Leading psychiatrists speak up about Trump
In July 2016, when Donald Trump first appeared on the national political scene, commentators drained their thesaurus for colorful adjectives to describe him: outrageous, unique, unchained, reckless, controversial, free-wheeling, bombastic, unlike anything American politics had ever seen before. But by the time November rolled around, many were whispering there might be a more accurate adjective to describe him: crazy.
In fact, Trump was no sooner in office than 27 psychiatrists and psychologists, organized by Dr. Bandy Lee, forensic psychiatrist at the Yale School of Medicine, openly discussed his mental capacity in the New York Times bestseller, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.” While these mental health professionals did not use the “c” word, they did agree that Donald Trump was so mentally unstable he was unfit to be president of the United States and represented, in fact, a serious danger to the country and the world.
Three years later, these same experts are back in a special series begun this week on my podcast, “The Bill Press Pod” (BillPresspods.com). Their conclusion? That everything they warned about Donald Trump has been proven true, even worse than they predicted. And, with less than 90 days before November 3, the American people must realize that Trump’s more dangerous now than ever before.
If, aside from their book and my podcast, you haven’t heard much about concerns of mental health professionals, there’s a reason. They’ve been condemned by the American Psychiatric Association, and shunned by much of the mainstream media, for violating the so-called “Goldwater Rule,” adopted by the APA after questions about Barry Goldwater’s mental health were raised in the 1964 presidential campaign. Henceforward, said the APA, no psychiatrist should opine on the mental health of any politician unless he or she had conducted a thorough, in-person evaluation.
Dr. Lee and her colleagues dispute that policy on two grounds. First, they point out that they’re not offering an official diagnosis of Trump, but instead describing his behavior and warning us that his behavior is dangerous. Second, that they have a higher duty than following the APA’s Goldwater rule, which is following their professional obligation and special duty, as “witnessing professionals,” to protect the public health when they see someone who is so dangerous.
Dr. James Gilligan, professor at the Harvard Medical School for 13 years, makes the urgent case for mental health professionals not to remain silent: “One reason it is so important for all of us here to be speaking out about this is precisely so that Trump will not be confused with a normal president. He is not normal. He is unprecedented in American history. We’ve never had a president, I would say, as dangerous and abnormal as he is.”
On my podcast, the assembled psychiatrists and psychologists are unsparing in evaluating Trump’s behavior. They identify him as a narcissist, who cares about no one but himself. A sadist, who takes pleasure in making other people suffer. A deeply insecure bully, who feels the need to destroy others. A paranoid individual, filled with hatred, who sees everyone else as a danger to himself. A despot who can’t accept reality and, in fact, lives in his own “malignant normality.” And that’s just for starters.
If Trump’s behavior has been dangerous so far, these mental health professionals also warn the worst is yet to come. Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Harry Friedman warns that, knowing he may very well lose, the paranoid Trump will stop at nothing: “This is particularly true when it comes to the next election, where his view that he is in danger justifies for him doing whatever he does to skew the election or throw it out in his favor.”
Interviewing these leading mental health professionals, what I found most striking was their acknowledgment that, while we could learn from their professional analysis, we really didn’t need it. We can see it with our own eyes.
Again, Dr. Gilligan: “In many ways, I don’t think any of us are saying anything that’s different from what many, many people in society recognize. I think all we’re doing is saying we’re agreeing with them. When you think this guy is not normal, we’re saying you are right. He’s not normal. He is extremely dangerous.”
We’ve seen evidence of that this week. When Donald Trump responds to the reality of nearly 160,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus by insisting “I think we’re doing very well,” we don’t need any mental health professional to tell us what’s going on. He’s totally bonkers.