The Washington Roundtable discusses President Donald Trump’s health and the signs of his age-related decline: a noticeably reduced work schedule, fewer public appearances, and more rambling, profanity-laden outbursts. The panel examines how this undermines Trump’s self-styled image of strength and vigor, what lessons about aging Presidents can be drawn from the Biden and Reagan Administrations, and why America may be facing what scholars refer to as the “Bad Emperor” problem in Chinese history. “When strongmen get weak, watch out,” the staff writer Jane Mayer says. 

This week’s reading:

The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

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