
Donald Trump is âhauntedâ by the fear that he might suffer the same cognitive decline that affected his father, Fred Trump, who died in 1999 after a long battle with Alzheimerâs and dementia. Timothy L. OâBrien, senior editor at Bloomberg Opinion, said on MSNBC that Trump, who has expressed a desire for a third presidential termâwhich the U.S. Constitution prohibitsâis motivated more by self-preservation or self-aggrandizement than reality.
OâBrien noted that Trump, now 78 and approaching 79, looks significantly aged, and his healthâespecially his fear of mental declineâmay be a bigger obstacle to a third term than voters or legal barriers. Trump fears following his fatherâs path, who, despite being diagnosed with dementia in 1991, continued working until late in life. Friends and family describe Fred Trump as someone who kept going until the day he was hospitalized.
However, Donald Trump rarely speaks publicly about this fear, especially since he has often mocked President Joe Bidenâs mentalâŚ