Donald Trump Is Experiencing A ‘Rapid Decline’ Amid Electoral Defeat, Scholar Says

A Saturday evening report from The New York Times spotlights claims from a Russia scholar who believes that President Donald Trump is experiencing a “rapid decline” as he attempts to grapple with his electoral defeat against President-elect Joe Biden.

Alina Polyakova, the president of the Center for European Policy Analysis, compared Trump’s current mental state to Russian President Vladimir Putin. As with Trump’s withdrawal following his loss, Putin has largely withdrawn from public view as his aging regime appears to be in its late stages amid high public disapproval of his leadership.

“Both also seem to be living in alternate realities surrounded only by those who confirm those realities,” she said.

“But whereas one brooder will weather a slow and long decline, the other is increasingly facing a rapid decline and scrambling to do what he can to save his family and loyalists — and of course himself.”

Other scholars noted parallels to other figures — both real and fiction. Jeffrey R. Wilson, a Shakespearean scholar at Harvard, claimed Trump is exhibiting “classic Act V behavior.”

“The forces are being picked off and the tyrant is holed up in his castle and he’s growing increasingly anxious and he feels insecure and he starts blustering about his legitimate sovereignty and he starts accusing the opposition of treason.”

Patricia O’Toole, a presidential biographer, argued that Trump’s recent behavior has no historical parallel and is worse than she expected. As noted by The New York Times, the president has broken from past U.S. leaders by refusing to call Biden or invite him to the White House. He has also stated he will not attend Biden’s inauguration in January, which would make him the first head of state to do so since 1869.

Although Trump has yet to concede the election to Biden, Associated Press pointed to several signs that he might be coming to terms with his defeat. In particular, the publication noted that Trump has allowed Biden’s administration to begin transitioning. Elsewhere, the commander in chief spoke of the difficulty he would have conceding and pointed to alleged widespread fraud he claims tilted the electoral results to favor Biden.

As The Inquisitr reported, Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, claimed that the U.S. leader’s current actions reflect his post-presidency plan to return to power with a 2024 presidential bid. He said the head of state is casting doubt on the integrity of the election to raise funds for his future endeavors, including the creation of a 24/7 media platform that will partner with OAN and Newsmax.