Over the course of his two administrations, many have used words like “erratic” and “extreme” to describe the behavior of President Donald Trump. But as frustrations from the spiraling war on Iran have accumulated and his actions have become increasingly bizarre, a growing number of people — including his former allies — are wondering if Trump is, according to New York Times Chief White House Correspondent Peter Baker, “crazy-like-a-fox-or-just-plain-crazy.”Trump is no stranger to making radical statements, but in the past few weeks, he’s careened from threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight” to declaring that the Pope is “Weak on Nuclear Weapons.” This has “left many with the impression of a deranged autocrat mad with power,” Baker reports.So concerning have Trump’s words and actions been of late that even many of his most high profile backers who have been with him since the beginning of his political career are beginning to speculate about his mental health, with some going so far as to suggest that it’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment that would remove him from office. It’s “not tough rhetoric, it’s insanity,” former Trump ally and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene declared. Far-right podcaster Candace Owens called him “a genocidal lunatic.” Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — who has been one of Trump’s staunchest allies since the beginning of his presidential campaign in 2015 — said the president “does babble and sounds like the brain’s not doing too hot.” Each of these long-time MAGA supporters has called for the 25th.Even some who have worked directly with and for the president have questioned his mental fitness. Trump lawyer Ty Cobb said he’s “clearly insane.” Former Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham posted, “he’s clearly not well.” And former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci called him a “mad man,” saying, “more people now should be calling for this man’s removal.”While such calls have yet to come from Republicans in Congress, Baker notes that polls show a growing plurality of Americans think that Trump is becoming “more erratic with age” and question whether he is “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges.”Trump and others in his orbit have attempted to deny such concerns, but they have persisted and date back even to her first administration. Now in his second term, writes Baker, “Trump seems even less restrained and more incoherent,” with his speeches getting longer and more rambling to the point of nonsense. His lies have become more boldly fabricated, and his anger toward his opponents more violently expressed. There is little sign that Trump’s behavior will improve rather than worsen, so as the world waits for the president’s next unhinged post, Baker says one thing is clear: “never in modern times has the stability of a president been so publicly and forensically debated — and with such profound consequences.”
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