SORROW, PITY, OUTRIGHT FEAR: In search of the actual President Trump!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2026

Sources of pity—and fear: Who is the actual President Trump? This very day, on Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough called attention to a new column in the (conservative) Washington Examiner. 

The column was written by Dan Hannan. He's described by the Examiner as "a member of the [British] House of Lords and a former Conservative MEP [Member of the European Parliament]." 

Hannan isn't a "lefty lunatic." He also isn't a medical specialist, but his Examiner column—provocative headline included—starts off like this  

Donald Trump is losing his mind  

Imagine it was someone other than President Donald Trump. Suppose a different leader were posting deranged rants in the small hours, insulting the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, threatening entire civilizations with annihilation, and comparing himself to God. What would be the reaction?

We all know the answer. Both parties would be rushing to bundle him out of office before he did irreversible harm to the republic. Yet, as we all also know, different rules apply to Trump. Democrats, having had their fingers burned by two failed impeachment attempts, are reluctant to try again, for they know that there is no surer way to boost his support. Republicans, who privately despair at the electoral damage he is doing, let alone the constitutional damage, are paralyzed by fear of upsetting their primary voters. 

You can read the entire column here. Presumably, Hannan didn't write the headline on his piece, but along the way, he makes such statements as these: 

[Continuing directly] 
Harold Macmillan, the suave British postwar leader, liked to quip that there were three institutions that no sensible man challenged: the Brigade of Guards, the National Union of Mineworkers, and the Roman Catholic Church. Yet Trump, in one of his nocturnal forays, decided to conjure a fight with the Bishop of Rome out of thin air...

The president, whom critics accuse of having a God-complex, then followed up with an image of himself as Jesus healing the sick. This image was offensive, not only to Catholics, but to almost every practicing Christian and, come to that, to almost every Muslim. 

[...]

[Various] things are possible, I suppose. The likelier explanation, though, is that this is exactly what it looks like. A 79-year-old man who has long dealt in chaos is now being consumed by that chaos. His episodes are becoming more frequent, his good days further apart. What he has lost is not a sense of decency or decorum—he never had those—but any remaining sense of self-control.

Everyone around him can see it. Yet, whether from ambition, cowardice, or weary acceptance, they keep looking for ways to rationalize his behavior. The tragedy is no longer Trump’s. It is now America’s. 

That's the way the column ends. Hannan doesn't quite say that the president "is losing his mind," but some might say he comes close.   

Hannan does say that the president's critics "accuse [him] of having a God-complex." It isn't entirely clear what that "accusation" might mean, but if critics have been making that accusation, they've done so very rarely and only among themselves.  

Is the sitting president "losing his mind," perhaps as once happened with Lear—perhaps as may have happened with former President Biden? The claim is fuzzy, but given the president's enormous power, the claim is cause for enormous fear—and that fear is not just "America's."  

Some such fear would belong to the world.

Hannan's column returns us to a familiar journalistic play, in which people who aren't medical specialists seem to be expressing views about the president's (mental) health.  So too with MS NOW's Alex Wagner, who offered a sidelong assessment of President Trump as she discussed Tucker Carlson's recent disavowal of the president.

Along the way, Wagner assesses President Trump. Headline included, Mediaite offers this report:  

...MS NOW’s Alex Wagner Says Tucker Carlson’s Trump Apology ‘Feels’ Genuine

MS NOW’s Alex Wagner admitted Tucker Carlson’s apology for helping to elect President Donald Trump “feels” genuine, though she remains skeptical of how much help he could actually be to Democrats.   

Wagner joined Ari Melber on MS NOW’s The Beat on Tuesday evening, where she reacted to Carlson offering an apology on his show this week for ever supporting and campaigning for Trump. Though he threw an endorsement Trump’s way, Carlson has become increasingly critical of him over issues like the Iran war.  

[...]

"I guess it’s welcome if overdue. Pardon me for being a little cynical about [Carlson's] mea culpa. Ari, this is someone who witnessed Trump stage and foment an insurrection at the Capitol and still went and campaigned for the man. Like, did you not think his narcissism was malignant in early January of 2021? Because I sure did. Like, here was a man that clearly was going to stop at nothing, including tearing down our own democracy, to regain power. So the idea that it’s just dawned on [Carlson] that this man’s moral compass may not be pointing in the right direction, and he may not be operating with the most strategic manual is like maybe a little bit late and maybe a little bit not as genuine as I wish it was."  

For ourselves, we'd be reluctant to assess the sincerity of anything Carlson says. But along the way, Wagner seemed to say that she has believed, ever since January 2021, that the sitting president can be characterized as a "malignant narcissist."   

Malignant narcissism! That's an actual medical / clinical term, though only, it appears, of a sort. (The leading authority discusses "malignant narcissism" here.) 

Should the sitting president be viewed as a "malignant narcissist?" If so, it seems to us—we aren't medical specialists either—that that would be cause for a great deal of fear.   

That said, Wagner isn't a medical specialist—and, as far as we know, she has never gone on the air and directly stated this major cause for concern. This has been the game our Blue American journalists have played down through these (apparently) dangerous years.  

Wagner apparently thought the sitting president was a "malignant narcissist!" As far as we know, she never challenged her news org to bring (carefully selected) medical specialists on the air to discuss this possibility—this obvious source of concern and fear.  

In such ways, our Blue American thought leaders have, for better or worse, played a type of double game. For ourselves, we want to express a different reaction to the president's most recent behavior. 

We're very sorry, but yes! Given his enormous power, we do regard the president's erratic conduct—his endlessly bizarre behaviors—as an obvious source of concern and outright fear. 

We'll also admit that, even in the face of that fear, we feel pity for a 79-year-old man who has been reduced to the pitiful state in which he offers messages to the world as pitiful as this:

Truth Details

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day (which is, therefore, what they are losing if it is closed!). They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so they merely want to “save face.” People approached me four days ago, saying, “Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.” But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included! President DONALD J. TRUMP

So reads his latest Truth Social post. For a report from Mediaite, you can just click here.

That's the president's explanation for his latest change of course. As with Lear, so too here: 

We feel sorry for any person who's been reduced to such desperate twaddle as that.

"How did it get this far?" Don Corleone once asked. Tomorrow, we'll ask The Ghost of Childhood Past to refresh you as to how this deeply dangerous situation seems to have started to surface, way back in the distant past.

Tomorrow: First inklings?

TUESDAY: Cable star can't quit Jerry Nadler!

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2026

"Unrecognizable" speaks: Yesterday, at 5:06 p.m., Jesse Watters was discussing a possible approach to the enriched uranium believed to be stored deep under Iran's co-called Pickaxe Mountain.  

Here's what the gentleman said:

WATTERS (4/20/26):  Now, the one site we haven't hit is Pickaxe Mountain because they have tunnels underneath there that are 2,000 feet deeper than at Fordow. And now there's discussions about using toxic chemicals in there, spraying it so it's inhospitable for about a hundred years.  

Is some such proposal under discussion? We have no idea. But two minutes later, up jumped co-host Greg Gutfeld with his standard "cable news" shtick. 

Sadly but inevitably, here's what the cable star said:   

GUTFELD: What's this spray thing? I'm curious.   

WATTERS: So it's like this horrible agent that you spray deep inside the tunnel that no man can go in for a hundred years.   

GUTFELD: I think it's called "the Nadler vaccine?"  

WATTERS: I think that's what they called it.  

DANA PERINO: They're looking for approval for it now. It's being tested in the lab?

GUTFELD: Yeah, they've been collecting the flatulence of Jerry Nadler for ten years just for this moment.  

WATTERS: Yes. It's a WMD!   

The little guy can't help himself. For the record, this is part of the "American exceptionalism" which gets discussed, around the clock, on the Fox News Channel.   

For the record, The Five is our flailing nation's most-watched "cable news" program. Gutfeld is 61 years old, but this truly seems to be who and what he is. 

Simply put, he refuses to quit his astounding obsession with Rep. Nadler's (imagined) bathroom practices. Even now, at 61, he can't let his inanity go.

Perino played her standard part. To our ear, she seemed to be pretending that this all made perfect sense.

SORROW, PITY, OUTRIGHT FEAR: Somewhere ages and ages hence...

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2026

...we may be a more mature people: We'll start by quoting Gretta Conroy, from the famous Joyce story, The Dead:

“He died when he was only seventeen. Isn’t it a terrible thing to die so young as that?”  

You can read the full novella here. 

To see Anjelica Huston perform the scene in question, we advise you to click right here. Cast as Gretta Conroy, she's describing the death of the young Michael Furey in the 1987 film adaptation of the famous Joyce tale.

"Isn’t it a terrible thing to die so young as that?” she says.  But for today, as we start, we offer a somewhat analogous question:  

"And isn't it a terrible thing for a person to die when he's still in his thirties?"

The question takes us back to our days as a fifth grade teacher, and to the loss, a bit later in life, of a plainly troubled child. We've been thinking of that plainly troubled child in the course of the past week. 

You could even say, all these years later, that we've been mourning his loss. While planning to defer to privacy concerns, we may explain in more detail before the week is over.

We've been thinking of the early death of that troubled child, but also of President Trump. By the end of his seventh grade year, the future president was apparently a visibly troubled child—so much so that he had to leave the local private school where his father sat on the board of directors:

Isn't it a terrible thing, to be so troubled, to be so disturbed, at such a young age as that?

We'll recall the facts of that unfortunate case before the week is done. But as we mourn the fate of any such child who doesn't get the help he needs, we turn today to a more immediate question: 

Should we the people be concerned—should we be actively fearful—about the possible mental state of the sitting president? 

Should we be fearful about the president's mental health? About a possible cognitive decline? About the possibility that, in addition to any such decline, the president may be "somebody who for decades now has had serious, undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric disorders, which are only going to worsen?"  

That's what the president's niece has recently said—and she's a doctorate-holding clinical therapist who has known the president ever since she was a child. With almost three years left to go in the president's current term, should we the people, Red and Blue, be worried about the possibilities to which the niece has given voice? 

In our view, the obvious answer to that question is an obvious yes! That said—at the present time, we as a people simply aren't up to the challenge of discussing such possibilities.

Somewhere ages and ages hence, we may have matured to the point where we, as a people, are able to discuss such a state of affairs. But we aren't able to do so now—and we think that inability helps create a very dangerous state of affairs.  

Please understand! Our major news orgs do employ some journalists who are experienced in the coverage of such medical issues. In this recent report for the New York Times, Ellen Barry briefly describes her own journalistic career (dual headline included):

A Secret History of Psychosis   
Cohen Miles-Rath heard voices telling him to kill his father. After they passed, he spent years retracing the path of his delusions.

[...]

I’ve reported on mental health for much of my career, and frequently find myself writing about crimes committed by people in psychosis.

These make up a small percentage of violent crimes—around 4 percent, researchers have found—and the vast majority of people in psychosis are never violent. But they are the kind of crimes that newspapers cover: inexplicable, horrifying in their suddenness. Sometimes they are random; a commuter is shoved into the path of a subway train. But often they occur within the four walls of a home, as with Nick Reiner, who was charged with the fatal stabbing of his parents earlier this year. (Mr. Reiner, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder.)  

In that lengthy recent report, Barry discusses the history of a particular (and initially horrifying) case of "mental illness." She uses that specific term at five separate points in her report. 

Barry knows how to write about incidents of "mental illness." But under prevailing rules of the game, no such possibility can be discussed with respect to major political figures:

It's a long-standing rule of the road, and, for better or worse, our news orgs are sticking to it!

In that recent report in the Times, Barry is discussing a person who was gripped by the most terrifying kind of psychosis. No one has suggested that the sitting president is sunk in some similar affliction at this point in time. 

That said, some medical specialists have long alleged that the sitting president's "untreated psychiatric disorders" have created a very dangerous situation, and that those medical disorders "are only going to worsen." 

The fact that medical specialists have said it doesn't mean that it's true! But the fact that our news orgs refuse to discuss this state of affairs shines a light on the immaturity of our public discourse at this point in time.

Should we be worried about the president's mental health, even as his Truth Social posts seem to become stranger and more desperate? To read about those new Truth Social posts, you can click to read these reports:

Trump Drops Jaw-Dropping Attack On Democrats Opposing Iran War: ‘TRAITORS ALL 
Mediaite. To read the report, click here.

Trump rages against Democrats, the media over Iran: ‘I’m winning a War, BY A LOT’  

NJ.com. To read the report, click here.

Trump rages at Iran war criticism: "Time is not my adversary" 

Axios. To read the report, click here.

Should we be worried about such reports? With three years to go in this president's term, we think the answer is obvious. 

But that discussion isn't going to happen—and that's on us, the American people, not on the sixth and seventh grader in Queens who quite possibly never got the medical help it was already clear that he needed.

His older brother prepped at St. Paul's. His younger brother prepped there too.

The president, apparently in need of help, was shipped off to a "reform school" for the course of his junior high and high school years. For today, we leave you with a question:

"Isn’t it a terrible thing when a child doesn't get the help he needs at such a young age as that?”  

In our own (non-specialist) view, we're in a very dangerous time. Our orgs have agreed that it can't be discussed.

With that in mind, we leave you with one final question:

Isn't it a terrible thing to be as helpless as that?

Tomorrow: Once again, the troubled child in question

MONDAY: Fox & Friends Weekend spots the Commies!

MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2026

Slowly we return: These pharmaceuticals today! 

We're almost all the way back from our bad reaction to a pharmaceutical a few weeks ago. In our first afternoon post since that episode began, we thought you might like to see yesterday morning's "spotting of the Communists" on the Fox & Friends Weekend show.

For entertainment purposes only:

Co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy was the prime mover in this latest calling of the roll. Yesterday morning, at 6:15, the ritual Communist-spotting began.

The background goes like this:

On Saturday, Barack Obama had joined Mayor Mamdani in an appearance before a bunch of preschool kids in the Bronx. What were the gentlemen promoting? The New York Times tells the tale:  

Mamdani and Obama Lead Preschool Singalong to Promote Free Child Care  

A group of preschoolers at a child care center in the Bronx gathered on a rug for a memorable story time on Saturday with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former President Barack Obama.

The pair sang an animated rendition of “Wheels on the Bus,” read a picture book about the importance of community and ribbed each other about whose city had the better pizza. 

[...]

The event—Mr. Mamdani’s and Mr. Obama’s first public appearance together, and one that came shortly after the mayor marked his 100th day in office—brought together two stars of the Democratic Party to showcase a critical part of [Mamdani's] affordability agenda: universal child care.   

Mr. Mamdani is moving to expand free child care to 2,000 2-year-olds this fall. He has enlisted famous friends, including the rapper Cardi B and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to generate support for his plan and to urge families to apply. 

So went this preschool event, with Mamdani hoping to expand free child care to two thousand kids this fall.

Will Mamdani succeed in his attempt to provide New Yorkers with some version of universal child care? That remains to be seen! 

That remains to be seen! But here's the way Red America heard the event described early Sunday morning:  

GRIFF JENKINS (4/19/26): [Mamdani's election] was a Bernie Sanders-driven socialist push that won, and now it's no surprise that we saw a visit from former President Barack Obama with Mamdani, reading to, and singing with, some children. Watch this: 

[Singing, The Wheels on the Bus]

LUCAS TOMLINSON: Classic song, though. 

CAMPOS-DUFFY: It is, and I love seeing this image here, because this is the truth of Obama. 

When he talked about "fundamentally transforming America," this is what he meant—normalizing a Communist like Mamdani, somebody who, you know—when Obama ran, he was sort of pretending he wasn't. 

Remember the Joe the Plumber moment where he said, "Spread the wealth," and he was trying to take it back—"I didn't mean it like that?" Mamdani, he would have been like, "Hell yeah—spread the wealth!" He's all about Communism.  

And you look at, by the way, the mayor of Los Angeles, who in her youth was working, you know, in Cuba as a revolutionary leader—Karen Bass. And then AOC, again, another unabashed socialist Communist.  

So they have taken the mask off. It looks like this is what Obama wanted, and this looks like it's the future of the party.

Will the mayor's plans for free child care work out well in the end? At this point, we can't tell you that!

Still, Campos-Duffy knew what she was looking at. She rather frequently does:

Obama was trying to normalize Mamdani, a Communist. As for Obama himself, back when he was president, he pretended that he wasn't a Communist himself!

As for Bass and AOC, they're unabashed Communists too! So it sometimes goes, very early in the morning, on this Fox News Channel show.

The friends made no attempt to describe the program Obama and Mamdani were promoting. But Campos-Duffy can almost always spot the Communists in the crowd!

Campos-Duffy is immensely talented as a morning show host. We don't think her ardent name-calling is likely to help our faltering, badly divided tribalized nation find its way back on track.

Two thousand kids may get child care! It's Communists all the way down!

SORROW, PITY, OUTRIGHT FEAR: Should we the people be concerned...

MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2026

...about the president's (mental) health? We'll start the week with a basic question. As we do, we'll be starting to wind down the past several weeks of reports.

As we start the week, our basic question is this:

Should American citizens be concerned about the state of the president's mental health? More directly, should American citizens be fearful—frightened, afraid—about his mental health?

We refer to any possible cognitive decline, but also to any possible "mental illness." And because the language of "mental illness" is often taken to be, and is frequently offered as, the ultimate form of insult, we want to start the week by restating some basic conceptual points:

A mental illness is, in fact, an illness:

In our view, a (serious) "mental illness" is, in fact, an illness. 

When someone is diagnosed with a significant "mental illness," that's a diagnosis of an actual illness. It isn't simply a shorthand way of saying that the person's behavior is very bad.  

Some such diagnosis is a diagnosis of a personal tragedy, as would be the case with a serious "physical" illness. The assertion of a possible "mental illness" shouldn't be seen as an insult.

Also this:   

A mental illness frequently is a physical illness:

"Mental illnesses" frequently have a physiological component. The leading authority on mental illness prefers the emerging term "mental disorder." But this is one part of its overview:  

Mental disorder   

A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is also characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior, often in a social context.

[...]  

For a mental state to be classified as a disorder, it generally needs to cause dysfunction. Most international clinical documents use the term mental "disorder", while "illness" is also common. It has been noted that using the term "mental" (i.e., of the mind) is not necessarily meant to imply separateness from the brain or body. 

A "mental illness" isn't necessarily disconnected from the brain (a physical organ) or the body. For example, in its discussion of antisocial personality disorder (colloquially, "sociopathy"), the leading authority says this:

Antisocial personality disorder

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a personality disorder defined by a chronic pattern of behavior that disregards the rights and well-being of others. People with ASPD often exhibit behavior that conflicts with social norms, leading to issues with interpersonal relationships, employment, and legal matters. The condition generally manifests in childhood or early adolescence, with a high rate of associated conduct problems and a tendency for symptoms to peak in late adolescence and early adulthood. 

[...]  

Research into genetic associations in antisocial personality disorder suggests that ASPD has some or even a strong genetic basis. The prevalence of ASPD is higher in people related to someone with the disorder. Twin studies, which are designed to discern between genetic and environmental effects, have reported significant genetic influences on antisocial behavior and conduct disorder. 

As its overview continues, the leading authority goes into some detail about the "specific genes" which may be involved in the development of this disorder. Simply put, an unfortunate child may perhaps inherit the physiological condition which correlates with ASPD. 

We've advised you to pity that child—but also to be deeply concerned about where his conduct may lead.

Certain forms of "mental illness" may be surprisingly prevalent:

We'll guess that most people would be surprised by the prevalence of certain "mental disorders" (forms of "mental illness"). In the overview about ASPD to which we've already linked, the leading authority offers this statement concerning the prevalence of ASPD (colloquially, "sociopathy"): 

The estimated lifetime prevalence of ASPD amongst the general population falls within 1% to 4%, skewed towards 6% men and 2% women. 

As we've noted in the past, that six percent figure (among men) is apparently derived from major studies of this "mental disorder." We'll guess that many people would be surprised by that alleged degree of prevalence.

Obviously, that figure doesn't mean that six percent of adult men are the equivalent of Hannibal Lecter. It does mean that some version of this "mental disorder" ("mental illness") is less rare than many people may think.

You're reading this here for a reason:

Please understand:

No one at this site is a medical specialist. No one at this site is experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of various "mental disorders."

You're reading these observations here because our upper-end press corps has sworn that they will never interview the medical specialists who could, at least in theory, offer detailed understanding of these basic points. For better or worse, the state of play is this:

Our journalists have agreed to adhere to a code of silence about matters of "mental illness," at least with respect to major political figures like the sitting president.

When it comes to an important matter like this, we the people have been left on our own.

We've advised you to pity the child who may be afflicted—perhaps through genetic inheritance!—in the deeply unfortunate ways we've described. That said, some medical specialists have said that the sitting president is afflicted in these ways, and that this state of affairs should be viewed as extremely dangerous.

Full disclosure! We know of no reason to believe that this possibility will ever be discussed in the New York Times, or in The Atlantic, or on The Last Word or The Rachel Maddow Show. 

Major news orgs and individual journalists simply aren't going to go there.  Example: When Mary L. Trump stated her view on CNN in late February, the interview ended right there, and it was never mentioned again!

That said, an obvious question seems to prevail:

Should we the people be concerned about the president's "mental health?" More to the point, should we the people be actively fearful about that matter?

Way back in the president's first term, some major medical specialists said the answer was clearly yes.  The fact that they said it doesn't make it true, but that's what those specialists said.

This week, we'll finish our review of these matters. As a general matter, we've advised you to pity the child, but also to consider the possibility of fearing his behavior.

Remember:

You're reading about this topic at this site for a somewhat unusual reason. For better or worse, our high-end journalists have agreed on a basic point:

This topic must never be discussed! It simply isn't done!

We the people have been left on our own. We'll review some basic points during the rest of the week.

Tomorrow: Correctly or otherwise, this was an early warning

SATURDAY: Where have all the specialists gone?

SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026

This is the gamble we've chosen: It's as we noted in this week's reports:

In Tuesday's front-page overview for the New York Times, Peter Baker quoted recent comments about President Trump's "mental health"—comments about the president's "psychological fitness."

Baker quoted a large number of elected officials, podcasters and lawyers. But he didn't quote any remarks by any medical specialists—by any "mental health professionals."

Similarly, Lawrence O'Donnell reminisced on several occasions this week about his past interviews with such medical specialists on his Last Word program. 

That said, those interviews, infrequent and limited as they were, took place during the president's first term—from 2017 on through January 2021. O'Donnell conducted no interviews with medical specialists on this week's Last Word programs. 

Even now, in the face of the growing concerns reported by Baker, it seems that O'Donnell no longer conducts such interviews. As he reminisced this week about past interviews, he didn't explain why that it is. 

Where have all the medical specialists gone? Why didn't Baker quote any such observers? Why didn't O'Donnell quote such current observers? Why doesn't O'Donnell conduct such interviews at this point in time?

We can't answer those very good questions. We'll offer these speculations:

It could be that the president's various lawsuits have convinced news orgs like MS NOW that such interviews can no longer take place. It may also be that medical specialists—some, though plainly not all—have become reluctant to offer assessments about the president's mental health or about his possible cognitive decline.

It may be that an org like the New York Times is also gripped by such concerns. It may be that Baker wanted to quote such medical specialists as Mary Trump and Dr. Vin Gupta (among several others), but editors refused to let that occur.

Is something (seriously) wrong with President Trump? If so, that is of course a personal tragedy. But is something wrong with President Trump in a way which may be extremely dangerous, given his role in the world?

With regard to such important questions, Baker quoted the nutcase Alex Jones. He quoted no medical specialists!

For his part, O'Donnell played tape of what was said by a medical specialist in 2017 and in 2021. He didn't mention things which have been said by medical specialists in just the past few weeks.

We see no sign that these apparent blackout policies are going to change. All in all, it must be said:

All in all, for better or worse, this is the gamble we've chosen!

Starting Monday: A great deal remains to be said

DIAGNOSIS: Baker quoted the nutcase Jones...

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2026

...disappeared Gupta and Trump: As we start, let's be fair to the New York Times—and to Peter Baker, a highly skilled synthesizer.  In fairness, let's say this:  

The basic premise of Baker's recent front-page report was in fact basically accurate. Also, the situation Baker described could be seen as a (somewhat low-IQ) matter of general interest.  

Baker's lengthy report appeared above the fold, on page 1A, in Tuesday's print editions. As it now appears online, it starts in the manner shown, principal headline included:

Trump’s Erratic Behavior and Extreme Comments Revive Mental Health Debate

President Trump’s erratic behavior and extreme comments in recent days and weeks have turbocharged the crazy-like-a-fox-or-just-plain-crazy debate that has followed him on the national political stage for a decade.

A series of disjointed, hard-to-follow and sometimes-profane statements capped by his “a whole civilization will die tonight” threat to wipe Iran off the map last week and his head-spinning attack on the “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” pope on Sunday night have left many with the impression of a deranged autocrat mad with power.

The White House rejected such assessments, saying that Mr. Trump is sharp and keeping his opponents on edge. But the president’s eruptions have raised questions about America’s leadership in a time of war...

Democrats who have long challenged Mr. Trump’s psychological fitness have issued a fresh chorus of calls to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the president from power for disability. But it is not just a concern voiced by partisans on the left, late-night comics or mental health professionals making long-distance diagnoses. It can be heard now among retired generals, diplomats and foreign officials. And most strikingly, it can be heard now on the political right among onetime allies of the president.  

In fairness, all that was true! The president's behavior, and his unusual comments, had in fact resulted in a series of comments about his "mental health"—about his "psychological fitness." 

It's also true that comments about the president's mental state had come from a wide array of sources—not just from "partisans of the left."  

It was true! Many people had issued challenging remarks about the president's mental state. And Baker seemed to be willing to cite all these comments—even those which came from some of the most disordered voices within the national maelstrom:

Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia Republican who recently broke with Mr. Trump, advocated using the 25th Amendment, telling CNN that threatening to destroy Iran’s civilization was “not tough rhetoric, it’s insanity.” Candace Owens, the far-right podcaster, called him “a genocidal lunatic.” Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist and founder of Infowars, said Mr. Trump “does babble and sounds like the brain’s not doing too hot.”  

Baker was even willing to quote such profoundly marginal figures as Candace Owens and Alex Jones! To appearances, no one was being left behind!   

(In fairness, it can be defended as a matter of general interest when a deranged figure like Alex Jones says some of the things he has recently said. We say that because, however disordered Jones may be, he still has a fairly substantial following. For that reason, it qualifies as a matter of public interest to learn what he has said.)  

Baker quoted a wide array of public figures who had made recent remarks about the president's mental health. That said, there was (at least) one such well-known person the gentleman failed to cite.   

Unlike the nutcase Jones, there was a reasonable chance that the person in question actually knew what she was talking about! We refer to the (current or former) "mental health professional" who had appeared on CNN, where she had offered this:    

BURNETT (2/26/26): You've known him your whole life. Do you actually see a [cognitive] decline?

MARY L. TRUMP: I do, but I think it's important to remember that Donald has never been fit in any capacity. Obviously, what we're dealing with now are age-related cognitive declines. We're dealing with physical issues that the White House tries to cover over.

But this is somebody who for decades now has had serious, undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric disorders, which are only going to worsen, especially given the pressure he's under and given the cognitive and physical declines.  

Sad! Perhaps at the direction of his editors, Baker was willing to quote the nutcase Jones, but he refused to quote Mary Trump!   

In fairness, it's possible to regard Mary Trump as "an interested party," because, of course, she is. An editor might decide to disappear her rather startling assessments for that very reason.  

In fairness, you can imagine that some editor made some such assessment. That said, please notice this:  

Right at the start of his lengthy essay, Baker seems to say that "mental health professionals" (plural) have been making assessments about the president's mental health. NBC's Dr. Vin Gupta would be an obvious example.

(For Mediaite's report, click here. Headline: MS NOW Medical Analyst Dr. Vin Gupta Claims Trump Has ‘All The Signs of Dementia’)

Even though he was willing to quote a manifest nutcase like Alex Jones, Baker failed to quote any such medical specialist in the course of his long overview. Mary Trump's comments were disappeared, but so were Dr. Gupta's.

We regard that as an insulting refusal to serve. So too, we're sorry to say, in the case of Lawrence O'Donnell.   

As we noted yesterday, O'Donnell has done some serious reminiscing in several of his Last Word programs this week. On Wednesday night, he played videotape from the good old days—from the occasional broadcasts, during President Trump's first term, when he would bring Dr. Lance Dodes on the air to assess the president's mental health.   

Dr. Dodes had hardly been reassuring. On Wednesday's Last Word, O'Donnell played tape of Dr. Dodes from January 2021. In the tape O'Donnell played, Dr. Dodes was shown saying this about President Trump     

DR. DODES (1/9/21): A delusional psychopath who has been the same his whole adult life, and who we knew would get worse the more stress he was under, because that's what happens with people with this kind of severe disorder. ...He is going to continue to get worse.  

The fact that he said it doesn't mean it was true. But now, it does seem, to many observers, that president is "getting worse." But O'Donnell no longer interviews specialists like Dr. Dodes—and in the wake of her comments on CNN, we can find no sign that he proceeded to interview Mary Trump.

Baker will tell you what the nutcase Jones has said. O'Donnell will play the videotape of the good old days, when he would, on the rare occasion, interview a medical specialist like Dr. Dodes.

Baker disappeared Mary Trump and Dr. Gupta. O'Donnell failed to say why he no longer conducts interviews of that type.

In each case, it seems to us that we're looking at a failure to serve. At what seems like a very dangerous time, we're looking at an imitation of journalism—at an imitation of life.

Still coming: Much more remains to be said

DIAGNOSIS: O'Donnell recalls a better day!

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2026

Why doesn't he do this now? Last evening, in his opening monologue on The Last Word, Lawrence O'Donnell recalled a (slightly) more forthright day.

In the course of his monologue, he made several glancing references to Peter Baker's recent front-page essay for the New York Times. Headline included, we recall the most interesting part of Baker's thumb-sucker pseudo-report:

Trump’s Erratic Behavior and Extreme Comments Revive Mental Health Debate

[...]

Mr. Trump’s stability has been a recurring issue since he first sought the presidency in 2016. Numerous psychiatrists and other mental health professionals have weighed in with their own opinions even without the opportunity to evaluate him. John F. Kelly, his longest serving White House chief of staff in the first term, even bought a book by 27 of those specialists called “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,” in an effort to understand his boss and came to the conclusion that he was mentally ill.  

It's true! Way back in 2017, Yale psychiatrist Dr. Bandy X. Lee edited a best-selling book with that very title. 

In line with an ancient guild tradition, the Times disappeared Dr. Lee's book at that time. In his lengthy essay for the Times, Baker maintained a version of that tradition, as we noted in yesterday's report.   

Sad! In his lengthy report for the Times, Baker didn't quote any of the 27 medical specialists who contributed to Dr. Lee's book. Instead, he offered a fuzzy, weirdly unsourced account of what General Kelly allegedly concluded upon reading the best-selling book.  

Twenty-seven medical specialists were thereby kicked to the curb. Readers were offered only the alleged assessment of General Kelly, who's highly regarded for his integrity but isn't a medical specialist! 

So it goes as journalistic children like Baker take their crayons and continue to color within the lines. Last evening, a form of this refusal to serve was present for the world to see at the start of The Last Word. 

Is it possible? Is it possible that President Trump is suffering from certain forms of mental illness which may, in fact, be immensely dangerous?  

It seems to us that the obvious (possible) answer is yes! But then, we aren't medical specialists either, any more than General Kelly (or Lawrence O'Donnell) is.

Early in last evening monologue, O'Donnell recalled a better day. He recalled the time when he was willing to interview medical specialists about the president's mental health.

It's been years since MSNBC / MS NOW presented transcripts of their primetime "cable news" programs. They suspended that practice years ago, we presume for the obvious reason.

For that reason, we can't direct you to a transcript of O'Donnell's monologue last night. But thanks to this videotape, you can watch the monologue—and at roughly 10:05 p.m., you'll see O'Donnell say this:  

O'DONNELL (4/15/26): If Donald Trump ever did talk to people that are "deep into the psychological world," he is just statistically likely to be speaking to someone who thinks Donald Trump has very serious mental problems, as described in the book, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, which was featured on the program in the first year of Donald Trump's first presidency. 

As he continued, O'Donnell described the overall structure of that long-ignored book. He then recalled the way his own program occasionally functioned, way back when The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump appeared: 

O'DONNELL: In his very first appearance on this program, in the second month of Donald Trump's presidency, ten years ago, former Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Lance Dodes said this: 

DR. DODES (videotape, 2017): Lying in the way he does it—repeated, dangerous lying—makes him unfit and is a sign of serious mental disturbance... 

Serious mental disturbance! The fact that he said it doesn't mean that it's right. But that's what Dr. Dodes said on the air, in prime time,, way back in 2017.

Dr. Dodes was one of the contributors to Dr. Lee's disappeared book. As you can see if you watch the tape of last evening's show, that statement by Dr. Dodes went on at some length from there. 

Soon, though, you'll see O'Donnell present a more significant statement by Dr. Dodes—a statement from January 2021: 

O'DONNELL: Professor Dodes returned to this program three days after the January 6th attack and said this:

DR. DODES (videotape, 2021): A delusional psychopath who has been the same his whole adult life, and who we knew would get worse the more stress he was under, because that's what happens with people with this kind of severe disorder. ...He is going to continue to get worse.

He is going to continue to get worse! That's what the experienced specialist said!

There's a great deal more to what Dr. Dodes said that day. We'll suggest that you watch the tape of last night's program to see his fuller statement—his fuller statement from January 2021.

That said:

He is going to continue to get worse, the medical specialist said at that time. 

Many people seem to think that some such downward spiral is now underway—and five years later, in late February of this very year, a second medical specialist went on CNN in prime time and said this:

ERIN BURNETT (2/26/26): You've known him your whole life. Do you actually see a [cognitive] decline?

MARY L. TRUMP: I do, but I think it's important to remember that Donald has never been fit in any capacity. Obviously, what we're dealing with now are age-related cognitive declines. We're dealing with physical issues that the White House tries to cover over.

But this is somebody who for decades now has had serious, undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric disorders, which are only going to worsen, especially given the pressure he's under and given the cognitive and physical declines.  

The fact that she said it doesn't mean that it's true. But her famous uncle's medical problems "are only going to worsen," this second specialist said. 

Under the circumstances, that sounds like an extremely dangerous state of affairs. And yet, how strange! 

From that day to this, we've seen no one say a word about what Mary L. Trump said on CNN that night. Any by the way, Lawrence O'Donnell no longer interviews medical specialists about the president's medical / mental condition.

 Back then, O'Donnell would (occasionally) speak with Dr. Dodes. But those days are long, long gone.

Last evening, O'Donnell recalled an earlier day—a time when he would actually interview actual medical specialists right there on The Last Word. The following fact went unexplained:

At the New York Times, and on The Last Word, those days are long, long gone!

Tomorrow: An imitation of journalism, an imitation of life

DIAGNOSIS: We don't know what we're talking about!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2026

Neither do Baker's dozens: We start today with a restatement of our own general assumptions:  

First, we assume that Mary L. Trump is probably right when she says that her uncle, the sitting president, is involved in an obvious cognitive decline.  

(We regard that as a tragic event on the personal human level. We regard it as a dangerous state of affairs, given the uncle's vast power.) 

Second, we assume that Mary Trump is probably right when she describes her uncle as "somebody who for decades now has had serious, undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric disorders." In that remark, Mary Trump is saying that her uncle has long been afflicted by various forms of "mental illness." 

(For ourselves, we regard a serous "mental illness" as an illness. We think that (serious) "mental illness" is a personal tragedy. We don't think that some such assessment should be treated as the ultimate insult.)

Finally, we assume that Mary Trump is probably right when she says that her uncle's untreated psychiatric disorders "are only going to worsen." 

(We assume that that assessment is probably accurate. Under the circumstances, we regard that as an extremely dangerous state of affairs.)

We're inclined to assume that Mary Trump, a doctorate-holding clinical therapist, is right in those three assessments. Now for the rest of the story: 

Because we ourselves aren't medical specialists, we don't have the slightest idea what we're talking about! 

We're offering our best assessments concerning these matters, but those best assessments can only take us so far. Our best assessments may be accurate—obviously, we think they are—but in the normal course of events, we'd want to hear from experienced medical specialists about these profoundly important matters. 

We'd like to hear from (carefully selected) medical specialists. We don't need to hear from the dozens of loudmouths Peter Baker chose to quote in yesterday's thumb-sucker piece. 

Baker's essay appeared above the fold on the front page of yesterday's New York Times. As we noted yesterday, it appears online beneath this dual headline:  

Trump’s Erratic Behavior and Extreme Comments Revive Mental Health Debate
As the president threatens to wipe out Iran and attacks the pope, even some former allies and advisers are questioning whether he has grown increasingly unbalanced, describing him as “lunatic” and “clearly insane."

Those are wonderfully eye-catching headlines. Someone has described the president as "lunatic"—even as "clearly insane!" 

Those are thrilling assertions. The obvious problem is this:

“Lunatic” and “clearly insane" aren't clinical terms. They're the kinds of colloquial comments people tend to throw out, often as insults, at a dangerous time such as this. 

The second problem obtains: 

None of the many people Baker quotes is a medical specialist! Instead, he has quoted Ty Cobb, a high-ranking Washington lawyer, along with such political luminaries as these:  

Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia Republican who recently broke with Mr. Trump, advocated using the 25th Amendment, telling CNN that threatening to destroy Iran’s civilization was “not tough rhetoric, it’s insanity.” Candace Owens, the far-right podcaster, called him “a genocidal lunatic.” Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist and founder of Infowars, said Mr. Trump “does babble and sounds like the brain’s not doing too hot.”

Jones and Owens and Greene oh my! He has quoted such giants as these! 

He has also quoted Megyn Kelly, and he has quoted Tucker Carlson. Also, he has quoted such major Democratic office holders as these:

Democrats have pressed the point in recent days. Mr. Trump is “an extremely sick person” (Senator Chuck Schumer of New York), “unhinged” and “out of control” (Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York) or, more bluntly, “batshit crazy” (Representative Ted Lieu of California). Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, wrote the White House physician requesting an evaluation, noting “signs consistent with dementia and cognitive decline” and “increasingly incoherent, volatile, profane, deranged, and threatening” tantrums. 

Rep. Lieu has said the president is "batshit crazy!" For better or worse, Baker chose to quote him.  

(All four Dems may be fully sincere. But none is a medical specialist!)

There's more to be said about the long list of people Baker quotes in his front-page piece. For today, we'll leave it at this:   

Baker doesn't quite a single medical specialist at any point in his piece! Indeed, in the most interesting part of his lengthy piece, the childish journo says this:   

Mr. Trump’s stability has been a recurring issue since he first sought the presidency in 2016. Numerous psychiatrists and other mental health professionals have weighed in with their own opinions even without the opportunity to evaluate him. John F. Kelly, his longest serving White House chief of staff in the first term, even bought a book by 27 of those specialists called “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,” in an effort to understand his boss and came to the conclusion that he was mentally ill.  

Did General Kelly really conclude that the president is "mentally ill?" It's a remarkable claim—and it goes weirdly unsourced, although the claim seems to track back to The Divider, the book Baker co-authored with Susan Glasser in 2022.

More on that tomorrow! For today, please understand this: 

Baker doesn't quote any of the 27 "psychiatrists and other mental health professionals" who contributed to The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump. (In that book's second edition, the number jumped to 37.)

Baker doesn't quote any of those medical specialists. Instead, he attributes a somewhat fuzzy claim to General Kelly—and though General Kelly is widely admired as a person of high integrity, let's all understand this:

General Kelly isn't a medical specialist! In the end, he doesn't know what he's actually talking about, any more than we do! 

Baker had 28 different people he could have quoted at that point in his lengthy front-page piece. For whatever reason, he skipped the 27 mental health professionals, choosing instead to state the alleged view of the one person who isn't a medical specialist!  

He quoted every nut he could find, not excusing Alex Jones. He didn't quote a single person who is a medical specialist!

We'll continue from here tomorrow. For ourselves, we're inclined to regard this essay as the latest disgrace. But also, we regard it as a major bit of anthropology—as the latest example of the way we humans seem to be wired to function.

Tomorrow: Possible diagnoses

Still coming: The Paul Reiser joke from way back when:

"Are we here to play some golf? Or are we just gonna f*ck around?"

DIAGNOSIS: Peter Baker's coloring book!

TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2026

Watters whips it out: It may be time to seek a diagnosis for our failing society as a whole. We'll start with something from yesterday—something we didn't see in real time. 

In a rare act of self-indulgence, we skipped yesterday's edition of The Five, this nation's most-watched "cable news" program. 

Yesterday, as the program began, occasional co-host Harold Ford sat in the Jessica Tarlov chair. Also, comedian Tom Shillue sat in the chair of regular co-host Greg Gutfeld. 

There would be little point in watching, we incorrectly mused. At any rate, the line-up this day went exactly like this: 

The Five: Monday, April 13, 2026 
Emily Compagno: co-host, Outnumbered
Harold Ford Jr.: former congressman 
Jesse Watters: anchor, Jesse Watters Primetime
Dana Perino: co-host, America's Newsroom
Tom Shillue: comedian; occasional guest, Gutfeld!  

There would be nothing to see there, we surmised. But that assessment was wrong.  

In the program's second segment, the panel discussed Rep. Swalwell's announcement that he would be dropping his gubernatorial bid. 

There was no reason why they shouldn't have been discussing, or at least pretending to discuss, this significant topic. But when moderator Dana Perino threw to Watters, the most-watched star in the Fox News Channel firmament offered these typical comments:

WATTERS (4/13/26): It's a "He said, she said," Dana. And then I read a lot more, and it's like a "He said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said." Because there are a lo-o-ot of women coming forward here, and it's not all pretty.  

One of the allegations was that he sucked on a girl's toes, OK? I just want to say, I mean, guys—do not do that? Ever? OK? 

And also, don't just whip it out!  

Allegedly, he was just whipping it out—in a car, In broad daylight. In front of the intern. 

[Covers his eyes in horror]

Like, that's not the moment you do it! It has to be done in the moment of maybe some passion. 

PERINO: Never with an intern! 

WATTERS (laughing): Never with an intern! 

PERINO: [Rolls her eyes, smirks at the camera]  

WATTERS: And also, sending cock-a doodle pics...  

As you can see by clicking the link, the superstar halfwit continued from there, at significant length. He did so on the American nation's most-watched "cable news" program, as four co-hosts gazed on.

 We aren't going to try explain the problems with Watters' extended advice to the fellas. We'll only say this:

Each evening. on the10 p.m. Gutfeld! show, the presentations tend to get dumber and substantially uglier.  

Question One:

Is something wrong with a Red American nation which has made idiocy of this familiar kind the heart and soul of primetime "cable news" coverage?

We'd have to say that there is! But then, we turn to this:

Question Two:

Is something wrong with a Blue America whose journalistic elites refuse to report or discuss the ugliness and the sheer inanity of the Fox News Channel's broadcasts?

Again, we're forced to say that there is! Something is badly wrong with the moral and intellectual profile of our own Blue elites.

With respect to those elites, we call your attention to the lengthy piece by Peter Baker which appears in today's New York Times. 

In print editions, it appears above the fold on the paper's front page. Online, Baker's piece appears under this intriguing dual headline:

Trump’s Erratic Behavior and Extreme Comments Revive Mental Health Debate
As the president threatens to wipe out Iran and attacks the pope, even some former allies and advisers are questioning whether he has grown increasingly unbalanced, describing him as “lunatic” and “clearly insane.”

On its face, that may seem like the very sort of analysis piece we've been repeatedly requesting. But in its actual execution, the essay strikes us as the latest bit of coloring inside the lines from Baker's front page coloring book.

We're embarrassed for Baker today. Also, we're embarrassed for the bulk of what the furious Lawrence O'Donnell said about this piece on last Evening's The Last Word.

At this site, we've been asking a very important question for perhaps a hundred years:

Is something wrong with President Trump? More specifically is something wrong with his mental health in a way which is actively dangerous and which is likely to get even worse?

If the president is so afflicted, that is of course a human tragedy. It's also a very dangerous state of affairs—a state of affairs which should be explored through interviews with (carefully selected) medical specialists.

That's what Baker (and his editors) are still refusing to do! Regarding the unhelpfully furious O'Donnell, the less said today the better.

We'll examine Baker's essay tomorrow. For today, our diagnosis stands uncharged:

We human beings simply aren't built for this line of work! Our elites are never going to attempt to tackle this crucial task.

They won't report and they won't discuss what happens on the Fox News Channel. Also, they won't speak to medical specialists about the deeply strange behavior of the world's most powerful man.

Our cautious elites will never do that! Dearest darlings, use your heads! Such things simply aren't done!

Tomorrow: The term "mentally ill" has been uttered for the first time!

DIAGNOSIS: There the president goes again!

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2026

Nothing to look at, Smerconish says: "And so it did happen like it could have been foreseen..."  

With apologies, we're quoting from the early Bob Dylan. That said:

What we awoke to this morning was this report from Mediaite. We apologize for that site's devotion to eye-catching language in the apparent search for clicks:  

Trump Goes On a Jaw-Dropping Tirade Against Pope Leo: ‘I Don’t Want a Pope Who Criticizes the President of the United States!’

President Donald Trump went absolutely scorched earth on Pope Leo XIV in a Sunday night social media post, slamming the pontiff for his recent criticism of the Iran war and on a number of topics spanning from crime to COVID-19.

Trump—in a lengthy post on Truth Social—told the pope he’s had enough of his denunciations.

The president said Pope Leo had “terrible” thoughts on foreign policy and was “WEAK” on both crime and nuclear weapons. He also took credit for the Chicago-born pope becoming the first American pontiff last year.  

The report continues from there. As could have been foreseen, the president now made his apparent state of disorder extremely hard to miss:  

Trump Posts Jesus-Like Picture of Himself Performing Miracle on Sick Man, Minutes After Ramping Up Feud With Pope Leo

President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself seemingly in the role of Jesus Christ on Sunday night, complete with the robe-donning president reinvigorating a sick man with his healing hand while a nurse looked on and an American Eagle soared above.

The bizarre—and some would probably argue sacrilegious—post was made about 40 minutes after the president went off on Pope Leo XIV in a blistering social media rant. More on that below.

Trump’s picture had a lot going on in it. Beyond the aforementioned details, a praying woman and a man wearing what looks to be some sort of ICE uniform look on pensively as Trump works his miracle.   

The president’s hand is lit up in a holy manner, and behind him is the American flag and the Statue of Liberty; fighter jets and what appears to be soldiers who have become angels are also seen above Trump; an American soldier is also seen watching Trump as he cures the man in a hospital bed.

And so on, bizarrely, from there. 

We Americans have been exposed to this type of apparent madness again and again and again. That said, we've also been exposed to the madness displayed, in the most recent instance, by CNN's Michael Smerconish. 

Mediaite reports: 

CNN’s Smerconish Hits at Remove Trump Crowd in Lengthy Defense: ‘Madness IS the Method’

CNN host Michael Smerconish defended President Donald Trump against those calling for his removal from office via the 25th Amendment, arguing Trump’s critics don’t understand he plays the “madman card in public” to keep foreign enemies on their toes, when in reality he is making rational decisions behind closed doors. 

Smerconish made his case on the latest episode of his namesake show on Saturday. 

You'll have to read the full report yourself. That said:

The president isn't really "a madman," Smerconish insisted. According to Smerconish, the president has merely been playing "a madman" on Truth Social, and on TV.

For the record, Smerconish is perfectly intelligent. He has tended to cast himself in the role of "sensible centrist" throughout a lengthy career.  

Routinely, his work has been perfectly sensible. But in this latest attempt to deny the possibility of what seems to be sitting right there before him, Smerconish has taken the mainstream press by the scruff of the neck and has dragged it with him over the edge of the world.  

Last week, as we struggled with our own recent malady out of the blue (These pharmaceuticals today!), we highlighted some obvious questions concerning President Trump's recent very strange Truth Social posts. 

As you will recall, The New Yorker's David Remnick asked this question about the president's spate of posts concerning Iran: 

Who talks like that? 

It was an obvious question, with a blindingly obvious possible answer. At the same time, Megyn Kelly had asked such questions as these:

Can’t he just behave like a normal human? What does that say about him?  

Once again, those were excellent questions. One possible answer is obvious—but people like Remnick, Kelly and Smerconish have sworn a blood oath, within the guild, that they will never consider it. 

In this way, the madness of the sitting president meets the madness of the upper-end press corps (and the broader commentariat). But, cast in the role of a modern Cassandra, the president's niece, a doctorate-holding clinical therapist, had recently offered a pair of possible answers to those obvious questions:

ERIN BURNETT (2/26/26): You've known him your whole life. Do you actually see a [cognitive] decline?

MARY L. TRUMP: I do, but I think it's important to remember that Donald has never been fit in any capacity. Obviously, what we're dealing with now are age-related cognitive declines. We're dealing with physical issues that the White House tries to cover over.

But this is somebody who for decades now has had serious, undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric disorders, which are only going to worsen, especially given the pressure he's under and given the cognitive and physical declines.  

Who talks like that, Remnick had asked. Mary Trump offered two possible answers: 

1) A person afflicted by an obvious cognitive decline.  
2) A person afflicted by an obvious cognitive decline layered atop decades of "serious, undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric disorders." 

Her uncle is "mentally ill," the president's niece had plainly said. If we believe in modern medical science that's an obvious possible answer to the questions which were later asked. 

That said, madmen like Remnick, Kelly and Smerconish have sworn an oath to the gods. They've sworn that question of "mental illness"—even of something as common as "age-related cognitive decline"—must never be raised with respect to someone like President Trump, who is now attacking the pope and portraying himself as a version of Jesus Christ.  

This is madness encountering madness. We'll explore this moral and intellectual disaster all this week.

At this site, we're struggling to return to full functioning in the wake of last week's walk on the wild side. 

That said, Mary Trump has offered a clearcut medical diagnosis with respect to her famous uncle. In part, she has diagnosed some form of "mental illness"—but what kind of diagnosis is that?

SATURDAY: We hope to hit the ground running...

 SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2026

...after the world lost a week: We hit the ground running, admittedly at a rather slow speed, after yesterday's medical summit.

Results from the summit were several: 

One pharmaceutical was kicked to the curb. Another was replaced by a substitute. We returned to our sprawling campus, fell into a deep sleep.

These pharmaceuticals today! At any rate, "Doc" assured us we'd be back on track—and our current reports will (we hope) resume on Monday morning.

Where we left off:

"Who talks like that," David Remnick had said, speaking to Jen Psaki. For the sake of clarity, we'll highlight that excellent question:

Who talks like that?

Also, Megyn Kelly has asked several similar questions, including these:

Can’t he just behave like a normal human? What does that say about him?

One possible answer to all those questions is stunningly obvious. The fact that no one knows how to provide it—or the fact that no one is willing to do so—is anthropology all the way down concerning our bodies, ourselves.

One possible answer is blindingly obvious. With a bit of luck, we'll return to this topic at the start of the week. 

Almost surely, the president isn't "a normal human." But what's the excuse, or the explanation, for the conduct of everyone else?

ILLNESS: "Who talks like this?" David Remnick had said!

THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2026

And then, we had Megyn Kelly: And then, we had Megyn Kelly's reaction to the president's recent threats. 

To view the tape, you can just click here. With apologies for our decision not to bleep, we think we can answer her questions: 

KELLY (4/7/26): I don’t know about you, but I am sick of this shit! I’m just—I’m sick of it. Can’t he just behave like a normal human? I mean, honestly, like the president—“3D chess.” Just shut up! Fucking shut up about that shit! 

You don’t threaten to wipe out an entire civilization. We’re talking about civilians, just casually in a social media post. 

You know, like, I am the first to try to understand Trump and his strategy and not freak out over his weird social media posts and language that is loose and incendiary...But this is completely irresponsible and disgusting. This is wrong. It’s wrong. He should not be doing it.

I don’t care that it’s a negotia–his negotiation tactic is to kill an entire country full of civilians–men, women, and children–an American president, so that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened? It’s just wrong. It’s not hard to say it, it’s not hard to recognize it. I wish he would stop doing this. Like, he can’t negotiate without doing this? What does that say about him? What does that say about the position that our country is in right now in these negotiations? 

He’s got to say this? He can’t be a dignified, strong leader without threatening a bunch of war crimes? Like what is he, Genghis Khan? Like, what is he trying to do and why can’t he do it with strength–threats, sure, go for it–that don’t diminish and demean the United States of America in this way?  

So she said, on Tuesday's edition of The Megyn Kelly Show. For today, we'll regard these as her basic questions: 

Can’t he just behave like a normal human? What does that say about him?  

We think we can provide one (obvious) possible answer to those important questions. In yesterday's post, we said the same thing about David Remnick's recent question:

Who talks like this, Remnick had said.

We think we know how to answer these questions. 

Tomorrow morning, we're going down to see the doc. If we can start to return to normal levels of energy and focus, we'll be happy to tell you what one obvious answer is.

ILLNESS: "Who talks like this?" the gentleman said!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2026

We think we have his answer: Yesterday morning, President Trump offered this post on Truth Social:

Truth Social
Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!

The president gave his blessing to "the great people of Iran," even as he threatened, during the day, to destroy all their bridges and all their power plants and to destroy their ancient civilization.

At the start of last evening's The Last Word, after the president had announced a fourteen day pause, Lawrence O'Donnell suggested that the president's threats had already destroyed "a whole civilization"—our own. 

He said the mere fact of the past week's threats had created "a stain" on the way the United States is seen around the world. He said that stain will never be washed away. 

We don't know if that's right or that's wrong. 

Near the end of the previous hour, David Remnick had appeared on The Briefing with Jen Psaki. 

Remnick has been editor of The New Yorker ever since 1998.  He had a question to ask about the president's astonishing threats:  

"Who talks like this?" Remnick asked. 

He had asked a very good question. We'll guess that Remnick is aware of one (obvious) possible answer.

At this site, we feel fairly sure that we can answer his question! Because we're still weirdly under the weather, we'll offer the answer tomorrow.

ILLNESS: "He has gone insane," the lady said!

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2026

No one can say we weren't warned: Our most disabled president said this, early on Easter Sunday: 

Truth Details  

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump   

Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP

So he declared, on Truth Social. But then again, so what?

Yesterday afternoon, on the gong show known as The Five, Jesse Watters said this: 

WATTERS (4/7/26): I didn't think his [recent] tweets were any more bombastic than they usually are. And bombing power plants is not a war crime. 

How about obliterating every power plant, along with every bridge? Because that's what the sitting president has been promising.

As Fox's silliest child engaged in this messaging conduct, the chyron below him said this:   

"OPEN THE F***IN' STRAIT"  
LEFT MELTS DOWN OVER TRUMP'S TOUGH TALK ON IRAN 

Even Fox wouldn't display what the president actually said. To the producers of the nation's most-watched "cable news" program, the president's Easter Sunday message was simply the latest example of "owning the libs," in this case through a bit of "tough talk."   

Watters didn't see anything new, or anything strange, in a profane Easter Sunday rant which openly mocked the religion of Islam. Let's be sure to make this a holy, civilizational war! So the president urged. 

There's really nothing to say today. We just have to tremble and wait as the stated 8 p.m. deadline approaches.  

That said, one person had a different reaction to that "Open the Fuckin’ Strait" post.  That person was Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former Republican congresswoman.  

Last evening, on The Last Word, Lawrence O'Donnell built his opening monologue around Greene's reaction to the Easter morning post. To read the lady's lengthy post, you can just click here. 

As we said, Greene's post is lengthy. Headline included, this is the start of Mediaite's report:  

‘He Has Gone Insane!’ MTG Absolutely Bludgeons Trump in Fiery Reaction to President’s ‘Evil’ Threat Against Iran    

Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene called out President Donald Trump’s new threat against Iran in stunning fashion—claiming it shows “he has gone insane.”

Greene’s comments followed Trump’s Truth Social post in which he warned of attacks on Iran’s bridges and power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by Tuesday.  

 [...]    

“On Easter morning, this is what President Trump posted,” Greene wrote, in a post on X. “Everyone in his administration that claims to be a Christian needs to fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God and stop worshipping the President and intervene in Trump’s madness. I know all of you and him and he has gone insane, and all of you are complicit.”   

"He has gone insane," she said. Later, she said, "This is evil."   

The fact that she said it doesn't mean that it's true. Also, "insane" isn't a clinical medical term, and Greene isn't a medical specialist.  

In February, the president's niece, who does have a medical background, offered the latest warning. We're sorry to make you sit through this again:  

ERIN BURNETT (2/26/26): You've known him your whole life. Do you actually see a [cognitive] decline?

MARY L. TRUMP: I do, but I think it's important to remember that Donald has never been fit in any capacity. Obviously, what we're dealing with now are age-related cognitive declines. We're dealing with physical issues that the White House tries to cover over.

But this is somebody who for decades now has had serious, undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric disorders, which are only going to worsen, especially given the pressure he's under and given the cognitive and physical declines.  

This is "only going to worsen," she said. And this very day, here we are!

We'd been warned about this, again and again, dating to 2017. But over here in Blue America, the living was easy for journalistic elites. No one tried to start the discussion, and no one ever will.

Also, no one was willing to report and discuss the clowning which streams from the Fox News Channel. The silence of Blues was total. 

Meanwhile, this:

This morning, as we prepare to post, the president has posted this:

Truth Social

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!   

The pomposity is matched by the madness. It will all make sense on The Five. 

We must sit and wait to see what happens. No one can say we weren't warned!

MONDAY: We're breaking the promise we made this morning!

MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2026

On the bright side, we have an excuse: In this morning's report, we said we were going to post the text of the president recent unusual statements.

(This afternoon, in his press event, he added to the list.)

We're holding off for a day. Starting Saturday morning, we had an undesirable response to a prescribed pharmaceutical. As we regain full functioning, we'll wait for a brighter day.