Donald Trump's 'uncontrollable' behaviour in court 'consistent with dementia'

Donald Trump's ability to 'maintain basic functions' in court has been called into question, with a psychologist suggesting his behaviour is reminiscent of dementia.

As the former president faces his hush money trial, he's consistently displaying behaviour "consistent with a diagnosis of dementia," according to a psychologist. Reporters inside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse have noted that on at least five out of the seven days Trump has appeared in court recently, he was seen dozing off at the defence table, nodding off every few minutes as his lawyers tried to rouse him.

"He can't control it," Dr. John Gartner told TheMirror. He added: "To uncontrollably fall asleep during the day is something that's very common among patients with dementia."

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Dr Gartner, who spent 28 years as a part-time assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, said falling asleep in a courtroom is "so rare that it actually begs for an explanation."

Given that Trump is the defendant, he would likely be full of adrenaline, which should keep anyone awake under normal circumstances. He explained: "The natural stress response of adrenaline is one that, even if we're exhausted, it gives us another boost of energy. So, anybody who's in that position, you could see why it would be so unusual for them to fall asleep," reports the Mirror . "A defendant falling asleep in court is "literally so uncommon, it's basically unheard of."

Gartner said he's spoken with several lawyer friends who each told him that they've never seen a defendant falling asleep in court during their entire careers. "I've fallen asleep at the opera or whatever," the 66-year-old joked. "But he's fallen asleep five out of the seven days. If he did it once, you might say, 'Oh, he had a bad night' or whatever. He can't not fall asleep. That's different."

Trump currently faces 34 felony charges related to falsifying business records in an attempt to hide a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his time as president. Daniels, during Trump's 2016 campaign for the presidency that was ultimately successful, claimed that she had an affair with the businessman back in 2006 in Nevada.

The theory was that her claims could harm Trump's campaign, so he and his team worked to silence her. It was his former attorney turned nemesis Michael Cohen who actually paid her, court records allege.

Gartner believes Trump is in a stage of dementia where he has lost control over his sleep-wake functions due to brain "deterioration". He stated: "Literally, if his life depended on it, which it kind of does, he can't control it."

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He said that Trump knows the bad look he gives off by nodding off in court and would steer clear if he had any say - but he just can't stay awake, try as he might. "He knows this is serious," Gartner opined. "The one thing Donald Trump fears more than anything else is to look weak or to look like a loser. He knows that falling asleep in court makes him look weak."

Trump has been criticized by his legal team for his courtroom snoozes and been left red-faced in public. Just last week, he went after New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman, who was the first to reveal that the likely Republican candidate for president had dozed off while his defence was on.

Trump's dozing off in court isn't the only aspect of his behaviour being commented on. There have been reports that the Republican is consistently passing gas.

Whether Trump's actually been breaking wind is still up in the air, but American late-night TV hosts like Jon Stewart and Jimmy Kimmel have joked about the alleged farts.

"This thing about the farting - obviously, it was a big joke on Twitter and late-night comedy and whatnot, but again, we really have to put these things into clinical context. This means something," Gartner insisted. "He seems to be losing control of basic biological functions right in front of our eyes."

Gartner stressed that both the napping and the farting are "consistent with a diagnosis of dementia" as they both "would suggest that he's losing control over his basic bodily functions - sleep, wake, excretion."

Furthermore, Gartner warned that these incidents are only set to escalate. Dementia is a progressive condition and "not something that somebody can control" or cure, although it can sometimes be managed with appropriate treatment.

"It's gonna keep exposing itself in more and more uncontrollable ways, in more and more unconcealable ways," he cautioned, and this can only spell trouble for Trump.

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