President Donald Trump, 79, posted 48 times on Truth Social in just 36 minutes late Wednesday night—and California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office responded by posting the Google search results for “sundowning.”
“So… about last night,” Newsom’s press office quipped, directly linking the president’s midnight meltdown to symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
WHAT’S GOING ON: Sundowning is a medical term describing a pattern of increased confusion, agitation, and restlessness that typically occurs in the late afternoon or evening in people with cognitive decline.
Symptoms include irritability, mood swings, wandering, and difficulty sleeping. Trump resumed posting at 6 a.m. ET Thursday morning, firing off roughly one post per minute.
The president’s late-night posts included wild fabrications and bizarre accusations. He reposted deranged scribes referring to killed VA nurse Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist.
In another, Trump claimed Walmart was closing 250 California locations—a complete lie. Walmart’s 303 California stores remain open. Another post featured a video accusing Newsom of working with a Mexican drug cartel to launder money.
THE DETAILS: Newsom’s press office didn’t mince words in their rebuttal: “Walmart’s 303 stores in California are open. The AI robot is lying. Governor Newsom is not Pablo Escobar. We cannot believe we have to say any of this out loud. We cannot believe this is real life. And we truly cannot believe this man has the nuclear codes.”
They added: “Deep breaths, everyone. Three more years.”
OF COURSE: Trump’s cognitive fitness has been under scrutiny for years, and the receipts keep piling up. Last week in Davos, he called Greenland “Iceland.” Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had to prompt him on the name of his own father’s medical condition.
“He had one problem. At a certain age, about 86, 87, he started getting—what do they call it?” Trump said, trailing off.
Leavitt interjected: “Alzheimer’s.”
BUT BUT BUT: Trump claims he’s “aced” multiple cognitive tests. Yet as New York Magazine noted, he’s never explained why he repeatedly takes exams that involve simple tasks like drawing a clock or naming animals.
His niece Mary Trump, a psychologist and vocal critic, has suggested he’s showing early signs of the same Alzheimer’s that afflicted his father.
“One of the first times I noticed it was at an event where he was being honored,” she told the magazine. “He had this deer-in-the-headlights look, like he had no idea where he was. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like he’s oriented to time and place.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller offered a different assessment: “He can work harder, has a better memory, more stamina and energy than a normal mortal. The headline should be ‘The Superhuman President.'”
BOTTOM LINE: A 79-year-old man with access to nuclear codes is posting 48 unhinged messages in 36 minutes at midnight, making up lies about Walmart closures and accusing governors of cartel money laundering. And the White House response is to call him “superhuman.” That’s not reassuring—that’s terrifying.