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In reply to the discussion: In 1980 I said that Reagan had early Alzheimer's [View all]yurbud
(39,405 posts)That's edited, so it could have been assembled from multiple takes.
How scripted was it?
What were the stakes?
It's easy to be calmer and more articulate when you're sitting in a studio doing a video that few might see, and when you probably have some control over what the final product looks like than live when you can't edit after the fact.
Also, he may actually have watched that film and known something about it. Most areas of government policy, especially foreign policy, he appears to be only about as knowledgable as the average Fox News viewer, which means his expertise is a negative number.
None of which is meant as a defense of him.
In some respects, Reagan WITH Alzheimer's was more lucid than Trump at a younger age.
On the other hand, you do see some of his trademarks here: making up for a deficit of vocabulary by repeating simple words for emphasis, and speaking a fair amount without saying very much.