We’ve had four years of lectures, on-line tutorials, and thousands of Twitter pop quizzes, but many Americans still don’t seem to know how to listen to their president. We repeatedly misinterpret what spews from his mouth or trips off his fingertips. We have been ignoring, to our peril, the existence of his ADHD, and how it shapes his every utterance.
In front of every outpouring from the president, one needs to insert the phrase “What I am feeling in this moment is….” Because of his ADHD, Mr. Trump gutted agencies vital for long term planning and defense against pandemics; doesn’t pay attention during briefings from security chiefs or public health advisors; has trouble organizing and prioritizing; and incessantly blurts out comments that are inconsistent, incoherent, and untrue. ADHD shapes how he processes information, and why he delivers to us the unfiltered content of his mind.
When he muttered a meandering monologue about combating coronavirus by injecting disinfectants or shining bright lights, we heard the musings of a man who had only grasped portions of what his medical experts had taught him. He wasn’t issuing orders to his minions to poison themselves, even if several of them did so. He wasn’t proffering research advice about finding game changing strategies to defeat COVID-19. He was wishful-thinking out loud.
