Trump Is Too Old and Tired to Campaign

Donald Trump is reportedly canceling events and appearances due to fatigue and old age.

Politico’s Playbook reports that the former president has canceled multiple interviews in recent days because, his aides say, he’s exhausted. His campaign has reportedly been talking to “The Shade Room” podcast regarding a sit-down interview for weeks, but nothing has materialized yet, with one of Trump’s advisers telling the show’s producers that he was “exhausted and refusing [some] interviews but that could change.”

The news follows several interview cancellations by the former president and convicted felon. On Thursday, he canceled an NBC News interview with senior business correspondent Christine Romans, as well as a speech before the NRA’s convention scheduled for next week. Earlier this week, Trump canceled an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box , and made headlines earlier this month when he pulled out an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes .

Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary, told Playbook that the idea of Trump being exhausted is “categorically false.”

“President Trump is running laps around Kamala Harris on the campaign trail,” said Leavitt. “And has done media interviews every day this week. He has more energy and a harder work ethic than anyone in politics.”

Trump hasn’t cleared his schedule entirely, appearing on Fox and Friends Friday morning and plans to appear on former professional wrestler Mark “The Undertaker” Calaway’s podcast “Six Feet Under.” And he and his campaign say that he refused to go on 60 Minutes because he was going to be fact-checked and later said that he needed an apology for a bad 2020 interview. But, the show’s Steve Croft refuted both excuses on its October 7 episode.

Trump’s age and cognitive decline are becoming increasingly apparent, and perhaps the campaign is trying to limit the former president’s exposure so that he doesn’t embarrass himself or fumble. His vague, rambling answers were exposed at the Economic Club of Chicago earlier this week, and his mental acuity is noticeably getting worse at his campaign rallies. Maybe Trump could do with a break—and withdraw from the race so he can relax.