President’s mental health a legitimate concern

The dreaded possibility has come to pass. We are now living with a real-life Dr. Strangelove scenario. The leader of the free world is mentally ill and very dangerous. So say many of our nation’s most prominent mental health professionals in a recent book titled The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President, by Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div., author and organizer of the Yale University “Duty to Warn” Conference. Contributing authors are from many of the most prestigious universities and medical schools in America.

The alarming consensus of these professionals is that President Donald Trump is a malignant narcissist (described as “the quintessence of evil” by Eric Fromm, 1964) who is afflicted with narcissistic personality disorder, paranoia, and possessed of severe sociopathic traits among other disturbing psychological afflictions. The consensus view is that Trump’s mental state presents a clear and present danger not only to our nation but to the world.

James Gilligan, M.D., professor of psychiatry and law at New York University, states the concerns expressed by most contributors as follows:

“[Trump] has his finger on the triggers of a thousand or more of the most powerful thermonuclear weapons in the world … . To say that he is “dangerous” is debatable only in the sense that it may be too much of an understatement. If he ever took a step in this direction, we will not be able to say that he did not warn us — loudly, clearly, and repeatedly. In that case, the fault will not be his alone. It will also be ours.”

It does not seem to matter how disgusting his behavior, how pervasive his lies, how absurd his delusions and slanders, or how incompetent he is, Trump still has the support of his (thankfully) shrinking base and, of course, the sycophantic Fox News.

Perhaps the warnings of many our nation’s most respected mental health experts will convince some Trump supporters to reconsider. Those of us who need no further convincing must spread the word and be prepared to do whatever we can to minimize the damage.

Donald Trump does, indeed, represent a dangerous case. God help us all. RONNY J. BELL Fayetteville