'Concern' among Trump allies as analysis warns attacks on allies consistent with dementia

U.S. President Donald Trump at the College Football Playoff National Championship game in Miami Gardens, Florida i January 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

European leaders were hoping that U.S. President Donald Trump would move on from his obsession with buying Greenland, a Danish territory. Instead, he is doubling down on it in 2026. Trump is threatening to punish European countries with steep new tariffs if they oppose his Greenland proposal, and he hasn't ruled out the possibility of taking the Arctic island by force.

In an article published a year after Trump returned to the White House, Mediaite's Colby Hall argues that his threats against longtime U.S. allies in Europe are consistent with "disinhibition" — a sign of dementia.

"One of the earliest and most underreported warning signs of certain forms of dementia is not memory loss," Hall explains. "It is disinhibition — a deterioration of impulse control, judgment, and social restraint that often manifests as reckless behavior, inappropriate speech, and diminished concern for consequences. By the time forgetfulness becomes obvious, the disease process is often well underway. That framework matters because it closely tracks what President Donald Trump has been displaying with increasing frequency."

Hall continues, "In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, (January 20), Trump posted private messages from confused European leaders, publicly criticized the United Kingdom's national security posture, and shared a fabricated image depicting the United States in control of Greenland, Canada, Venezuela, and Cuba. This was the sitting president of the United States conducting foreign policy online, overnight, as allies scrambled to contain diplomatic fallout from his threats to 'take' Greenland."

Trump, Hall observes, has always been impulsive. But his recent behavior is "less controlled and less purposeful" than he was in the past.

"The midnight posting spree did not apply pressure or extract leverage — it exposed a presidency operating without restraint," Hall observes. "That shift helps explain why concern is coming from voices that once defended or accommodated Trump. Sen. Ruben Gallego described Trump as 'insane' on CNN. Mick Mulvaney, Trump's former acting chief of staff and one of his most reliable institutional defenders during the first term, expressed bafflement at the Greenland fixation and said he would urge the administration to abandon it entirely."

Hall adds, "Conservative British broadcaster Andrew Neil warned that the United States is beginning to resemble an adversary rather than an ally. Even Trump's own former deputy spokesperson, Sarah Matthews, believes Trump's pursuit of Greenland is 'mentally ill' and 'deranged.' And CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner has called for a bipartisan congressional inquiry into Trump's mental fitness, citing the behavioral pattern rather than ideology."

Read Colby Hall's full article for Mediaite at this link.

From Your Site Articles