Trump's critics cite Trump's advancing years - he is now 78 - and apparent mental decline as the cause for his inability to deliver a succinct closing message as to why voters should, despite everything, return him to office.

"Age and cognitive decline?" offered one veteran Republican consultant on condition of anonymity.

"Psychological decompensation," said George Conway, whose former wife, Kellyanne Conway, ran Trump's 2016 campaign in its final months. George Conway supported Trump that election before quickly concluding he had made a terrible mistake.

Trump's increasingly erratic campaign rhetoric in the finals of his 2024 campaign stands in stark contrast to his performance eight years ago, when he robotically stuck to reading poll-tested themes from his teleprompter multiple times a day. Eight years later, Trump instead spends most of his hour-and-a-half speeches on ... side tracks.