Leader dissolving before our eyes

The American public and the world in general is repeatedly vexed by the outbursts of the country’s doddering leader — but as strange as it is to say, it could be worse.

Recent outbursts and public naps have made it clear U.S. President Donald Trump is a leader in decline.

His personal disdain for the press — particularly female journalists — is, if not any greater than usual, at least being expressed with even less care, including referring to a female journalist as “Piggy,” when asked about the Epstein files. He asked another, “Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?” as Americans celebrated Thanksgiving. In general, whatever filters he had appear to be gone — he recently referred to Somali immigrants as “garbage” as his administration moved to pause immigration applications from Somalia and 18 other travel-ban nations.

This week, he claimed to be “sharper” than he was a quarter-century ago before appearing to fall asleep during a cabinet meeting. It’s not the first time Trump has had trouble appearing awake before onlookers.

When questioned on his mental acuity, he often boasts about his performance during cognitive tests, apparently ignorant of how low a bar to clear that is — the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, to which Trump was subjected, asks him to perform such rigorous mental tasks as correctly identifying a photo of an elephant.

Trump is 79 years old, so it’s not surprising that his stamina is waning. The U.S. presidency is a tremendously taxing office to hold. However, while that may excuse his fatigue, it does not excuse his personality; Trump’s increasingly belligerent behaviour and the increasingly hamfisted way he is implementing his policies speaks to a leader rapidly dissolving before our eyes, and that spells even darker days ahead.

It goes without saying that presidents of any previous administration would not have remained in office had they pulled even a fraction of the stunts Trump has over the course of his two non-consecutive terms. Between what appears to be controlled opposition in the Democratic Party and a MAGA movement which has pulled most of the American right into lockstep with Trump, Americans and their representatives seem to have no mechanism they are willing to use to remove him from power.

Thus, as this presidential term continues, the world must prepare for the possibilities. As odd as it is to say, one might actually hope Trump remains right where he is.

Should Trump continue to cling to power, the rest of the planet must be ready to weather the storms of his temper combined with his scattershot attention span. Governments across the world are already doing this. Trump has become a devil we know.

However, in a situation where Trump’s deteriorating condition leaves him an invalid — or if he actually died of old age in office — the advisers and acolytes, such as Vice-President JD Vance, who would rise up in his place are people who would be likely to carry on his work.

This is a worse outcome. Right now, Trump insists on exerting his own authority and loathes to be undermined; the power he now holds is not one he can wield as effectively as he believes he does. His belligerence is aggravating and his prejudices appalling; however, he remains a deeply unpopular leader unable to personally muster the energy required to see his deranged vision of American society to fruition.

A world where he vanishes one day and his power falls into the hands of others who share his worldview, but who lack his physical and mental obstacles, would be a much greater danger, to Americans and to the rest of us.