In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Democratic Representative Madeleine Dean raised alarms about President Donald Trump's cognitive health, saying he appears to be showing signs of decline and erratic behavior since returning to office, concerns that come amid a widening government shutdown and escalating political tension in Washington.

"He [Trump] is aging, aren't we all? I think we can very much notice that he's a different man than he was in his first term. He's slower, he's a little more lethargic," Dean said. "It is clear to me that he is unwell, and I think the people around him have to recognize that and go to him and admit it to him."

Warrior Rebrand

Dean's remarks followed a controversial and widely criticized address that Trump delivered earlier this week to hundreds of top US military officials at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. The gathering, called with little notice, assembled generals and admirals from across the world, an unprecedented move that has fueled speculation over the administration's motives and internal stability.

During the event, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled what he described as a "new vision" for the US military, centered on rebranding the Pentagon as the "Department of War" and enforcing stricter cultural and physical standards across the ranks. Hegseth announced new directives aimed at tightening discipline, rolling back what he called "risk-averse bureaucracy," and reasserting a "warrior ethos" within the armed forces. The proposals included eliminating beards (with narrow medical exceptions), introducing tougher fitness tests, and reviewing the definitions of harassment and bullying, moves critics say could weaken oversight and erode accountability.

Unhinged Address

Trump's speech, which followed Hegseth's rollout, veered into unstructured and personal tangents, deepening concerns about his composure. "To stand before them [US military officers] rambling about how he walks on stairs, what wars he solved, that he doesn't like the design of battleships. Does he want them to be gold or something? Just bizarre comments that meandered," Dean said, referring to moments in the speech that reportedly caused several senior officers to stop taking notes out of confusion.

She went on to call the entire event "dangerous" and "reckless," arguing that forcing top commanders to attend a politically charged and erratic speech could undermine their confidence in the administration. Trump, at one point, warned that the country faces a "war from within," and proposed using high-crime urban areas as training grounds for the military, a suggestion quickly condemned by defense analysts and legal experts as both unconstitutional and inflammatory. He also told the assembled generals that those who disagreed with his message "can leave the room."

Partisan Farce

Dean's comments come against the backdrop of a prolonged government shutdown, now entering its third day, which has frozen key federal operations and left hundreds of thousands of workers without pay. The administration has sought to deflect blame onto Democrats, directing agencies to post messages accusing the "radical left" of causing the shutdown, rhetoric watchdog groups say may breach the Hatch Act, which forbids the use of taxpayer-funded platforms for partisan attacks.

Critics have ridiculed the administration's narrative as both legally dubious and politically absurd, pointing out that Democrats, far from being "radical leftists," remain firmly within the capitalist mainstream. The fixation on ideological enemies, observers say, underscores Trump's increasingly combative and unstable leadership style, where partisan labeling substitutes for governance.

Read more: Shutdown blame game: GOP fixates on imaginary 'radical left'

The convergence of these crises, an incoherent military address, a shutdown marred by political propaganda, and an aggressive ideological purge of federal agencies has thus amplified fears over the president's capacity to govern.