“Too often, we seem incapable of distinguishing between a disorder of mind and a disorder of character. Clinical definitions and diagnoses rely on subjective psychiatric observation and judgement rather than identification of specific disease pathways.” Trump might behave differently in private “Many unappealing human behaviours are still dismissed as behaviours of the mentally ill,” she writes. Likewise, Dr Meron Wondemaghen, a lecturer in criminology at the University of Southampton, has argued that the traits Donald Trump displays “are not necessarily symptoms of mental illness”. McGowan points out numerous flaws, including that “a significant problem with mental health judgements is that they are somewhat subjective”. Psychologist Dr John McGowan, for instance, has written that “saying Donald Trump is mentally ill is unethical, inaccurate and unhelpful”. Here in the UK, some experts have also distanced themselves from claims that Donald Trump is ill. He may be a world-class narcissist, but this doesn’t make him mentally ill.”
“I wrote the criteria that define this disorder, and Mr. In a letter to the New York Times, he warned against those who “have mislabeled President Trump with the diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder”. After all, Lee published a book on the subject along with more than two dozen mental health experts.īut there are also those who take a different position, such as Allen Frances, Professor Emeritus of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical College, who believes some of the claims made by various people do not stack up. Indeed, Lee has said that “at no other time in US history has a group of mental health professionals been so collectively concerned about a sitting president’s dangerousness”. One of the leading voices making claims about Trump’s mental health is Bandy Lee, an assistant clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine, but she’s not alone. Of course, some people may believe this is because the president has multiple mental health issues.īut we should nevertheless try to be clear in distinguishing between them in order to assess each case on its own merits. So, there is a range of different questions here, not a single, uniform argument. Meanwhile, there are also questions about whether Trump might have the early stages of dementia. One psychiatrist says it is Trump’s “difficult relationship to reality and his inability to respond in an even-handed way to a crisis renders him unfit to be president”. Wolff has questioned Trump’s “intellectual capacity”, explaining that he “doesn’t read” and “doesn’t listen”.īut some mental health experts have implied that he may have some kind of “ narcissistic personality disorder“, or an “ attraction to violence“, citing his nuclear threats over North Korea. Let’s look at the claims and counter-claims. One psychologist even started a petition for Trump to be removed from office, claiming he “manifests a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States”.īut there are deep divisions among mental health professionals about these attempts to diagnose the president with a mental health disorder.
A host of psychologists and mental health experts have made similar claims. It’s not just journalists who have cast doubt on Trump’s state of mind. Michael Wolff has said that Trump’s own staff “came to believe he was incapable of functioning in his job”. This question has floated around for months, but the issue reignited recently with the publication of Michael Wolff’s bestselling book, Fire and Fury, which gives an account of life in the White House.
Is President Trump mentally fit to hold office?
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