Chris Hayes Nails Trump’s Mental Decline: ‘Did You Get All That?’

He used to be funny, it’s true. I recall reading an article about Donald Trump in 1992 in Vanity Fair and concluding that they’d found the one guy who was a bigger ass than me, age 22. Having said that, even as he let his hall of fame self-absorption fly, he could be engaging, he could be funny, even somewhat humble. No more.

To be sure, we all decline with age and I’d love to hear from anyone not getting older by the day. But few of us will be handed the nuclear codes. As President Biden can attest, age and acuity matter. To that end, as Chris Hayes noted that the media seems to be grading Trump on a curve, “because he’s always been rambling… ”

Well, not always. Before we get to Chris Hayes’s video, it’s good to ride the wayback machine and peek in on a Letterman interview with Trump as a guest. Notice the facial expressions, the smile, even the self-deprecating humor which comes across, somewhat remarkably, like a slice of humility.

Who is that guy? He could talk real estate incentives, laugh at his own quirky incoherence, a self-awareness that is critical but now appears missing. Funny, though: “It was a good year to get a divorce.”

Fast forward to 2012. He was always one to shamelessly sling mud at anyone that didn’t like him. We see a precursor when he called Rosie O’Donnell a “degenerate.” But yet again, note a self-aware Donald Trump, willing to take on some tougher questions without fury at Letterman, another guy whose gift was laughing at himself.

Notice the body language, the arm movement, the facial expression, the gestures. Take yourself out of the political context momentarily and what you might think of the Ms. America pageant, just notice the tight syntax and, well – humor.

A sense of humor often comes by combining sharp insight with self-awareness, reading an audience’s reaction. Indeed, perhaps one of Trump’s best moments as president was how he handled his speech at the U.N. At one point, after he talked about his presidency as getting more done than almost any other (This was early in the term), the diplomats laughed, hard, at the boast.

Trump defused the entire situation by laughing himself, saying, “Didn’t expect that reaction but that’s okay.” He was also appropriately serious and respectful of the venue and his responsibility to it: If only he could laugh at himself more often, people might take him more seriously.

That s fairly good stuff, a nice recovery.

On to Chris Hayes and his video from an absolutely brutal appearance in front of the New York Economic Club, one that was obliterated on “X” in real time. Hayes focused on one portion as did a lot of others on many platforms.

Trump couldn’t handle a fairly simple question on childcare. He was asked what type of legislation he would support on the subject. As compiled by our besties over at Rawstory:

“I was sitting down and somebody, we had Senator Marco Rubio and my daughter Ivanka were so impactful on that issue, it’s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about, that, because childcare is childcare, you know, it’s something you have to have it in this country, you have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers, compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about…”

It goes on and on and on before he eventually swung back around to childcare by agreeing it is important. No one asked how he might pay for it, only whether he would support some national program. He didn’t get there. Not even close.

Hayes was all over it, laughing hard while saying:

“MAGA, did you get all that? Remember, the question was, what specific piece of legislation will you advance to keep child care costs down?”

Sure, as said, everyone declines with age. But for all of the talk about Joe Biden’s mental acuity, Trump who will be the one who will be the oldest person inaugurated should he win. Remember, too – this is the guy who questioned whether we might benefit from nuking hurricanes.

Go back to 1992 and compare and contrast. He could be funny even disengaging. But his decline is now concerning and it’s engaging a lot of people who find the subject to be a bit too serious for any laughter.

Nuclear codes.