I'm not sure guys. I never *liked* Trump -- let's put that aside for the moment -- but he was definitely more articulate in the past than he is today.
Just watch some of this Larry King interview from a few decades ago (you don't have to watch all of it). There's a pretty clear difference in speaking abilities when you compare Trump in that interview to Trump today.
Your two options are that Trump is playing some crazy long con to dumb himself down to appeal to the masses, or his cognitive abilities have declined. Given that he's 71 years old, I would argue that the latter is much more likely.
And again, for emphasis: this is *completely separate* from whether Trump is a good person or not. I don't think he is and I don't think he was. That hasn't changed. But he's definitely different than he used to be, and cognitive decline is the most likely explanation, given his age.
(Sorry for fancy medical speak)