Trump tweets defense of his mental ability
But his erratic, impulsive behavior has thrust country into debate over fitness for office
President Donald Trump, whose sometimes erratic behavior in office has generated an unprecedented debate about his mental health, declared Saturday that he was perfectly sane and accused his critics of raising questions to score political points.
In a series of Twitter posts that were extraordinary even by the standards of his norm-shattering presidency, Trump insisted that his opponents and the news media were attacking his capacity because they had failed to prove that his campaign conspired with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.
“Now that Russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the American public, the Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart,” he added. He said he was a “VERY successful businessman” and television star who won the presidency on his first try. “I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius . ... and a very stable genius at that!”
Elaborating during a meeting with reporters at Camp David later in the day, Trump again ticked off what he called a high-achieving academic and career record. He raised the matter “only because I went to the best colleges, or college,” he said. Referring to a new book citing concerns about his fitness, he said, “I consider it a work of fiction, and I consider it a disgrace.”
The president’s engagement on the issue is likely to fuel the longsimmering argument about the president’s state of mind that has roiled the political and psychiatric worlds and thrust the country into uncharted territory. Democrats in Congress have introduced legislation to force the president to submit to psychological evaluation. Mental health professionals have signed a petition calling for his removal from office.
His bigger button
In the past week alone, a new book resurfaced previously reported concerns among the president’s own advisers about his fitness for office, the question of his mental state came up at two White House briefings and the secretary of state was asked if Trump was mentally fit. After the president boasted that his “nuclear button” was bigger than Kim Jong Un’s in North Korea, Richard Painter, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, described the claim as proof that Trump is “psychologically unfit” and should have his powers transferred to Vice President Mike Pence under the Constitution’s 25th Amendment.
Trump’s self-absorption, impulsiveness, lack of empathy, obsessive focus on slights, tenuous grasp of facts and penchant for sometimes far-fetched conspiracy theories have generated endless op-ed columns, magazine articles, books, professional panel discussions and cable television speculation.
“The level of concern by the public is now enormous,” said Bandy Lee, a forensic psychiatrist at Yale School of Medicine and editor of “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President,” a book released last fall. “They’re telling us to speak more loudly and clearly and not to stop until something is done because they are terrified.”
As Politico reported, Lee was invited to Capitol Hill last month to meet with about a dozen members of Congress to discuss the matter. All but one of the lawmakers she briefed are Democrats.
Few questions irritate White House aides more than inquiries about the president’s mental wellbeing.
“This shouldn’t be dignified with a response,” said Kellyanne Conway, the White House counselor.
Mental acuity test
The questions have prompted a sharp debate among mental health professionals about the so-called Goldwater rule adopted by the American Psychiatric Association barring members from evaluating anyone they have not personally examined, a rule generated in response to questions raised about Sen. Barry Goldwater, the Republican presidential nominee in 1964.
Trump is due for his annual physical examination on Friday, but the White House would not say whether it would include mental acuity tests.
Trump’s capacity has been discussed openly since the 2016 campaign. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, then a Republican candidate for president, said: “I think he’s a kook. I think he’s crazy. I think he’s unfit for office.”
But fewer Republicans are willing to say that now that Trump is in office. Indeed, Graham in November chided the news media for trying “to label the guy some kind of kook not fit to be president,” even though he had said the exact same thing a year earlier.
“Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.” “… a very stable genius …”