KEY POINTS

  • Donald Trump's vocabulary is much simpler 
  • Donald Trump's sentence structure is deteriorating
  • Experts think that this could be because of his cognitive decline and aging

Donald Trump used to be a great speaker. He was articulate, and he didn’t repeat his thoughts over and over again. But as he got older, and after he became the president of the United States, it became evident that his vocabulary has become simpler.

Experts previously analyzed the changes in the POTUS’ choice of words and speaking manner, and they offered possible reasons why his vocabulary is deteriorating.

Ben Michaelis, a psychologist from New York City, said that there has been a clear reduction in Trump’s linguistic sophistication in recent years, and his word choices and sentence structure have also become very simple.

“In fairness to Trump, he’s 70 so some decline in his cognitive functioning over time would be expected,” he told Stat News.

But Michaelis didn’t also discount the possibility of Trump changing his manner of speaking for strategic reasons. The POTUS might have been using simple words to appeal to certain groups of people.

John Montgomery, a fellow psychologist from New York City, said that the only way to know what’s really wrong with Trump is if he would undergo rigorous testing.

“But I think it’s pretty safe to say that Trump has had significant cognitive decline over the years,” he said.

Neuropsychologist Sterling Johnson from the University of Wisconsin added that Trump’s difficulty in his use of language may also have something to do with the immense pressure he’s under including all of the scandals he is involved in.

“It could also be due to a neurodegenerative disease or the normal cognitive decline that comes with aging,” he said.

Meanwhile, Trump has been sparking health worries among his supporters and critics because he is oftentimes heard slurring his words. The POTUS also has difficulty pronouncing certain words.

And just this past weekend, netizens noticed how Trump’s eyes oftentimes look dilated. A specialist claimed that the POTUS’s cataract surgery and other health problems didn’t cause his intermittent eye dilation. Rather, it is Trump’s previous use of drugs that triggered it.

US President Donald Trump was not in forgiving mood at the annual National Prayer Breakfast
US President Donald Trump was not in forgiving mood at the annual National Prayer Breakfast AFP / Nicholas Kamm