The Emperor Has No Brain.

A pair of psychologists have launched a weekly podcast in which they document, on an ongoing basis, the mental deterioration of Donald Trump.

The podcast, "Shrinking Trump," is co-hosted by Drs. John Gartner and Harry Segal. Dr. Gartner, early in Trump's presidency, founded Duty to Warn, a coalition of mental health professionals organized around three beliefs:

1. that Donald Trump showed ALL (not just some) of the signs of malignant narcissism, a mental disorder that masks insecurity with self-glorification, and that renders the sufferer incapable of empathy, much less love (the term "malignant narcissism" was coined by psychoanalyst Erich Fromm in his quest to understand and describe Adolf Hitler);
2. that Donald Trump's dysfunction made him dangerous; and
3. that their professional ethics imposed a duty to warn the public about the danger.

Now, with "Shrinking Trump," he and Dr. Segal express two additional concerns:

1. that Donald Trump's malignant narcissism is being compounded by dementia; and
2. that the press is "gaslighting" America regarding Trump's dementia.

The first of these propositions gives the podcast's title, "Shrinking Trump," two meanings - first, that the co-hosts are a pair of shrinks, and also, that Donald Trump's brain is shrinking.

Since Donald Trump's dementia could affect us all, we need to understand a couple of things about the condition.

First, dementia is incurable. It never gets better.

Second, not only does dementia never get better. It also never stands still. It is progressive. It always gets worse. This leads Dr. Gartner to make a prediction:

"Look at Donald Trump right now, because that's the best Donald Trump you're ever going to see."

In other words, he will be worse next week than he is this week. And he will be worse in two weeks than he will be next week.

"The rate of deterioration is accelerating," Dr. Gartner says, and the podcast places the bet that each week, Donald Trump will provide evidence that he has gotten worse. In each episode he and Dr. Segal share examples from the past week, describing what is happening with Trump in clinical terms. They leave political commentary to others, thank God.

I think everyone should watch/listen to at least one episode of the podcast, if only to shake ourselves out of our own programming regarding Donald Trump. I think many of us have developed knee-jerk responses to the man that prevent us from seeing what is front of us.

After all, if he does indeed have dementia, then at some point his mind will be so far gone that he will need 24-hour care (unless he dies first).

Between now and then, his ongoing cognitive decline will become increasingly evident. And it will force us all, in time, to acknowledge it.

The question is, "How will we respond?"

A few guesses: 

1. People around Trump, who are aware of his condition, will develop a portfolio of strategies to manage around it. 

For instance: dementia commonly generates more noticeable symptoms in the late afternoon or evening, a phenomenon known as "sundowning". So, expect Trump's handlers to schedule more morning and early afternoon appearances (like the Las Vegas rally), going forward, and fewer evening appearances. In fact, do NOT be surprised if he withdraws from the debate with Joe Biden that is scheduled for the evening of June 24.

2. Trump supporters will reluctanly recognize Trump's problem. The ones who attend his rallies will gradually realize that there is simply no way to make sense of something like his repeated reference to Nancy Pelosi as Nikki Haley, or a reference to "the late, great Hannibal Lecter," or...whatever this is:

Put yourself in these folks' shoes. You voted for Donald Trump twice and you intend to vote for him again. What do you do when he talks like that?

We'll find out, because he will keep talking like that.

My guess is that some of them will go into denial; perhaps going so far as to dream up a conspiracy in which the Democrats are doing something to Trump's mind. But by November, the most thoughtful of them may cast a third-party vote, or sit out the election entirely.

3. Members of the press will recognize that what is happening to Trump is different from what they've seen before. 

Unfortunately, this may take a while.

In general, the press seems to persist in flunking an ongoing test with a single question: "How do we cover Donald Trump?"

With regards to this matter, the beginning of the answer, at least, is both obvious and simple: Treat Donald Trump like a human being.

Forget for a moment that he is a former president. Forget that he is a presidential candidate. Remember that he is 78 years old, and that it is far from rare for people his age to develop dementia. Remember that his father died of complications from Alzheimer's disease. Remember that Alzheimer's tends to be hereditary.

Don't assume that every gaffe is a sign of dementia, but at least talk to some neurologists, talk to some gerontologists, talk to some mental health professionals. Take Nicole Wallace's question, "Is he alright?" seriously, and don't content yourself to let political commentators and comedians speculate on the answer.

Donald Trump is NOT alright, and it is past time for the press to help the rest of us to acknowledge and deal with that medical fact.