Relatedly, it’s probably just that everyone has refined and conformed their parasitic relationships to give Trump what he wants - attention and the facade of power and deference - which means Trump is fine giving them what they want that he has no interest in - Project 2025 and actual governance.

Stephen Miller is the archetypical example of this. He publicly and privately fellates Trump, and in return, Trump gives him a blank check to set basically all domestic immigration and law enforcement policy.

In this scenario, Trump’s mental decline isn’t leverage, it’s just another cost of doing business for the craven opportunists who actually make the decisions.