Overview
- Clinical psychologist and former Johns Hopkins professor Dr. John Gartner made the assessment on The Daily Beats Podcast with host Joanna Coles on October 23, 2025.
- Gartner says Trump exhibits speech and memory problems he interprets as cognitive decline, citing invented word endings, disjointed associative leaps likened to a “stone skipping,” and what he calls phonemic paraphasia.
- He warns that Trump’s impulsivity combined with sole control of the nuclear football could lead to a catastrophic decision.
- Gartner links eight recent U.S. military boat strikes to what he describes as worsening judgment and characterizes the actions as violations of international law.
- He points to recent public remarks and confusions as examples of deterioration and notes he previously labeled Trump with “malignant narcissism” during his first term.