Trump faces push-back as he sinks in the polls
Your favorite shrinks, John Gartner and Harry Segal, present “this week” in Trump’s cognitive decline, as well as an extended excerpt of Pritzker’s heroic speech pushing back on federal threats to Chicago. While describing this moment in history, the two psychologists offer support and ways to cope with the anxiety Trump’s chaos generates for all of us.
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When we revisit Trump’s rallies and interviews this week, it feels less like campaign drama and more like a national group therapy session. Gartner and Segal track every rambling detour, abrupt topic shift, and glaring contradiction—not as mere gaffes, but as warning signals that someone at the helm may be losing his cognitive bearings.
Every photo-op, from overseas summits to tense showdowns on U.S. streets, has started to resemble a rehearsal for power consolidation. Flashing military muscle instead of engaging in normal governance isn’t strength; it’s intimidation. Watching constitutional safeguards brushed aside as mere inconveniences ought to jolt us awake to the creeping authoritarian impulse.
Amid that growing unease, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker stood up like a lighthouse in a storm. Invoking the Constitution, he called out federal threats to deploy the National Guard in Chicago and reminded everyone that local authority can’t be bulldozed for political spectacle. While Trump’s allies cheered each flex of force, Pritzker’s words made clear that true leadership sometimes means speaking truth to power at the risk of losing applause.
Gartner and Segal refuse to leave us adrift in anxiety. They argue that naming these mind games—the gaslighting, the fear-mongering—is our first line of defense. Checking facts in real time, fostering honest conversations with friends, and carving out simple daily rituals can help us stay grounded when the political airwaves feel like a hurricane.
Listening to Shrinking Trump isn’t just an exercise in critique; it’s an invitation to reclaim our narrative. When we spot the cracks in Trump’s rhetoric and recognize his power plays for what they are, we protect not only our sanity but the democratic foundations we hold dear.
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Shrinking Trump
Psychologists John Gartner, Harry Segal, and their expert guests, conduct weekly sessions analyzing the psyche of Donald Trump, documenting his cognitive decline and plumbing the depths of his malignant narcissism.
Dr. Gartner is a former part-time assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University Medical School and the founder of Duty To Warn, an association of mental health professionals warning about Trump and Trump-ism.
Dr. Segal is a senior lecturer in psychology at Cornell University.
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