There are a lot of discussions these days about President Joe Biden’s age. Despite the fact that he has gotten three major bipartisan bills passed that will have a profound impact on the American economy and has enjoyed multiple successes on the international front, the media continuously harps on the fact that Biden is 80 years of age.
Agree or not, former President Donald Trump is just three years younger and if you follow his daily statements, some suspicion has to arise that he is experiencing age-related issues that set off all types of alarm bells. Trump may benefit from the fact that he looks younger than President Biden, but his daily rantings on his Truth Social website and his remarks at public events have to make an objective person wonder whether age has taken a serious toll on Mr. Trump.
It would take more than one column of mine to recite the continuous flow of rants that Mr. Trump utters, which raise questions as to what is happening to the former president as he tries to convince American voters that he is fully fit to resume office if he is re-elected. It is one thing to blow off steam, having lost an election, it is another thing to utter a string of threats to harm people in and out of public office.
The most current utterance is the Trump threat against retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. Trump, days in advance of Milley’s formal retirement, called his actions in office “treasonous” and suggested that Milley be “executed.”
This is the second time that Trump has accused Milley of treason. Just prior to the 2020 election, Milley called his counterpart in China to advise him that rumors of an American attack on China were “just rumors.” Trump called that “treason.”
Trump had picked Milley for the top military post in America, but lost confidence in Milley when he told him it wasn’t wise to taunt the North Korean leader for fear his generals would encourage the start of a nuclear war against America.
Milley has served his country for over 40 years with dignity and he is entitled to the greatest of respect for his service to America. For a reference I refer you to an article in the latest edition of The Atlantic magazine titled “The Patriot.” It tells the story of Milley’s career in the Army and his many contributions to keeping this country safe.
The Trump attack on Milley is one of dozens of threats against judges, prosecutors and potential witnesses in the pending four federal criminal cases against the former president. There is no doubt that these attacks are meant to undermine the public’s confidence in the judicial system and prejudice a potential jury in its deliberations. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who Trump calls “deranged,” has applied to the federal court for a gag order to stop the daily vitriol against all of the parties to these pending cases.
In the next month, the judge presiding over the Washington case involving the Jan. 6 insurrection will rule on the application to muzzle the former president and no doubt that will cause another round of insults against everyone in the court system. It would not be a surprise that the D.C. court may threaten jail time for Mr. Trump to stop the torrent of hate from a man who seeks to regain the White House.
Many of my friends periodically mention to me that Biden occasionally stumbles over words in his speeches and that he is no longer as physically nimble as he carries out his daily duties. But is Donald J. Trump entitled to get a pass for all of his ugly diatribes against anyone who he believes has failed to treat him with respect or those who are not afraid to speak their minds about his conduct while in and out of office?
I have known people in my lifetime who are of lesser stature than the former president who have had their sanity questioned based on outrageous statements at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Only a professional can make a credible determination as to whether Mr. Trump is showing the ravages of creeping old age, but his conduct should not be ignored.