It would be a pleasant alternate reality if some reporter who was doing an interview with Trump would start giving him a cognitive test live on air.
You wouldn’t have to make it formal. Just ask a few questions about Obama, get him talking about Obama’s policies, maybe the Iran nuclear deal. And then suddenly ask, “Who’s your opponent, Donald?” Soft and friendly like a serial killer. “Who are you running against in this election?”
“What year is it, Donald? What’s the day of the week?”
“Who’s this, Donald?” and put up a picture of Nikki Haley.
“What year did Covid happen, Donald? Can you remember?”
Give him lots of long silences to try to figure the answers out. Don’t interrupt, don’t distract him, don’t move on. Just let the dead air play out until he can’t stand it and says something. But if it’s not the answer… ask again. Tell him it’s okay if he doesn’t remember, but you want to give him another try.
Before you do it, set up his mic all tangled and firmly fastened, so if he tries to stand up and leave, he can’t get it off, and keep the camera running while he struggles. Keep asking questions while he’s trying to free himself. Politely and calmly, but don’t stop.
My favorite cognitive question ever is when I heard a paramedic ask a patient “Is Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?”
Lets be real, he’d walk out. A few years ago I heard an NPR interview with him not too long after Jan 6th and he clearly only took them up on it because he had been mostly de-platformed and was struggling to land interviews right then. He talked over the reporter then hung up. The entire thing was only about 6 minutes long
Yes, if he’s still capable of realizing he’s being played, he’ll either attack back or end it.
He’s doesn’t seem to have the quiet peaceful dementia (yet, maybe). He has the paranoid violent kind where he still likely knows he’s losing it much of the time.
I’ve had 2 different in-laws go through Alzheimer’s. One went from Mr. Rogers nice, to swearing and upset, especially when he lost control of some of his bodily functions. Thankfully Covid got him early in the pandemic and he didn’t have to suffer through starvation.
My MIL however was pleasant and calm, and eventually succumbed to dehydration when she forgot how to swallow. We need proper right to die laws in the US.
A little off topic but I’ve been listening to the Alex Jones depositions on the knowledge fight podcast (highly recommend) and that was kinda similar. Not in a cognitive test way, but seeing his fish gallop technique running into a wall is so satisfying.
For example the plaintiffs lawyer asks a question, Jones uses that as a jumping off point for one of his famous nonsense rants and they just let him ramble for 2 minutes and then the lawyer answers in a very calm manner - “Mr. Jones, that was not my question, my question was …” Repeatedly until they got a straight answer, “Mr Jones I have all day to get the answers I need.”
Once or twice the lawyer even interrupted him with “Babababab! Please just answer my question!” Or “What are you even talking about?” Jones was so caught in his show persona that he stood no chance of avoiding to answer unpleasant questions.
His dad was way more in control of the court room, giving yes or no answers, keeping it short, like someone who listens to his lawyers should do.
The scariest dude in the depositions was one of his editors, a nice sounding guy, who hated Alex Jones, knew that what they were doing was harmful bullshit but continued to do it for years without caring about the impact. The mundanity of evil.
It’s “gish gallop”. Don’t forget to fix it after the inevitable autocorrect. If you just type “gish” a hundred times… then you’ll never be able to write “fish” again.
Nah, they should let it ride. It’s one of those silly auto corrections that make me smile.
