiencing a short term memory deficit?

And why didn't his staff drill him on this before he met with her? Is he completely un-teachable?

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-trade-merkel-germany-eu-2017-4

"Ten times Trump asked [German chancellor Angela Merkel] if he could negotiate a trade deal with Germany. Every time she replied, 'You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU,'" the official said.

They continued: "On the eleventh refusal, Trump finally got the message, 'Oh, we’ll do a deal with Europe then.'"

Merkel reportedly told her cabinet members that Trump had "very basic misunderstandings" on the "fundamentals" of the EU and trade.

The exchange occurred when Merkel met with Trump last month and reportedly convinced him to negotiate with the EU as a bloc after attempts by his administration to deal with individual countries were declined.

[Egnever]

1. I think it is the only explanation for some of the things he does.

there are many instances of him contradicting himself. Many times within days of each statement he will say the complete opposite.

[duncang]

4. I'm thinking just really stoopid and maybe alzheimers nt

[William Seger]

21. When he threw the kid's hat at the Easter Egg Roll...

... I think he just forgot he was signing a hat someone had handed him and tossed it like he had hundreds of hats at rallies.

[Egnever]

23. Yup

Then did it again to cover up.

[MANative]

2. Or, he just refuses to accept that things can't be/go exactly the way he wants them to.

I have no doubt there are mental deficits, but he's also a stubborn f*ck who's accustomed to being told "yes" by everyone around him.

[iluvtennis]

17. +++

[PdxSean]

26. Exactly.

Trump is, in the simplest of terms, a mean simpleton.

[unblock]

3. sometimes it's not easy to separate the individual mental issues from the foxnews psychosis

foxnews has created this alternate worldview wherein republicans can do no wrong, democrats are instruments of the devil, government is evil except when it's bombing brown people or locking up black people, etc.

this alternate world is vastly more interested in sloganeering and pandering than it is in actual governance, so technical nuances like the need to negotiate with the eu instead of germany alone are simply outside that realm.

sarah palin is one of the earliest examples of national politicians who clearly got their understanding of the issues and how government works from foxnews. no basis in history, no semblance of any kind of civics course or actual understanding of the principles on which this nation was founded (remember, in the foxnews world, we were founded as a "christian nation" rather than as groups of various types of christians (mostly) and others who *fled* from explicitly "christian" nations in search of something different.)

donnie and just about everyone he surrounds himself is part of this foxnews bubble.

yes, donnie has individual mental issues that the others don't have, but he actually wouldn't be much different if he were otherwise cogent but still trapped in the foxnews bubble.

[Different Drummer]

34. This. n/t

[LOL Lib]

5. Is this really up for discussion?

Does trump have to shit his pants and draw pictures with his feces on live tv to convince the skeptics?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. "I want to do a trade deal with Germany."

"You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU."
"I want to do a trade deal with Germany."
"You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU."
"I want to do a trade deal with Germany."
"You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU."
"I want to do a trade deal with Germany."
"You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU."
"I want to do a trade deal with Germany."
"You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU."
"I want to do a trade deal with Germany."
"You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU."
"I want to do a trade deal with Germany."
"You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU."
"I want to do a trade deal with Germany."
"You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU."
"I want to do a trade deal with Germany."
"You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU."
"I want to do a trade deal with Germany."
"You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU."
"Oh. Ok. We'll do a trade deal with Germany."

Yup, at that point you have to conclude that boy just ain't right.

[ailsagirl]

16. Sheesh

[northoftheborder]

7. What is the rule for the yearly Presidential health check-up?

Or is it a rule? Every president in my memory has had a yearly thorough health check up at the military hospital in DC (Walter-Reid I think). Is that just a custom, or is it mandatory? Is mental health included in that overall evaluation? Anyone know the facts about it? And what time of year is that?

I'm sure the White House has a doctor on call 24 hrs. a day. What would be the responsibility of that doctor to speak up about observed health issues (mental or physical) outside of a formal office visit for a specific illness?

[mopinko]

8. just a custom that i am sure he will ignore.

and i would assume the white house doc, like all docs, are bound by privacy/hippa.

[hvn_nbr_2]

9. "very basic misunderstandings"

He has very basic misunderstandings of reality.

[lpbk2713]

10. Compounded by his narcissism.

What anyone else has to say doesn't matter to him in the least.

[Hekate]

11. I don't think his dementia is all that "early" any more. This is effing scary.

[nolabear]

12. I wonder if that's why he said he understood China after only 10 minutes.

He's the worst person at tipping his hand I can think of. If he thought this had made anyone concerned I can easily imagine him thinking it smart to emphasize how quickly he grasped China's economy. Which he didn't.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

13. If she'd said "'You cant do a trade deal with Germany, HANDSOME, only the EU" he might have got it.

Seriously, two or three times could be a sign of either stubbornness or inattentiveness. Ten times is worrisome.

[WinkyDink]

14. Early-stage? Because Trump isn't young enough for plain old Early A.

[pnwmom]

15. Sure he is. Plenty of 72 year olds are in the early stages of the disease.

That's different from early-onset Alzheimers, which can hit people in their 40's.

[malaise]

18. In the Con's nothing other than what he wants exists

Anything else can be shattered on his word. All the treaties, all of international law, precedence and conventions - not one fugging word matters to this fucking idiot

[iluvtennis]

19. Kind of related question - why doesn't he ever travel to the other countries...

...why is it always Pence, Tillerson, et al. Shouldn't Trump had been the one flying to South Korea. And flying to Australia to confirm the refugee plan. I do believe something is wrong with him. He only flies short distances here within the CONUS. He hasn't taken one international trip. Sorry that seems very strange for a new president to have not travelled internationally.

[bucolic_frolic]

22. flight risk

prob seized his passport

[pnwmom]

25. Supposedly he's going to Italy where he intends to see the Pope.

And he was planning to go to the UK, but they're making him wait.

So we'll see.

[iluvtennis]

28. And why does the M$M never report on it. If I was a reporter that would be one of my ?s to Pence,..

...why isn't Donald Trump here meeting with the Australian Prime Minister. It disghusts me that most of the M$M stil insists on trying to normalize Trump. GAaaaaaaaaH

[bucolic_frolic]

20. The EU should string along that lame-brained fool and refuse to negotiate in good faith

All he dictates is more pollution

which by the way, devalues human life, but don't tell the right to lifers

[Sculpin Beauregard]

24. He has a frikken personality disorder and probably ADHD.

41,000 shrinks at a Yale conference say so.

Narcissistic PD with sociopathy, paranoid and delusional. No mention of dementia. Some people are just very bad.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/04/yale-psychiatrists-cite-duty-to-warn-about-unfit-president.html

Fun fact: O'Reilly probably has NPD too.

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2012/01/shut-the-f-up-is-bill-o-reilly-a-narcissist/

[pangaia]

31. No. Not 41,000 "shrinks' from Yale.

"Gartner has posted a similar petition on the web, and it has attracted 41,000 signatures, a high proportion of them from mental-health practitioners. Anyone can look it up and sign it."

But, actually, who cares.

[Sculpin Beauregard]

33. Thanks for clarifying. 😊

[Turbineguy]

27. I think he's under extrordinary stress

He has few actually good advisors, mostly idiot political hacks with terrible ideas. He creates most of his own problems nevertheless.

[VigilantG]

29. Maybe he is faking it so when he is

Charged with treason, money laundering, racketeering, etc., his mental state will be considered.
Just putting that out there! He knows his days are numbered, so he is grasping at straws.

[L. Coyote]

36. The Reagan Iran-Contra defense: "I know nothing, I'm just the President."

[enid602]

30. Just acting, maybe?

Maybe he thinks he's going down, and is carefully establishing a 'guilty by reason of Alzheimer's' defense.

[pangaia]

32. He isn't that smart.

[L. Coyote]

35. D'oh.