The Sundowning Analogy: When Presidential Cognitive Decline Becomes a National Security Concern
By
rbanffy
4mo ago· 5 min readenOpinion
80/100
Golden Brown
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Summary
The article draws a powerful analogy between the medical condition of 'sundowning' (where dementia patients deteriorate mentally at night) and the current state of American politics, specifically suggesting that the U.S. president exhibits similar cognitive decline. The author shares a personal experience with their father's sundowning syndrome, then applies this metaphor to national leadership, arguing that a president's cognitive deterioration poses a grave national security risk rather than just a personal tragedy.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledI had never heard the term 'sundowning' before it happened to my own father, yet it's a fairly common syndrome.
In his last few months my father remained lucid and rational — remained himself — during daylight hours. Once the sun went down he deteriorated, becoming confused, paranoid and aggressive.
It's terrible to watch sundowning in someone you love. But that's a personal tragedy – not a national or global one.
It's an entirely different matter when the president of the United States is sundowning — a president surro
A presidential mind is a dangerous thing to lose
A presidential mind is a dangerous thing to lose
