Published on September 11, 2024, 12:39 am

There has been an increase in media stories claiming a perceptible mental decline of Donald Trump, painting a picture of him being “incoherent,” and prone to “rambling.” A term that has come into use for this phenomenon is “sanewashing,” reflecting the criticism the press receives from both sides of the political spectrum. The phrase arises from perceptions that the media persistently fails to present Trump as his detractors perceive him.

It might appear to some that half the electorate seems lost, attributable in part due to the recurrent representation of Trump’s mentality by news outlets. This is according to Stephen Robinson from Public Notice.

Your average voter likely doesn’t spend extensive time analyzing Trump’s various rants or delving into his social media tirades. However, they may certainly be influenced by reporting which consistently ‘sanewashes’ his conduct, says Robinson.

The interpretation of Trump “as he truly is” can often imply that media outlets are not reporting on him in a way aligned with what left-wing pundits desire. This includes an aspiration for Trump to be depicted as senile or mentally unfit- somewhat akin to Joe Biden’s portrayal.

One such instance when questions arose about Trump’s mental fitness was during a discussion related to funding his childcare proposal. He responded ambiguously touching upon foreign taxation but lacked clarity. While it wasn’t one of his best moments, Harris’s word salads tend to be gibberish while Trump suffers from verbal overflows—an idiosyncrasy he has displayed since long back whenever speaking impromptu publicly.

However, an intriguing aspect noted by left-leaning critics is how the complete transcript of this discussion wasn’t printed by multiple media houses. For instance, The New York Times termed it as just “a jumbled answer,” evoking criticism among several leftists for its nonchalant dismissal.

Every minor mistake by Trump—hesitations, stumbles, pauses—are noticed minutely and used by left-wing commentators claiming parallels between him and Biden, thus spiraling this narrative of mental decline leading to increasing calls for him to step down.

If Biden is seen as in cognitive decline then so should Trump, they assert. This narrative will possibly gain momentum if Harris gives a performance perceived as flawed or confusing during her anticipated debate. It could be construed as the news houses’ tactic of protecting their favored candidates while dissecting opposition. Make sure you stay updated with real news from trusted sources for an unbiased Christian worldview on breaking news events.