Katy Tur has been covering Donald Trump for a very long time. Most reporters drift in and out of his orbit, but she has stayed close, watching him from up close for almost ten years. She started following him back in 2015 when he was a lively 69. Now he is almost 80, and she says it is clear that age is catching up with him.
On The Daily Beast Podcast, Tur said Trump is simply not the same as he used to be. She said he does not have the same energy. She has watched more of his speeches than most people ever will, and she said there is a real change in how he talks. He is less coherent. His thoughts do not connect the way they used to. His tempo is slower. His speech is slower.
She explained that this is completely normal for someone who is 79 and almost 80. She said there are real questions about his cognitive ability. Sometimes he slurs his words. Sometimes what he says makes even less sense than before. She said he is different now, and that anyone at that age would naturally start slowing down.
The uncomfortable part for Trump is that he has spent years mocking Joe Biden for aging. He joked about Biden’s stumbles. He claimed Biden was too old and too confused to lead. People warned him that saying those things would eventually come back to bite him. And now they have.
Because of that, Trump is taking every comment about his age very personally. He insists that nothing is wrong. He claims his rambling speeches and drifting off during meetings are all in people’s heads. The White House pushed back hard at Tur’s comments. They said Trump is the most energetic president in modern history and called Tur a biased activist instead of a real reporter.
But even people who normally support him are starting to see the same changes. Comedian Shane Gillis, who is not exactly anti-Trump, said Trump looks slower. He said Trump is not at “Biden level” yet, but he is “circling the drain.” That is coming from someone who usually jokes in Trump’s favor.
Trump says all of this is nonsense. He claims he took a perfect physical exam. He says he aced a cognitive test. He insists he is full of energy and ready to go.
Sure, if he says so. Now someone should probably let him finish his mid-day Oval Office nap. A Secret Service agent can bring him a cup of coffee when he wakes up.
