Washington’s worst-kept secret these days — and for some time now — has been the accelerating physical and cognitive decline of Donald Trump. He fights it; he denies it; but it is on full display daily as he struggles to find the words he needs, or even to stay on script. He has been seen dozing off in meetings, and wandering off as though he’s not sure where he is or what he’s supposed to be doing.

That sort of degeneration, not uncommon in an aging population, is sad when it happens to anyone. When it involves the President of the United States, it is more than sad; it is downright dangerous.

But he isn’t always asleep at the switch; he does have his lucid moments. And one of those moments seems to have occurred during a gathering of Congressional Republicans in Washington on January 6th, as they were discussing the upcoming midterm elections.

Unfortunately for him and his supporters, however, that particular flash of insight was not a cheery one. What he said was:

“You gotta win the midterms ‘cause, if we don’t win the midterms, it’s just gonna be — I mean, they’ll find a reason to impeach me. I’ll get impeached.” [Steve Holland, et al., Reuters, January 6, 2026.]

Confusingly, he went on to predict an epic Republican win, but then made reference to the history of sitting presidents doing poorly in midterms:

“They say that when you win the presidency, you lose the midterm. I wish you could explain to me what the hell’s going on with the mind of the public.” [Id.]

Ironically, that is precisely what the public is wondering about him. But one thing is clear from his first comment: he is, at some level, aware of the fact that he has committed impeachable offenses, and that the return of a Democratic majority to Congress would very likely place the balance of his presidential term in serious jeopardy.

Now, if you or I were in that position, we would tend to consider (1) resigning, or (2) cleaning up our act in an attempt to salvage what was left of our career and reputation. But Trump’s mind does not work like most people’s. When cornered, he reacts like a wild beast: defenses on full alert, claws out, salivating for the kill. And that is when he goes off in search of a diversion: a perceived enemy to prosecute, another country to invade, or an ally to alienate.

And we are left wondering: Who will be next?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/9/26