Are you suffering from chronic or severe dry mouth? Chances are Judd Apatow could tell.
In the case of President Donald Trump’s slurred speech during a recent public address, Apatow told HuffPost, “I mean, I work with people and watch them speak all day long, people of every age. I’ve seen people with all sorts of levels of dampness and dryness.”
“That’s not dry mouth. I can’t tell you what that was,” he added.
White House spokesperson Raj Shah told reporters about the speech, “His throat was dry. There’s nothing to it.” Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders reiterated that point.
Apatow tweeted his disagreement with the White House’s conclusion on Thursday, writing, “He is showing signs of aging and ill health.”
The producer and director shared more thoughts with HuffPost during an interview about his upcoming Netflix comedy special and appearance at New York’s 92Y.
“It wasn’t stumbling over one word. It was a solid minute of some sort of occurrence that could be almost anything, certainly not dry mouth. I had Norman Lloyd in my movie. He was 99 years old when we shot. He’s 103 now. I’ve never heard him speak like that,” he said. “My grandmother, who’s 94 and in assisted living, talks like that, and I certainly love her but would also not want her to be the president.”
Apatow added that the “best-case scenario” is that the president was speaking oddly because his dentures are about to fall out and he doesn’t want to admit he has them. Though Apatow also doubts that explanation, too.
“I think we’re all concerned that there’s not a lot of rational thought happening and we wish we could get accurate medical information. We all remember that man who presented himself as Trump’s doctor and said that Trump was the healthiest guy he’s ever seen. I don’t think you become the healthiest man in the world by eating Kentucky Fried Chicken for a majority of your meals,” said Apatow.
“Like his taxes, we’ll probably never know until too late what his actual health is,” he said.
Though the producer, director and stand-up comedian is very vocal about his political views on Twitter, he doesn’t view his social media presence and his comedy as connected.
Apatow said there is a little political humor in his act, but that people can’t “normalize what’s happening” from the White House, and that it’s “so outrageous, so criminal and corrupt” that he feels it’s important to say it over and over again.
He explained, “Something will happen, like they say it’s OK to pollute streams more, but then they do 10 new things the next day and everybody forgets streams, so I always feel an obligation to point that out, not necessarily in entertaining terms. The stand-up is sharing my thoughts and my life in a way that makes people happy. Twitter is more about spreading pertinent information.”
You can see Apatow’s stand-up special “The Return” when it drops on Netflix on Tuesday, Dec. 12, the same day he’ll also be appearing at 92Y performing some of his act.
In the meantime, if the president is really that parched, can somebody please get him a glass of water? Preferably one he doesn’t have to hold with two hands.
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