To be clear, I'm not sure what triggered Trump's post; it isn't clear from context/ But Trump has a notoriously thin skin, and he is predictable to the extent he will respond or exact his revenge to an insult, ingratitude, disloyalty, or other perceived wrong against him.
I did think Biden showed incredibly bad judgment in unfavorably comparing his COVID-19 experience to Trump's. He bragged while Trump was hospitalized for 3 days at Walter Reed, Biden, with mild symptoms, was able to isolate in the White House and continued working during his brief days-long infection As I tweeted, Trump had a far more virulent variant and did not have Biden's preventive protective mRNA vaccines, boosters, and antiviral Paxlovid treatment available.
Of course, Biden has reported a rebound infection. I don't know the specifics, e.g., if he was cleared on a false negative, but we do know older people can experience metabolizing meds, tend to lose antibody protection earlier, etc. It was a known but relatively low probability (e.g., 2%) reinfection rate with Paxlovid. I have not found a good explanation, but what I've read on the issue suggests that Biden should have stayed on Paxlovid longer.
Now, to be sure, Trump has made ageist mental fitness attacks against Biden, at least as long as Biden was seen as a viable political opponent to Trump's reelection. Of course, Biden has been a gaffe machine his whole political career. And he has had his share of humorous moments when, for example, he seems to lose track of his train of thought at points. (But to be honest, it happens to all of us sometimes. For example, when I delivered my valedictory at high school graduation, the reading light at the podium was weak, and I couldn't read my typewritten speech. However, I basically delivered the speech from memory. At about the 75% point, my mind suddenly went blank. I don't know how long it took for me to get back onto track--probably about 40 seconds, but it seemed like forever. The audience was confused--had I finished? I was desperately trying to find my place under a faint yellow light. Oddly, no one said a word to me about the speech pause--before I got to the family car, when my younger siblings relentlessly teased me the whole ride home.)
Whatever the context of Biden's breakthrough COVID-19 infection, Trump published the following:
To those of us who personally know people diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease, it is no laughing matter. One of my friends as a high school was a coed, KO; she had an older brother who was a genius, who had placed at MIT out of his junior year, and she saw me in the same category as her brother, later saying one of her highlights was scoring second to me on a math test. She disappeared after freshman year, in a broken family where she was a victim of domestic violence. We reconnected decades later at an alumni website. The main relevance to this essay.is she had reconnected with her mother late in the latter's life. Her mother had been diagnosed with dementia. My friend stayed with her mom the last 6 months of her life, taking care of her.
Another case that comes to mind is a sibling's mother-in-law. We were pen pals about 20 years back; she was initially dealing with PC issues, and I gave her some advice (stuff like changing font size for improved legibility). Very nice, sweet lady. I knew she had been diagnosed with dementia before a visit maybe 3 years back. She no longer recognized me, but what breaks your heart is when she no longer recognized her own children. The last incident I can remember hearing about is the two moms were being treated to a nice steak dinner at my sibling's house when the mother-in-law had some sort of choking incident, apparently losing the ability to swallow. She passed a few months ago, spending the last several months of her life on a liquid diet, like Ensure or Boost.
I'm most familiar with a diagnosed matriarch in the family tree; at the time of diagnosis, the widow was living in her house alone except for her dog. A lot of what I've heard is second hand. I'm not sure of when the diagnosis of Alzheimer's was made, but a key incident makes the point. She heard the family cat meowing from the backyard. (Background: the family had given away said cat, then pregnant, literally decades earlier.) She triggered the alarm trying to go out of the house to let her in and couldn't remember the code and/or process to turn it off. The police showed up to find a confused homeowner. (The woman's son lives within easy driving distance and got things straightened out.) If you've ever seen the movie "Our Father's Keeper" (I think on Youtube here), it's not hard to imagine how a confused homeowner, locked out of her house, could wander off. It's almost impossible to list the things that can go wrong, like forgetting that your stove burner is still on (real incident). Not to mention things like forgetting to take your meds or not remembering you took your meds.
And, of course, your loved one is fiercely independent and is in a state of denial of her limitations. She insists she can still cook and clean her house, etc. You'll find yourself responding to the same questions she asked minutes earlier. She'll forget the name of one daughter, not recognize another daughter's long-married spouse. She doesn't remember when her husband passed. It's tests your patience and your love; it's heartbreak all the time. Family members tell you to visit her sooner while she can remember you.
She now lives in assisted living, hates it with a passion, incessantly begs to go home. Her children have tried to alternately do it. Before the disease was diagnosed, the 5 family women planned a vacation to the Grand Canyon; instead they spent the time at her house. At the time 3 family members lived in the local area., another 2 about 300 miles away in Texas. They took turns staying with her. It wasn't working; it wasn't sustainable.
I'm not sure how representative this family's experience is, but an estimated 6 million Americans suffer from various forms of dementia, all with their own tragic stories.
It's clear that Trump used the phony dementia issue to bring up nursing homes and alleged ballot fraud. See FactCheck.org's Unraveling Trump’s Unsubstantiated Claim of ‘Crooked’ Nursing Home Votes. I've long had my fill of Sore Loser Trump's excuses for losing the 2020 election, the crackpot conspiracies, the endless lawsuits, his revenge attacks against the "disloyal", etc. I'm not a trained psychologist or psychiatrist, but I don't believe his uncivil behavior is normal; I think it's indicative of a certain form of mental illness, like narcissism. I've seen articles and documentaries making that assessment.
I'm not trying to make references to dementia "politically correct" But I do think it's a matter of civility. There are legitimate criticisms one can make of Biden, but let''ws be more sensitive in discussing dementia. Don't joke about a real tragedy.
