Instapundit » Blog Archive » WEIRD, THAT: Why hasn’t Michael Wolff’s dementia-Trump ever been seen in public? In the book, Tr…

Instapundit » Blog Archive » WEIRD, THAT: Why hasn’t Michael Wolff’s dementia-Trump ever been seen in public? In the book, Tr…:
"WEIRD, THAT: Why hasn’t Michael Wolff’s dementia-Trump ever been seen in public?

In the book, Trump has an impossibly short attention span, refuses to learn from policy briefs and fails to grasp the fundamentals of U.S. government.

Where was this version of Trump when giving one of his dozens of interviews, hosting his rallies, or delivering public remarks at any point between 2015 and now?

Yes, Trump mostly spoke extemporaneously during the campaign, often repeating words and themes, a phenomenon otherwise known as speaking aloud.

But he’s also delivered dozens of speeches off teleprompters, proving he can actually read, frequently going off-script to offer commentary and then returning to the prepared remarks.

During the campaign, from January to September in 2016, he hosted more than four-and-a-half hours worth of press conferences, compared to Hillary Clinton’s 38 minutes worth.

Here’s an experiment: Put a truly mentally slow older person, like Dana Milbank, for example, on stage in front of reporters to answer a succession of questions for one hour. Then compare it to the multiple times Trump did it, and see who comes out sharpest.

As president, Trump frequently approaches the press pool in order to answer a range of questions, something former President Obama rarely did.

In Wolff’s book, he says Trump is perpetually distracted, can’t train his mind on substance, and couldn’t recognize his own friends.

Contrast that account with the transcript of a 30-minute interview Trump gave at his golf club in Florida on Dec. 28 to the New York Times. It shows him talking at length about the Russia investigation, the threat from North Korea, and immigration. He even interrupts his thoughts to speak with guests he presumably recognizes.

You never see dementia-Trump in public because he only lives in the heads of Democrats and reporters — but I repeat myself — who are desperate to believe, and who are making fools of themselves in the process."-Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 8:30 am