The TOI correspondent from Washington: MAGA boss Donald Trump, who built an entire political brand around ridiculing rivals as mentally unfit, sleepy, or low-energy, is finding himself at the center of increasingly uncomfortable questions about his own verbal stumbles and bloopers that critics say indicates a steady cognitive decline.The latest entry in what is being dubbed “Dozy Don Chronicles” came on Wednesday at the Nato summit, where Trump referred to Japan as the “Islamic Republic of Japan” and referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as Vladimir Putin. “We have an aircraft carrier which is one of the most beautiful in the world. It’s one of the biggest, the Abraham Lincoln. And a few months ago…we had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan,” Trump said, mistakenly naming Japan, which has no Islamic credentials, rather than Iran. He later referred to Zelensky as Putin and then awkwardly tried to correct himself.For most politicians, such slips might be dismissed as the inevitable byproducts of age and an exhausting schedule. But Trump’s critics argue that the incidents have become too frequent to ignore, especially given that the president is now 80 years old and the oldest American ever to serve a second term in the White House.The irony has not escaped Washington, where for years, Trump mercilessly mocked his predecessor Joe Biden as “Sleepy Joe,” portraying him as mentally diminished and physically exhausted. Yet social media has lately been flooded with videos showing Trump appearing to nod off during meetings, stare vacantly during public events, or wander off script in lengthy speeches.The MAGA supremo has frequently mangled the names of world leaders and countries during campaign speeches and official events, while also confusing dates, locations and historical references with remarkable confidence, including more than once claiming his father was born in Germany even though records show he was born in the US. He also cites nonsensical numbers such as bringing down the prices of medications by 600-700 percent.To his supporters, these are harmless gaffes and merely evidence of Trump’s freewheeling, unscripted style, as they point out that nearly every modern president has had embarrassing verbal slips – although how he could repeatedly misidentify his own father’s birthplace is hard to fathom. Surrogates also note that his energy level remains remarkable for an octogenarian who continues to maintain a punishing schedule of rallies, meetings and international travel.But a growing chorus of commentators and Democratic opponents has raised the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment, which provides a mechanism for transferring presidential authority if a president is unable to discharge the duties of office. There is, at present, no serious movement to pursue such a step.Still, the debate itself marks a remarkable reversal, because for nearly a decade, Trump portrayed himself as the vigorous alternative to an aging political establishment. Now, at 80, he is increasingly confronting the uncomfortable reality that while he may win many a battle, time remains undefeated.
