Adam Kinzinger Says 1 Trump Nominee Is The Most Concerning: ‘A Huge Problem’
Marco Margaritoff – January 7, 2025
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) shared some unvarnished thoughts Monday on the people President-elect Donald Trump has announced he plans to nominate to key positions in his upcoming administration — and said one of them in particular is most concerning for U.S. democracy.
Trump’s picks include MAGA loyalist Kash Patel to run the FBI, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as his secretary of defense and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) — a former Democrat who joined the Republican Party in 2024 — as leader of national intelligence.
When asked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” whom he has the strongest opinion on, Kinzinger stated bluntly: “I mean, for the country, Kash Patel, because I think once you weaponize Justice or the FBI, that’s a huge problem. … There’s really no oversight.”
Patel served in the first Trump administration and, in his 2023 book “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy,” ominously ranked Trump’s “deep state” enemies — and vowed at the time to “come after” them.
Kinzinger told Colbert that Hegseth is the second-most-troubling pick, as the Defense Department “is the largest corporation in the world.” Hegseth, a military veteran turned television pundit, defended the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Fox News at the time.
“There’s people that put their lives on the line,” Kinzinger said Monday about the Defense Department, “and Pete served honorably in the military, but by the way, anywhere in D.C. there’s probably 50,000 people as or better qualified than Pete Hegseth to run the DOD.”
Kinzinger, a frequent Trump critic and one of only 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him over his role in the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, shared similar thoughts on Gabbard — who previously criticized Trump as “corrupt” but has since joined the fold.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger named (from left) Kash Patel, Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard as his biggest concerns among President-elect Donald Trump’s administration picks. Left: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images; Center: J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press; Right: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“I knew her,” Kinzinger told Colbert. “And I was friends with her up until the day she visited [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad who, thank God, is out of power now, and did his dirty work.”
Forces for the recently deposed president were accused of using sarin gas to kill 1,400 people in 2013. Gabbard — who shared “Russian talking points” in support of Assad, Kinzinger noted — previously urged Congress not to endorse potential U.S. regime change operations in the country, alleging the U.S. was covertly “supporting” as much.
Kinzinger had only one word to share about former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), whom Trump had announced as his attorney general pick despite a federal investigation and a congressional ethics probe into allegations he had sexual relations with a minor. Gaetz immediately resigned from his congressional seat in anticipation of the role but later withdrew himself from consideration for the position when it appeared he would not have the support needed for confirmation.
When Colbert noted there was applause in the House chamber Friday as the acting House clerk announced Gaetz wouldn’t be taking his seat in the new Congress, Kinzinger said simply: “Fantastic.”
Democrats dial up pressure on Hegseth as confirmation battle nears
Missy Ryan and Abigail Hauslohner – January 7, 2025
The record of Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Pentagon, should disqualify him for such a pivotal national security role, a Democratic senator told the former Fox News personality in an expansive letter that illustrates the party’s breadth of concern with one of the president-elect’s most controversial Cabinet picks ahead of his confirmation hearing next week.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, outlined 10 areas of concern in her letter, posing more than 70 questions for Hegseth in what appears to be a preview of Democrats’ approach when they interrogate his qualifications, past conduct and beliefs. The letter highlights allegations of heavy drinking and sexual misconduct, remarks suggesting female military personnel should play a more limited role, his past skepticism about the need for U.S. troops to comply with laws of war, and accusations of financial mismanagement arising from the veterans’ organizations he once led.
Hegseth has vehemently denied claims of wrongdoing.
“I am deeply concerned by the many ways in which your behavior and rhetoric indicates that you are unfit to lead the Department of Defense,” Warren said in the letter. “Your confirmation as Secretary of Defense would be detrimental to our national security and disrespect a diverse array of service members who are willing to sacrifice for our country.”
The Trump transition team declined to comment on Warren’s letter. Hegseth is due to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Jan. 14.
Spanning 33 pages, the missive resurfaces statements and alleged incidents reported by the news media in the weeks following Trump’s selection of the 44-year-old – a former Army National Guard member, Princeton University graduate and longtime Fox News host – to lead the Pentagon. Several news outlets have published reports scrutinizing Hegseth’s background, including revelations that he made derisive comments about Muslims and current military leaders, and an incident in which he was investigated, but not charged, in an alleged sexual assault.
Warren’s letter also coincides with growing concern among Democrats about the incoming Trump administration’s decision to spurn steps traditionally involved in the selection, vetting and approval process for high-level government officials.
Hegseth’s confirmation hearing will provide an early test of how congressional Republicans, in particular, intend to size up their preferences against those of their president. While Hegseth’s record has stirred doubts among some in the GOP, Trump has lobbied forcefully for his confirmation.
And while some Republicans have praised Hegseth – who wasn’t widely seen as a contender for high office until Trump announced his pick days after the election – others, including Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), have not publicly declared how they will vote, though both said they had productive meetings with Hegseth last month. Ernst is a member of the Armed Services Committee and a sexual assault survivor. Collins is a prominent moderate within the GOP.
To proceed for a vote on the Senate floor, Hegseth must secure the support of a majority of the Republican-led Armed Services Committee. Committee Democrats are widely expected to oppose him.
If confirmed, Hegseth, who as a Fox News host successfully lobbied Trump for lenient treatment of service members convicted of war crimes, is expected to focus on cultural and personnel issues at the Pentagon, which he has said is insufficiently focused on combat and is dominated by “woke” generals.
In her letter, Warren told Hegseth to be ready to respond to questions, and she asked that he first reply in writing by Jan. 10. Separately, a group of Democratic senators, including Warren, Tim Kaine (Virginia), Tammy Duckworth (Illinois) and Kirsten Gillibrand (New York), sent a letter to Trump’s designated chief of staff last month focused on Hegseth’s record on women.
Critics have assailed Trump for tapping Hegseth before he completed key aspects of the vetting process, which for Senate-confirmed positions usually includes an FBI background check. While the FBI typically delivers the results of a nominee’s classified background check to the relevant oversight committee about a week ahead of a confirmation hearing, that hadn’t happened in Hegseth’s case as of Tuesday, said a Senate aide familiar with the process, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the vetting process.
Upon receiving the results of an FBI background check, the committee chair and ranking minority-party member – in this case, Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) and Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) – have the discretion to share it with other lawmakers, aides said. Senators in both parties, including some like Collins who do not sit on the committee, have expressed interest in seeing the FBI’s findings. It is unclear if Wicker and Reed will make the FBI report more widely available.
Senate aides also said Hegseth had declined to hold meetings with committee Democrats in the lead-up to next week’s hearing, a development they called a disturbing break with tradition. Reed, the committee’s top Democrat, is expected to meet with Hegseth later this week.
The aides said Hegseth, through intermediaries, offered Democrats opportunities to meet with him only after his confirmation hearing.
“It’s obviously really concerning, and very unusual to not be taking those meetings,” one Senate aide said. “It’s disrespectful to the process.”
A Trump transition official disputed that claim, saying Hegseth and his team reached out to nearly all Democratic committee members well before the end-of-year holidays but received no agreements to meet in December. The aide identified one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania), who had met with Hegseth but is not a member of the Armed Services Committee.
“Despite a poor response rate and multiple communications attacking the nominee before these Senators have even met with him (and going outside standard hearing procedures to make these requests), Mr. Hegseth is doing his level best to meet with as many Democrat Senators as he can before and after his hearing,” the Trump transition official said via email.
So you can imagine my delight when my hero, President-elect Trump, gave a news conference Tuesday and strongly addressed those crucial subjects, along with other things that matter deeply to REAL AMERICANS like me, including shower water pressure and making Canada part of the United States.
I voted for Trump for 1 reason: American invasion of Greenland
President-elect Donald Trump makes remarks at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 7, 2025.
Refusing to rule out using the military to take control of Greenland, Trump, who I voted for because I knew he would keep us out of wars, said: “Well, we need Greenland for national security purposes. … People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it. But if they do, they should give it up.”
YES! I was predominantly a one-issue voter, and that issue was the exorbitant cost of seal meat. By threatening our ally Denmark and using military force if necessary, the Trump administration can proudly claim Greenland as a U.S. territory, dramatically lowering the cost of seal meat for American consumers like myself. That will allow me and my fellow MAGA supporters to affordably make Suaasat, a Greenlandic soup, AS IS OUR RIGHT AS AMERICANS!
Some voters were concerned about egg prices. TRUE PATRIOTS were concerned about seal-meat prices.
And Trump is on the case.
I am very worried about the name ‘Gulf of Mexico’
The soon-to-be president also announced a change that has been talked about for years in the rural diners I frequent with my fellow forgotten American men and women.
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” Trump said. “Gulf of America – what a beautiful name.”
President-elect Donald Trump announces the Gulf of Mexico will get a new name: the Gulf of America.
SO BEAUTIFUL! And also, so directly impactful on the quality of my day-to-day life.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to miss work because I was feeling down about having to give Mexico credit for that 218,0000-square-mile, semienclosed oceanic basin that I know was BUILT BY AMERICANS.
America for sure owns the Gulf of AMERICA, people!
As Trump said Tuesday: “We’re going to change, because we do most of the work there, and it’s ours.”
Finally, a president who hates windmills as much as I do
The greatest president in history, speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort, went on to bless us with this: “We’re going to try and have a policy where no windmills are being built.”
Praise the Lord! I know some in the MAGA community are more concerned about the economy, immigration and making life terrible for transgender people, but many of us picked Trump again because we abso-freakin’-lutely despise windmills.
See Don Quixote’s La Mancha
They are distracting and can easily be mistaken for giants, leading innocent Americans to tilt at them like the late, great Don Quixote used to do. (Hopefully, Trump will also soon announce that Don Quixote will be renamed “Don America.”)
MAGA voters wanted a president unafraid of Big Shower
Trump also addressed America’s shower-water-pressure crisis, saying: “When you buy a faucet, no water comes out because they want to preserve, even in areas that have so much water you don’t know what to do, it’s called rain, it comes down from heaven. … No water comes out of the shower. It goes drip, drip, drip.”
Finally, we will have a president with the meteorological knowledge to identify that rain correctly comes from heaven. This is clearly the man best suited to handle America’s nuclear codes.
Sure, Canadians will welcome us taking control of their country
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Biden administration finalizes rule to strike medical debt from credit reports
Rob Wile – January 7, 2025
The Biden administration says people who previously had medical debt on their credit reports could see their credit scores rise by an average of 20 points.
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U.S. consumers will no longer have medical debt appear on their credit reports under a new rule the Biden administration finalized Tuesday.
The change, which administration officials had proposed over the summer and is set to take effect in March, means some $49 billion in medical bills will be struck from the credit reports of about 15 million Americans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said lenders would also be prohibited from using medical information in their lending decisions.
“People who get sick shouldn’t have their financial future upended,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. “The CFPB’s final rule will close a special carveout that has allowed debt collectors to abuse the credit reporting system to coerce people into paying medical bills they may not even owe.”
About 1 in 12 adults in the U.S. had medical debt as of 2021, according to an analysis by KFF, a nonprofit group that researches health policy issues. The CFPB determined that a medical bill on a person’s credit report was a poor predictor of whether they would repay a loan yet contributed to thousands of denied mortgage applications.
The agency expects the rule will lead to the approval of some 22,000 additional mortgages every year, and that Americans with medical debt on their credit reports could see their credit scores rise by an average of 20 points.
The three major U.S. credit bureaus already announced in 2023 that previously paid medical debts, or any medical debts under $500, would no longer appear on credit reports.
The move comes as Biden administration officials race to safeguard aspects of their work weeks before President-elect Donald Trump retakes office. The White House on Monday, for example, announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the U.S. coastline. When it comes to consumer finance, advocates are preparing for an expected rollback of certain safeguards imposed in the last four years by the CFPB, a high-profile target of some GOP lawmakers and Trump allies including Elon Musk.
A Charlotte bankruptcy attorney says although that debt won’t show up on those reports anymore, he believes creditors will find a new way to make sure those debts are paid.
“So it is a really important thing,” explained Ruth Lande, vice president of Provider Relations at Undue Medical Debt. “Most people know that medical debt is not like other debts. It’s not the same kind of a debt of choice. And so to have those kinds of repercussions on a credit report affecting your ability to get housing or get a car or different things, that is really not what the credit system should be about.”
It’s a national nonprofit using donations to buy large bundles of unpaid medical bills to help Americans out of debt. Lande says clients say those debts stress customers — and deter them from seeking medical care.
Charlotte bankruptcy attorney Rashad Blossom.
“Patients want to pay their bills, and studies from Kaiser Family Foundation show that four-in-10 adults have these kinds of debts and that it’s affected their willingness to go and seek care or family members seeking care because they’re afraid of the cost. So, fear and anxiety and depression are really a big issue around medical debt.”
Charlotte bankruptcy attorney Rashad Blossom says more than 50 percent of his clients have unpaid medical debt. But, he says it may be too early to tell how much the new rule will really help.
“On one hand, the concern is, are creditors going to get aggressive in other areas, or will they start suing people?” Blossom said. “Will they start harassing them because that credit reporting debt collected tool has been taken away? So, it could be the case that drives more bankruptcies as creditors get more aggressive in other areas. On the other hand, it’s good for the consumer that this is not being reported because now, that’s one less concern about them being able to buy a home.”
The final rule is set to take effect in March – but that timeline could be delayed by legal challenges.
“So, the bottom line is it is just too early,” Blossom said. “We don’t know yet, but the concerns are there that it could be counterproductive.”
Among the senators Kinzinger roasted was Trump ally and staunch defender Lindsey Graham. “Those who made this attack on our government need to be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Graham said four years ago on X (formerly Twitter). “Their actions are repugnant to democracy.”
“I unambiguously condemn in the strongest possible terms any and all forms of violent protest,” Johnson said at the time. “Any individual who committed violence today should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Thanks @SpeakerJohnson,” Kinzinger said as he shared the four-year-old post.
Three police officers stand in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on Monday in Washington, D.C. ,Monday marks the fourth anniversary since rioters stormed the Capitol (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“These actions at the US Capitol by protestors are truly despicable and unacceptable. While I am safe and sheltering in place, these protests are prohibiting us from doing our constitutional duty.” Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee wrote four years ago on X.
“I condemn them in the strongest possible terms. We are a nation of laws,” Blackburn added, to which Kinzinger reposted and said: “Thanks @MarshaBlackburn.”
He also shared a 2021 post from conservative radio host Erik Erikson that called for the protestors to be “shot” and to “deny [Trump] the ability to run for election again.”
Kinzinger lashed out at his former political allies and accused them of “cowardice.”
“Jan 6th is a reminder to me: cowardice spreads like wildfire,” he said in a follow up post on X. “This country needs leaders who are willing to tell the people the truth, not pander to lies.”
As Trump’s election is certified, Americans should declare war on stupidity
Rex Huppke – January 6, 2025
On the eve of Donald Trump’s election certification, the best thing sensible Americans who oppose him and the MAGA leadership can do is remember that stupidity should be embarrassing.
Trump exists in our political sphere because he persuaded people to forget that simple fact. He somehow turned dunderheads like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and, of course, himself – public figures who routinely utter abject nonsense – into people who get taken seriously.
Following the New Orleans terrorist attack on New Year’s Day, Trump ranted about immigration when the suspect killed in the attack was a U.S. citizen. That was stupid and unhelpful. For a president-elect and elected leaders who protect him, it should be deeply embarrassing.
Trump has made stupidity acceptable. It shouldn’t be.
President-elect Donald Trump arrives on New Year’s Eve at his Mar-A-Lago Club on December 31, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida.
When Greene hypothesized that Jewish space lasers started California wildfires, that was not a mistake or an “oops” moment. It was stupid, and it should have been the embarrassing end of her political career.
When Kennedy encourages people to drink bacteria-laden raw milk, he should be laughed out of the country. Instead, Trump has picked him to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is utterly stupid and should be profoundly embarrassing for Trump.
Yet here we are, waiting for Trump to return to the White House and install harebrained MAGA acolytes in all positions of power, confidently and without shame.
Bringing back shame may be powerful tool to deal with Trump
It’s that last bit that’s the problem: “without shame.”
We all do dumb things. There have been plenty of times I’ve said or written something stupid, made a dumb factual error or mouthed off about something I didn’t fully understand. And it’ll happen again, to be sure. No matter the room, I’d never claim to be the smartest guy in it.
Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga) yells as President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 7, 2024.
The difference, though, is that in those dumb moments, when I’ve realized my own blunder, I’ve felt embarrassed. When I’ve had to correct a column or admit I got out over my skis on something, I’ve been ashamed of the mistake.
Shame is what keeps us in check, or at least it should. It certainly used to.
If we tolerate stupidity in the public sphere, it will flourish
How else do you explain politicians supporting him – a convicted felon, an inveterate liar, a man found liable of sexual abuse – for a third time? The decision to put someone like Trump back in the most powerful position in America should be embarrassing. It wasn’t.
That’s enough to make people who dislike Trump, whether because of his politics or his personality, feel powerless. I get that.
However, I’d argue the best way to reclaim power in the age of Trumpism is to stop tolerating stupidity.
Stupidity isn’t about book smarts, it’s about choosing ignorance
Before I go further on that, let’s be clear what I mean by “stupidity.” I’m not talking about any level of education.
Heck, most of the people Trump surrounds himself with are highly educated but dumb as fence posts.
Stupidity is speaking authoritatively about things you don’t understand at all. It’s the willingness to say something objectively false and refuse to admit you’re wrong. It’s the lack of curiosity that allows our leaders to accept bologna conspiracy theories over provable facts.
Those, to me, are traits that should be embarrassing.
Stop giving elected officials embracing stupidity a pass
But since Trump’s first presidential win, some people have been afraid to call out such traits.
The argument is, essentially: “Well, he won people over, so we shouldn’t call him dumb lest we insult his voters, who we must do our best to understand.”
Then-Rep. Matt Gaetz, left, supports former President Donald Trump at his hush money trial in New York City on May 16, 2024.
So now, as we await whatever fresh hell a new Trump administration will bring, it’s time to stop pandering to politicians who have embraced a reality disconnected from actual reality.
It’s, “If you can’t accept basic facts, you’re a chucklehead who should be shunned.”
President-elect Donald Trump greets SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at a test flight of the Starship rocket on Nov. 19, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas.
Making people feel embarrassed for believing claptrap or speaking a bald-faced lie isn’t cruel. It’s corrective.
We don’t coddle our kids when they spew nonsense or think the truth is irrelevant. We correct them. And we do that to avoid the kind of chaos Trump has brought and continues to bring.
Do it for America: Make Stupidity Embarrassing Again
So I encourage you, as this year goes along, to make politicians who say stupid things feel uncomfortable. You may not think your voice matters, but the collective force of all our voices reminding people our society looks down on willful ignorance might matter.
Besides, we tried the other way, and things only got worse.
Comforting fools paves a path for more fools to follow. Do America a favor – mock stupidity at every turn.
Adam Kinzinger Brutally Sums Up The ‘Entire’ Republican Party With Just 1 Acronym
Ben Blanchet January 5, 2025
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) — a frequent Donald Trump critic after his 2020 election loss — revealed why it’s “interesting” that critics tag him with the “RINO” acronym, which stands for “Republican in name only.”
“The reality is the entire Republican Party today is the RINO. They’re Republicans in name only,” said Kinzinger in an interview with Salon shared Saturday.
“They hold the title to the Republican Party, a lot of them still think they’re holding a legacy, but that’s exactly right, it’s gone,” he continued.
Kinzinger, the focus of a new documentary, “The Last Republican,” from “Hot Tub Time Machine” director Steve Pink, added that “what it means now to be a Republican” is that you’re “driven by anger” and division.
“I think what they stand for is supporting culture war, rage, and one person, one personality, and that’s Donald Trump. Now, they’ll never admit it, but that’s the reality of it,” he said.
Kinzinger, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over his role in the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, served on the House committee that investigated the insurrection.
He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s election and, in a speech at the Democratic National Convention, declared that he was “putting our country first.”
In a separate interview with Forbes published Friday, Kinzinger said he’s built “new alliances” in recent years and has realized he’s “probably closer to a Democrat now because of how the Republican Party has changed.”
“The Democrats are now the party that’s defending America’s role in the world, defending Ukraine, which I’m really passionate about,” said Kinzinger, who predicted that the GOP is “toast for a while” as “Trumpism” won’t “survive past these four years.”
The former congressman, in his interview with Salon, said he thinks Trump is “already a lame duck,” before noting that his control over his base could pose a “concern” for Republicans when the president-elect’s second term ends.
“If you think about George W. Bush toward the end of his second term, Republicans were falling away. That won’t happen with Trump,” Kinzinger said.
“All those Republicans who should be falling away will still have to face reelection even though Donald Trump doesn’t,” he continued.
Kinzinger added that he doesn’t think the GOP can be “saved in the near term,” but he hopes people don’t “give up on it.”
“Because the reality is that there’s probably forever only going to be two major parties in this country, and the Republican Party will be one of them,” he said. “We can either write it off and lose elections, with such consequences as we’ve just had, or we can continue to fight inside.”
Washington Post Cartoonist Ann Telnaes Quits After Bezos-Owned Paper Kills Trump Satire Piece
Tess Patton – January 3, 2025
Washington Post editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes quit after a satirical cartoon, which poked fun at the paper’s owner Jeff Bezos and other media and tech giants bending the knee to President-elect Donald Trump, was killed.
The Pulitzer Prize winner shared her decision in a Substack post Friday.
“I have had editorial feedback and productive conversations—and some differences—about cartoons I have submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now,” she said.
Telnaes had worked at the Washington Post since 2008. She described the political cartoon that did not get published, saying it “criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump.”
The Washington Post did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The cartoon included Facebook and Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Los Angeles Times publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong, the “Walt Disney Company/ABC News” depicted as Mickey Mouse and Washington Post owner Bezos. A rough draft of the scrapped cartoon can be seen below.
A rough draft of Ann Telnaes’ scrapped cartoon (Credit: Ann Telnaes/Substack)
Telnaes criticized Bezos for his handling of the Washington Post in the months leading up to Trump’s election and those to follow. The paper did not endorse a presidential candidate in 2024 for the first time in decades, leading to three editorial board member resignations and widespread canceled subscriptions.
“Owners of such press organizations are responsible for safeguarding that free press— and trying to get in the good graces of an autocrat-in-waiting will only result in undermining that free press,” the cartoonist said of her former boss.
“As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave the Post,” she said. “I doubt my decision will cause much of a stir and that it will be dismissed because I’m just a cartoonist. But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because as they say, ‘Democracy dies in darkness.’”
Avoiding This Type Of Drink Could Help Prevent Dementia—Plus, 13 Other Ways To Lower Your Risk, According To Doctors
Korin Miller – January 3, 2025
14 Things You Can Do To Lower Your Dementia Risk Maria Korneeva – Getty Images
Dementia is a devastating condition that can affect everything from your thinking to your personality. And while you can’t always control your risk of developing the disease, new research finds there are at least 14 things you can do now to lower your chances down the road.
These “modifiable factors” were spelled out in an August 2024 report published in The Lancet, and doctors say they’re worth paying attention to.
“Simple switches in lifestyle can make a big difference in dementia risk,” says Amit Sachdev, MD, MS, medical director in the Department of Neurology at Michigan State University.
Here’s what you should know, according to doctors.
Meet the experts: Amit Sachdev, MD, medical director in the Department of Neurology at Michigan State University; Heshan J. Fernando, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist for Corewell Health in Michigan; Verna Porter, MD, a neurologist and director of the Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurocognitive Disorders at Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.
What can you do now to lower your dementia risk?
These are the biggest lifestyle tweaks you can make now to lower your dementia risk, according to the report.
Take it easy with alcohol
Research finds that so-called “heavy” drinkers are more likely to develop dementia than “moderate” ones. But there’s good news: Even dropping your drinking levels from “heavy” to “moderate” will decrease your risk, a 2023 study found.
Avoid smoking
Smoking has been linked to dementia because it can increase the risk of problems with the heart and blood vessels, the Alzheimer’s Society says. Toxins in cigarettes also cause inflammation, which has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Manage diabetes
“A growing body of research has implicated a strong link between metabolic disorders like diabetes and impaired nerve signaling in the brain,” says Verna Porter, MD, a neurologist and director of the Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurocognitive Disorders at Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.
By managing your diabetes, you could by reduce “inflammation in the brain, which in turn helps to protect” it, she says.
Try to maintain a healthy weight
Several studies have linked obesity with a higher risk of dementia—in fact, a scientific analysis published in JAMAin 2022 named obesity as one of the top modifiable causes of it.
Stay on top of your blood pressure
Research has found that lowering blood pressure in people with hypertension can lower the risk of dementia by about 15 percent.
Try to minimize air pollution exposure
Studies have suggested that people consistently exposed to a type of air pollution called fine particulate matter are more likely to develop dementia than those who aren’t exposed to it. These can come from construction sites, unpaved roads, fields, smokestacks or fires, or can be the result of complex reactions of pollutants, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Protect yourself from head injury
Research finds that a history of a single prior head injury was associated with a 1.25 times increased risk of dementia compared to people with no history of head injury. A history of two or more prior head injuries was associated with over two times increased risk of dementia.
Be physically active
Studies show that being physically active can help lower your risk of dementia. “Daily physical exercise—such as 20-30 minutes of light aerobic activity—can include activities such as walking, biking or aquatic pool exercises,” says Heshan J. Fernando, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist for Corewell Health in Michigan.
Try to manage your mental health
A 2023 study found that people diagnosed with depression were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with dementia later in life. Medication, therapy, and healthy habits like eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep can all play a role in treating mental health issues.
Be socially active
“Staying socially engaged may help protect against Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in later life,” Dr. Porter says, adding that it’s crucial to maintain a strong network of family and friends. “Social connections may also be enhanced through volunteer organizations, joining various clubs or social group, taking a group classes, or getting out into the community.”
Treat hearing loss
A 2024 study found that hearing loss is linked to a higher risk of developing dementia. However, hearing aid users were less likely to develop dementia than non-users.
Keep learning
Research has linked higher dementia risk to lower education levels. However, one study found that the odds of developing dementia fall in people who continue to learn.
“Education at any age may protect against cognitive decline,” Dr. Porter says.
Manage your cholesterol
Studies show that high cholesterol is linked with a higher risk of developing dementia and that the risk increases with age. Fernando recommends following a heart healthy diet like the Mediterranean diet that emphasizes fruits and vegetables, lean meats like chicken and fish, whole grains and healthy fats.
This “can help optimize blood flow to the brain,” he says.
Stay on top of your vision
Research has found that untreated vision loss increases the risk of dementia by about 50 percent, so go to the eye doctor when you can.
