Why Does Donald Trump Slur His Words? Iran Address Raises Questions About Dementia Among Experts

President Donald Trump’s address to the nation following the Iranian airstrikes last week was filled with heavy breathing, slurring and mispronunciations. 

In his speech Wednesday morning. Trump called for diplomacy and peace between the two countries, announcing no immediate military responses to the airstrike. However, he held on to his original justification for killing Iranian General Soleimani. In place of military action, Trump announced that additional sanctions would be placed on Iran although it does little to reduce tensions between the United States and Iran. 

However, it was the excessive snorting and heavy breath that captivated the nation. Many were alarmed and worried of the president’s health. This isn’t the first time the president’s health has been in question, and the White House has refused to comment on this issue since he’s taken office.

Timothy Burke, a video director and founder of Burke Communications, counted that Trump sniffed and snorted 58 times in nine minutes. His pronunciation was also off, pronouncing  “tolerated” as “toleride,” and “accomplishments” as “accompliment shates.”

“Tolerited” pic.twitter.com/2oDBNibR6Y

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 8, 2020

It’s worth noting that his father, Fred Trump, suffered with a form of dementia (Alzheimer’s) later in his life, which is known to be hereditary. Joe Scarborough, a lifetime friend of Trump who is now an opponent, said in 2018, “[His mental confusion] is getting worse, and not a single person who works for him doesn’t know he has early signs of dementia.”

Trump also appeared to be slurring at one of his own campaign rallies last week while boasting about the assassination of top Iranian general Soleimani, adding to the concern of the president’s health. 

Trump has denied being unhealthy on multiple occasions. Just this past November, Trump had an unannounced hospital visit. The White House immediately, denied accusations that Trump was ill and said that the visit was “regular, primary preventive care.”

At his annual physical checkup last February, he weighed in at 243 pounds and has been  reported to be taking rosuvastatin to control his cholesterol.