‘Could not keep a straight thought’: Trump turns 78 amid concerns about mental fitness

donald trump He turned 78 on Friday, a birthday that highlights his own age in the midst of a presidential race in which either of the two major party candidates would be sworn into office as the oldest president in the nation’s history.

President Joe Biden’s age and mental fitness have been long-standing concerns among voters and the theme of persistent media coverage. Trump’s campaign and his allies have also highlighted their 81-year-old rival’s apparent gaffes, including sharing doctored clips that have been edited to remove context.

Still Trump’s own mental state is receiving renewed attention and some apprehension. According to CNBC host Andrew Ross SorkinSeveral CEOs who met with Trump at a business roundtable on Thursday left the meeting concerned about their cognitive status.

“I spoke to several CEOs, who I would say came into the meeting as Trump supporters or thinking they might be leaning in that direction, who said he was noticeably wandering, that he couldn’t maintain clear thinking, that it was all over. map,” Sorkin said Friday morning.

The people he spoke to “actually left the room less predisposed to him,” Sorkin said, adding that one person told him he may be “no different or better than Biden,” suggesting a lack of contrast between mentalities. of the two men. suitability for the highest office. (Aaron Blake of the Washington Post has argued that the actual comparison at Biden’s age and mental fitness should be Trump’s judgment and stability).

For his birthday, Trump received a celebration during a meeting with Republican lawmakers at the Capitol the day before, and is scheduled to host a event with followers in Florida on Friday night.

The former president, who believes that a person is like a battery with a finite amount of energy – has said in the past that 78 “is not old.”

This article was originally published in MSNBC.com