Introduction

Over the past several years I have written about President Trump, expressing my opinions regarding his policies, politics, and character.  I will repeat my opinion that some of President Trump’s policy initiatives are worthy of consideration.  However, the political dynamics of the Republican and Democratic parties often fail to look for ways to move forward with these ideas. 

Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the government are instruments of the People.  We should not feel compelled to accept their lack of work in finding compromise to the budget crisis.  Likewise, we have an obligation to protect America’s interests both domestically and internationally.  It is my view that the legislative and judicial branches of government have been coopted by President Trump.  Our “face” to the world, despite his own self-aggrandizement, is making America look dysfunctional.   On the home front, the government is shut down, price inflation continues to be a problem, major initiatives to combat global warming have been shut down, and other significant government departments have been gutted.   In my opinion, supported by numerous mental health professions, our president has mental and cognitive problems and should NOT be making policy decisions.  While the policies may have sound foundations to build upon, President Trump’s egotistic “I have the answers” approach has far too often failed to consider the outcomes of his decisions.

President Trump is content to ignore the Constitution and Bill of Rights when they do not fit his vision.  Blowing up boats in the Caribbean and Atlantic in international waters is a violation of International Maritime Law.  It is also a violation of our Constitution.  The increased use of ICE to control immigration may have been a good idea, but in Trump’s wisdom he has deployed the National Guard and Marines to support ICE officers under the manufactured idea that cities like Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, and New York are “hotbeds of crime”!

Are these the actions of a stable genius as President Trump claims?  In my lifetime, I have lived under ten presidents.  While history may have found that each of these presidents had human failings, there have never been any that measure up to Trump’s poor decision making abilities!  Richard Nixon may come close with his illegal efforts to control the Presidential election, resulting in the Watergate Scandal.

President Trump’s Character and Mental Status

Multiple mental health professionals have publicly raised concerns about President Trump’s mental health and cognitive functioning. These concerns are often expressed through collective publications and structured assessments, rather than formal diagnoses, due to ethical guidelines that prohibit diagnosing public figures without direct examination. Notable efforts include the 2017/2018 book, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, where 27 psychiatrists and mental-health experts argued that Trump’s behavior presented dangerous traits, such as patterns resembling narcissism and paranoia. They emphasized the need for public warning, despite the ethical convention against remote diagnosis. The voter didn’t listen!

However, in 2024 and 2025, some mental health experts have expressed alarm over Trump’s cognitive faculties, suggesting signs of cognitive decline. Observations include rambling speeches, erratic debate performances, and incoherent tangents during public appearances.  Analyses of Trump’s public persona often highlight traits associated with narcissistic leadership, authoritarian tendencies, and transactional logic. As noted earlier in this piece, his behavior aligns with grandiose self-image, moral disengagement, and strategic aggression, which have shaped his presidency’s most controversial policies.

Despite extensive public discussion and expert commentary, Donald Trump has not received an official public psychiatric diagnosis. Formal diagnosis requires direct clinical evaluation, which has not occurred. Trump has recently reportedly passed cognitive screening tests (such as the MoCA), Still, some experts remain concerned about potential cognitive decline, citing speech patterns and memory lapses. Recent media reports have highlighted Trump’s MRI scans and increased scrutiny of his mental fitness, especially following public statements and social media activity that some interpret as signs of confusion or possible dementia. However, these claims remain speculative and are not supported by official medical documentation.

The 2024 stud, mentioned earlier, used a structured Psychodiagnostic Chart to compare leaders and reported that Trump’s scores fell into a severe mental illness and dangerousness range across multiple mental functions, alongside Vladimir Putin, and contrasted with a psychologically healthy Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The study presents quantitative profiling to support its conclusions. The methodology and the authors’ selection criteria a important considerations for interpreting the strength of this comparison.

Conclusion

Multiple medical experts have raised concerns about Trump’s mental health and cognitive abilities through published collections and structured assessments, and these works consistently highlight public-safety concerns. However, differences in methods, ethical debates about remote diagnosis, and potential political motives indicate that these warnings should be treated as serious signals warranting further, standardized evaluation rather than conclusive clinical proof. My readers must assess whether clinical concerns are amplified by political objectives.

Robert Fischer

Considering the current situation in America, I am very concerned with the direction of leadership shown by the Trump administration.  While 2025 isn’t the first time there has been controversy and conflict, it is the first time that an administration has deliberately flaunted the Constitution and court precedents that have been the foundation of this country for 250 years.  For example, in the 1950s America recovered from WWII.  Republicans were focusing on building a strong economy, whereas Democrats were looking to expand human rights.  But the two goals were not in exclusion from each other.   People argued but generally got along.  Issues of civil rights, a woman’s place in society, and social mobility were concerns.

The issues of the 1950s eventually resulted in turmoil in the 1960s and 70s.   I lived through the Vietnam conflict on the police front lines, protecting property and the rights of protesters, who on occasion resorted to violence.  I was also working as a police officer during the end of the Civil Rights Movement.  I worked with racist officers who still did their job despite their prejudices. 

There were social problems that sometimes resulted in violence.  Still, I believed in the rule of the law and the stability of our government with its Constitution and the belief that “We the People” ultimately controlled the nation’s future.  I didn’t agree with all the choices that were made by those representing the majority.  There were policies on women’s rights, affirmative action, drug control, and laws that I felt encroached on individual rights.  I and others voiced our concerns.  Demonstrations on these issues were commonplace.  However, I was among the minority. 

By 2000, as I reached middle age, many of the social issues that the nation faced in the 1960s and 70s were being addressed.  Again, while I didn’t agree with all the positions that were taken by those that won the elections, I knew that I would have an opportunity to sway others’ opinions and perhaps eventually see my own opinion dominate policy.  LBGTQ rights, women’s rights, continued advancement in civil rights, and DEI, all of which I supported, were being written into law and policies.  However, what I failed to see was the growing discontent of some friends and relatives, who saw changes supported by people like me, as destructive to their view of the American life.  What I saw as positive, inclusive policies that made it possible for disadvantaged people to aspire to the “American Dream,” others saw as destructive policy chipping away at the America that they knew. 

I was happy when Hillary Clinton was the first woman to run for President.  I was not a major supporter of her campaign, but the fact that a major party would present a woman for the position of President was, in my opinion, a move in the right direction.  I was even more enthusiastic when Barack Obama was nominated for the Presidency and won.  I was surprised when so many people that I knew well were upset over Obama’s election.  I hadn’t realized that racism, which I knew still existed, was so deeply engrained in so many Americans.  Despite the disconnect, I was still willing to believe that our institutions, laws, and Constitution would allow for the continuation of all free expression.  My belief was bolstered when the “Black Lives Matter” movement, along with “Me Too” and other minority and social issues, were making headlines.  The people were free to express opinions and attempt to change government policies and law.

When the 2016 election cycle began, I was pleased to see a diverse Republican field of candidates.  The Democratic field was seemingly focused on Hillary Clinton.  However, I was disappointed when Donald Trump, a political unknown, began to gain a large following.  I couldn’t believe the progression of his candidacy to nomination.  What I again failed to note was the depth of frustration that many Americans were feeling toward our government and toward both major political parties.  Traditional Republicans were not getting the job done and Democrats were not representing the interests of a growing group of individuals who believed that our country was heading in the wrong direction.  Although I didn’t vote for Donald Trump, I believed that America’s majority was heard.  I knew that many of his ideas were not ones that I could support.  Still, he was President and until I and others could elect someone with a platform that we could support, I would voice my opinion and hope for a change in leadership. That change occurred in the 2020 election; the voting majority moved the agenda back to socially progressive policies. 

While I should have seen it coming, President Trump didn’t walk away from 2020 with a congratulations and we’ll see you in 2024!  Instead, he chose to create a perception that the election had been stolen.  This shouldn’t have surprised me as his entire platform in 2016 had been filled with “make believe” problems, that supported the beliefs of Americans who are afraid the America that they knew was fading away.  Candidate Trump convinced many Americans that there were too many criminal immigrants, terrible crime waves in our big cities, transgender individuals who would steal wins from our women athletes, DEI programs that disadvantaged traditional Americans, a fake climate crisis, and others.  His actions should have been a warning.  However, his actions were not taken seriously by many. 

In 2025, we now see that those who believed Trump’s make-believe version of America were able to return him to office where he can fix all these ills.  But so far, I don’t see much real progress since the things he is trying to fix don’t need fixing.  They are not the big problems that President Trump has sold to MAGA!  Some are issues that do need addressing.  However, what is a concern is his approach.  His administration is ignoring our courts, laws, traditions, and the Constitution.  While I have observed that many Americans have voiced disapproval, many court decisions have pushed back on his executive orders.  Even some of his own party objects to his policies.  I am concerned that his administration is working to make it difficult for the people to continue to have a voice.  For the first time, I am concerned that the America that has allowed me to dissent is in danger of being lost.  We the People need to continue to voice our concerns.  This can be done through protest, discussions with people we know, letters to the editor, letters (email, text) to representatives, and most importantly, casting an informed vote.

It’s Not the Age, It’s the Character that Counts

Robert James Fischer

We all age differently.  Some have arthritis, others can still play pickleball at 85.  Age isn’t really a factor in politics.  If cognitive abilities remain, other physical diminishments really are of little consequence.  And even with slowed cognitive abilities, good decisions can be made.  But, considering all the information that an older person has gathered, it sometimes takes extra time to retrieve specific information. 

On the other hand, character is something that is well defined before the end of our teen years.  People who do not develop accepted societal values will likely not develop them as they age.  In practice, those people learn how to mask their weaknesses.  They often become con artists or are involved in other non-socially unacceptable behavior.  Moral people tend to continue to care for others. They use their strong societal values to improve society rather than looking to their own needs.

Why does this matter in the political arena?  Over the years, history has shown that those who have served our country with policies that have improved life for our people have been persons with strong positive values— Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, J. Kennedy, Obama and Biden, to name only a few.  On the other hand, some who have served did not possess the character to sacrifice their own well-being for our nation.  They were more interested in serving their own interests—for example, Burr, A. Johnson, Harding, Agnew, Nixon, and now Trump. Thankfully, a much shorter list!

History does teach us lessons if we would only pay attention.  Not that long ago the presidency of Richard Nixon taught a nation a hard lesson on personal greed.  Many Americans are too young to remember the Watergate scandal and the treachery behind Nixon’s desire for power.  There are many similarities between Tricky Dick and Donald Trump.  America needs to understand that persons like Nixon and Trump may make grand statements about their love of America, but they are only using citizens to maintain power and stroke their own egos. As a recent pundit remarked.  There are millions of Americans who are in need.  They are looking for someone to lead them out of poverty.  Person’s such as Nixon and Trump prey on this desire and promise a better way. They want your vote to maintain their own power and stroke their ego.

In the coming months Americans will need to decide whether or not character counts.  History tells us that it does.  In November don’t let the false belief that age is a problem cloud your judgement.  Biden may be a few years older than Trump.  But they are both old men!   The real choice is about character.  Who has shown a love of country and an ability to compromise?  Remember that Biden was friends with John McCain!  Who cares more about their own ego and maintaining power? Consider the fact check that Trump’s own cabinet and vice president don’t want him back in office.

The choice is clear!!