‘Trump is in severe mental decline’: Concerns raised over president’s health
‘He’s in full-blown meltdown; it’s like the episodes of Chernobyl,’ says sacked communications director
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump is “in severe mental decline” and “won’t make it” to the next election, a former top aide has claimed.
Anthony Scaramucci, who was White House communications director for just 11 days before he was sacked in 2017, said the US president’s behaviour has “got worse” since he last saw him a year ago.
In an interview with CTV News on Friday, he said: “He’s in full-blown meltdown; it’s like the episodes of Chernobyl where the reactor’s melting down and people are trying to figure out whether they’re going to cover it up or clean it up.”
Mr Scaramucci said he believed the president’s chances of re-election were “diminishing every day” – but admitted there was “still a chance there”.
He added: “I predict he won’t make it to that election; there’s such severe mental decline going on that the most likely outcome here, and I think the proudest outcome, would be to say ‘OK I did a great job, and I’m going to retire at the end of the term’.”
Speaking at Toronto Global Forum on Friday, he repeated his claim that Mr Trump is in “severe mental decline”, adding: “I’m not saying that now because I’m a political adversary or I disavowed him, I’m saying that objectively just looking at what’s going on.”
The former aide’s comments came after the president was taken to task for a tweet he posted last weekend claiming that Alabama would be hit by Hurricane Dorian.
He later faced criticism after posing in the Oval Office with a National Hurricane Centre map of Storm Dorian which appeared to have been altered to include Alabama in the storm’s path.
Mr Trump hit back, tweeting: “This nonsense has never happened to another president.
“Four days of corrupt reporting, still without an apology.”
However the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama, tweeted: “Alabama will not see any impacts from Dorian. We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane Dorian will be felt across Alabama.”
Sources told Business Insider that the president’s advisers were particularly concerned about his refusal to acknowledge his claim was false.
“People are used to the president saying things that aren’t true, but this Alabama stuff is another story,” they said.
"No one knows what to expect from him anymore," one former White House official told Business Insider, speaking anonymously.
"His mood changes from one minute to the next based on some headline or tweet, and the next thing you know his entire schedule gets tossed out the window because he's losing his s***,” they added.
A Republican strategist told the website: “He’s deteriorating in plain sight.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments