Kurt Andersen Warns Trump’s Mental Decline Will Accelerate After the 2026 Midterms

On the latest episode of the Daily Beast Podcast, author and longtime commentator Kurt Andersen sat down with host Joanna Coles to talk about the former president’s mental state. He didn’t mince words – the 80‑year‑old’s cognitive decline is plain to see, and it’s only going to get messier.

Andersen likened Trump’s current condition to what doctors call “sundowner syndrome,” a kind of late‑day flare‑up that many people with dementia experience. “He’s past whatever early decline he might have had,” Andersen said, “and now you get that angry, confused mood that comes on as the day winds down.” He added that, for some, that sunset is a grim foreshadowing of things to come.

The pundit warned that the situation could spiral if the GOP suffers big losses in the 2026 midterms. A defeat would, in his view, unleash even more fury. “He’ll be angrier, more himself, and who knows what that will look like in terms of outbursts or deeper depression,” Andersen observed.

Political infighting is already feeding the fire. Texas Senator Ken Paxton, mired in scandal, has started pointing the finger at Trump, accusing the former president of sabotaging his Senate bid. Trump, never shy about a personal jab, has replied with a flurry of insults about Paxton’s wardrobe and leadership. The back‑and‑forth, Andersen noted, is a textbook example of how internal GOP turmoil could further destabilize Trump’s already fragile mental balance.

When pressure mounts, Andersen expects Trump to retreat to his old playbook: cries of a “rigged” election, legal challenges, and a chorus of loyalists ready to defend him. “We’ve built a legal apparatus over the years for exactly this kind of scenario,” he said, sighing that the former president will likely blame the party’s losses on everything but himself.

In short, Andersen’s prognosis is bleak. The combination of age‑related decline, political setbacks, and an increasingly hostile party environment could push Trump into a deeper, more unpredictable decline as the 2026 elections loom.