Transcription
I'm Dr. John Gartner. And I'm Dr. Harry Seagull. And welcome to this preview of Shrinking Trump.
On this week's show, we continue to document uh Trump's cognitive decline, both with physical symptoms as well as mental and verbal symptoms. At the same time, we're watching him have some wins. We're seeing the Supreme Court give an okay to basically allow ICE agents to use racial profiling to arrest and detain people. We see um a continued accumulation of uh authoritarian power, right, John?
Yeah. And we have a very special guest. Um, someone we've all admired for a long time, Andy Borowitz, the great political satist. Um, given that Harry, you and I are Andy Borwit's wannabes, we wish we were as funny as Andy Borowitz. Well, now today we have the real thing.
Yeah. So, he he's really he's he's an amazing guest. So, where do you want to start, John? Well, we always want to update people on how what kind of coverage the media is giving um Donald Trump's dementia. Um so again, we have found that um there are some publications in the UK and in Ireland that are covering it and when we have seen it covered in America, it's actually news services like Apple and MSN that pick up these articles from the UK. So, um, what's interesting though is that there's a couple of publications that seem to be following shrinking Trump. Uh, and I, on one hand, I'm proud of that and, um, you could say we're showing off or congratulating ourselves. On the other hand, I actually find it discouraging that, you know, when they come looking for the people who have been defaming Trump that, you know, there's just going to be the two of us. It's like those comedies when they say, "Can we have a volunteer for the suicide mission?" And 98 people, you know, step one step back, leaving the leaving the >> leaving you and me standing there going >> living. Yeah. Laurel and Hardy kind of standing there.
It's another fine mess you got me into. Exactly. But but let's look at But let's look at what they're saying. So, the Irish Star says Donald Trump is facing an onslaught of dementia as psychologists warn quote all he does is deteriorate. End quote. Clinical psychologists Dr. Harry Seagull and Dr. John Gartner have sounded the alarm over Donald Trump's cognitive ability as they claim quote all he does is deteriorate. Oh, and look, there's a picture of us and a still from a screenshot from shrinking Trump in a recent preview of their shrinking Trump show. You see, I think I figured it out, Harry. I don't think they're actually watching our whole show. As some of you may know, we always do a little um mini show for Midas Touch. It's about 15 minutes. So, I think Harry, they're actually watching the Midas Touch version. The psychologists examine what they refer to as the quote onslaught of dementia that Trump is facing. On this week's show, we take a closer look at the ways in which Donald Trump's cognitive functioning appears to be slipping even more. Dr. Seagull said, quote, as we have said so often in this program, the onset of dementia doesn't stop. It just continues, he added. Dr. Gartner agreed, claiming that the president is currently the best he's ever going to be.
I wish they were quoting other people. I wish more people were talking about it. Exactly. Exactly. Well, Michael Wolf Michael Wolf has a podcast he just began called Inside Trump's Head, which he claims to be doing a psychological expose. I'm not sure that's exactly what he's doing, but I do like it. I wanted to do a shout out to uh to Michael on this one. Uh but the next one, this was the next one is from the the Daily Express in Is that right?
That's correct. Donald Trump's mental collapse is being fueled by two key factors. Psychologists claim again in the in the sub headline, clinical psychologist Dr. Harry Seagull has been analyzing Donald Trump's behavior and has claimed that the president is suffering from incipient dementia. Now, unfortunately, I think Harry, they picked a kind of unfortunate um screenshot of you. Uh you you you do look a little goofy there, but it does say warning taken without permission. That the picture was taken without your permission. The psychologist concluded, "We know that he's losing ground terribly. We know that he's losing ground cognitively. There's a kind of race to see, does he lose power before he becomes cognitively disorganized?"
Well, I'm still handsome in that picture as far as I can. They can't take that away from you. They can't take that away from me. No, seriously. It was a funny thing though because last week um John was on assignment and Ahmed uh Baba sat in for John and he was terrific. Um, but it looks like >> I think the Express just just watched that episode, which is why I'm the only psychologist mentioned. So, I think they're starting to watch the show and then just take clips of it and just use it as news. Um, >> yes, >> kind of lazy reporting. Actually, that the truth is they just watch a 15-minute clip and then they get an article.
Well, you know, um, there's such a hunger for for media, right? No. No, but it's important. But it's important that there's they're keeping it in the public consciousness. So, you know, you mentioned the fact that >> Go ahead. >> I'm John. Go ahead. You you you go. >> Well, you mentioned that you that you they had Ahmed Baba was the co-host and he did do a very good job. But, you know, I just wanted to mention that while I was on assignment, you know, I I podcasted with some other other co-hosts. So, I hope I just wanted you to know that. So, you know, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Hope hope hope you realize that. I'm I'm very threatened and um >> I want to know who it is that you podcasted with. >> I want to know who it is. I want to know the details of it and how it started.
Yeah, these poly podcast relationships get are a lot more complicated than they look. People >> listen just just to make one more point about this. Um, you know, it's it it's it's nice that uh people are are some journalists are watching the show and and are reporting on what we're saying, but there should be so many more people talking about this.
I know I know >> it's very discouraging. I mean, >> yeah. Um and and it we you know you and I just keep at it and at it and there are some other psychologists but I I don't see them getting any kind of um attention and I don't see anyone on the major um news networks >> talking about >> they just aren't um they stay >> as possible. So so anyway this is this is our lone project.
Okay. Well, so I wanted to report a little bit on Trump's uh uh adventure at the US Open. Um, apparently it took people hours to get in because of the security, but here's the reaction that he got from the New York crowd. I'm only going to show one clip. I want I actually had four cuz I get so much pleasure out of it, but I just picked one. Dictator, dictator, fire. just another episode of Everybody Hates Donnie, but more to the point. So, I just want you to visualize the scene. So, imagine, Harry, that you're at the finals, the finals of the US Open, a riveting performance, right? And you're the center of attention. People are booing you. Maybe some are cheering you, right? But you're getting a reaction of the whole crowd, right? So, how does Trump react? Oh, he's asleep again, just like he slept through most of the days of his criminal trial. I just want to point out this isn't normal, okay? Although it is normal for people who have dementia because involuntarily falling asleep at you know inappropriate times is is is typical of dementia. Now look, I I'm an older person. You know, I fall asleep sometimes, you know, when the family's around in the evening or after having a beer or whatever, but you're at the US Open finals and thousands of people are looking at you, just like if you're in a criminal trial and you're in the dock, that's not a place where people fall asleep. And I just want to point this out because now we're focusing more on Trump's physiology, right? We've learned about his swollen ankles and his, you know, the the introvenous um the the failure of his they're they're not saying it's heart failure, but they're saying it's a failure of his um veins, right? To uh what was the name of the I'm blocking on the name of the condition. I'm sorry.
It's not because it's not true. It's not true because they're obviously hiding the more serious problem. They're lying about the, you know, the um the bruises on his hands, which are probably he's probably getting some kind of IV fluid. Some people are >> just shaking hands, John. It's because he shakes hands a lot. >> Yeah. What's wrong with both hands? But he's got the bruises on both hands, not only on shaking it, right? Because they're liars.
But let me also show you then again. So this is from the 911 memorial. So we're actually taping this on Thursday. So this is actually on 911. This is him today at the 911 memorial and let's hear what our friend David Pacman has to say about it. What on earth is going on with Donald Trump's face at a 911 commemoration event today in Arlington, Virginia? Donald Trump not only fell asleep. That's not really news anymore. Trump is out of energy and falling asleep regularly at public events, but his face melted into a lopsided, droopy mess. Is this the sign of vigor? Is this the energy that Trump told us Joe Biden lacked and that he would bring? And by the way, is this respectful to the victims whose lives were being commemorated here? This is yet another humiliation. And the humiliations just won't stop coming one after another. [Laughter]
For those of you who are just listening, Harry did a funny imitation of someone with a a face facial droop, clearly inappropriately making fun of the handicap. That's what that's the kind of people we are here. Um, >> no, I it's it's actually really disturbing. I had >> it is disturbing. You hadn't seen that and significant and that's why I'm showing it. Not just to make fun of him or to joke. Uh, yes. As as David Pacman says, once again, it's inappropriate that he's falling asleep. Although in that context, to be honest, I could understand it a little bit better because they were naming each name of people. So I but that droop some people are speculating and it is speculation we don't have hard evidence but that some people are speculating and this would be consistent with his um circulatory problems that he's having many strokes >> right >> um and and when you see someone with half their face drooping like that that's not just someone being tired that's not a normal face when people are tired or fatigued or falling asleep or asleep your face one half of your face doesn't droop like that. It's suggesting something more serious.
You know, we we won't know, of course, because there's no transparency. There's no reporting on his health. But I want to repeat something I said a few weeks ago that a a very astute lawyer that I know who follows politics, he said he really thought that um that that Trump will either die in office or will be removed because of progressive illness. I mean, between what looks like to us as early signs of dementia, then heart heart failure. I mean, congestive heart failure is what typically causes swelling, you know, largely swollen ankles.
Um, I think he's not I mean, he's not doing well. He just is. I'm I'm predicting, Harry, that he'll die in office and not be removed. be the my white house. I knew you're gonna say that.
So, John, today I I'm very excited to introduce our guest, Andy Borrowitz, who uh who very kindly invited me uh to do an interview spot on his podcast on the uh the Andy Borrowitz um Substack page where he has u a really excellent series of interviews, if I say so myself, um about politics, news of the day, and culture. Um, I've been reading Andy since I first started seeing his posts in Facebook around 2006 and read some of the things that he published and now he's so in 2012. I think it's been a while since he's been The New Yorker. And every once in a while, someone forwards me an article of his thinking that it's real because they're so they're so terrific. I did a little bit of of of uh of reading about his history. There are things about about Andy I didn't know. Uh first of all, he graduated from Harvard where he was the head of the Harvard Lampoon and also >> also wrote for the Hasty Pudding. Uh which if I neither of us went to Harvard, but I had friends who did. And the Hasty Pudding is a kind of an extraordinary event that happens once a year that Andy wrote for. Um I didn't realize that he'd been a television writer.
Yeah. by and um in uh Square Pegs and uh and among many other television credits, he's sort of known for The Fresh Prince of Bair, which I always thought was very very funny. Now I know why. Um but in any case, um Andy has a really a broad perspective on politics, on culture, humor, and um and how to survive this pretty terrible time we're having in this country politically, culturally. and I'm afraid economically, but maybe he'll distract us for half an hour. So, Andy, welcome. Welcome to the show.
Thank you very much, Harry. And nice to meet you, John. Nice to meet you. This is Reciprocal Podcast. We're on each other's podcast, which I mean, that's officially an echo chamber. I each other talking to each other on each other's podcast, but I'm I'm here for it, so let's just do it. Well, you know, we do a little bit of political satire here on the show, but the truth is we're really Andy Borwitz wannabes.
That's that's a sad that's a sad place to be, my friend. Well, Andy, I I'll ask you a question. You're you're you're famous for your brilliant political satire, but has reality itself become such a satire of itself that it becomes a challenge for a satist?
Yeah. Now, that has always been the case. Interestingly enough, I I get that question sometimes now because our life seems so absurd and the things coming Washington especially seems so absurd. But, you know, it's always been a problem for satire. If you go back to Jonathan Swift in the 18th century, people thought the, you know, you know, his modest proposal, everybody gets signed in high school, people thought that that was real, you know. So, it's more It's not really a new problem. It's not as new as one would think, but I think that it's become exacerbated because of the platforms where news and satire coingle because you have somebody's Twitter feed or X feed or they're on blue sky or Facebook and they're seeing real news stories by the AP for example and then you're seeing stuff that seems like it's mainly lies like from Fox or Newsmax or something like And then you're seeing satire by people like me or the onion. And so it becomes very hard to know what's real. And Mark Zuckerberg in his wisdom decided to institute community notes as a solution. So it truly is the blind leading the blind. People who are confused about reality back. Um but I I uh I wrote about this earlier in the week. There's a called Snopes which is dedicated to factchecking and I feel in a way bad for them because I put them to a lot of work over the years but in a way I feel that they owe me one because they've actually kept them in because their archives and found that they have like a whole vertical just of my stories. They've had to fact check something like 40 of my stories, many of which going back a few years, I didn't really remember having written. And um they were so absurd. I was coming to them fresh as if I hadn't written them because I had forgotten about them. And I found it so hard to believe that people were confused enough about the reality of these stories to contact Snopes. But apparently, yes, it is a problem. We had a a situation last week, which is why I was writing about Snopes, where I kind of revived a column I wrote a year ago for Labor Day, um where I had uh JD Vance talking about how the true meaning of Labor Day has been forgotten because Labor Day is meant to be a celebration of women who go through labor. And this is this is the only thing a woman can do that gives their life any meaning. And he said, you know, for Labor Day picnics, you should only allow women who have reproduced to a Labor Day picnic. And the last line was um no baby, no hot dog. And surely surely this could not be confusing. But no, it sounded every bit as stupid and as prom as JD Vance tends to be. And so that's the that's really the problem is that I'm now making fun of people or or trying to satarize people who are saying such clownish things. And there's nothing harder than than trying to improve upon something that's already clownish. I mean things like Trump wanting to invade Greenland and I mean it's that sounds like something out of South Park.
That sounds like an Andy Borwitz article. Yeah. I mean it's just it seems like almost like it seems like a you know burlesque or you know just a >> That's what I mean. Reality has become burlesque. >> Yeah. So it that has been a challenge and people will say to me, "Oh man, with Trump as president, you know, you know, the the jokes just write themselves." And actually, I say no, that just the opposite is true. It's really hard >> to um to improve upon what he's doing.
Okay, that's your preview of Shrinking Trump, episode 67. Watch the whole thing. You can find it on the Really American Network, which is a YouTube channel. It streams live every Friday at 300 PM and after that you can watch it anytime on YouTube. You can also listen to it as an audio podcast on Spotify and Apple Music. And as the saying goes, wherever you get your podcasts. We hope to see you then. It's a really good show. So watch the whole thing.
See you then.