35 psychiatrists have warned Donald Trump’s mental state makes him “incapable of serving safely as President”
Donald Trump may not be the most popular President ever to set foot in the Oval Office – but now a group of psychiatrists have warned his mental state is so unstable, he shouldn't be in the White House at all.
A letter to the New York Times signed by 35 psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers suggested Trump's speech and actions "demonstrate an inability to tolerate views different from his own, leading to rage reactions".
"His words and behaviour suggest a profound inability to empathise. Individuals with these traits distort reality to suit their psychological state, attacking facts and those who convey them (journalists, scientists)," they added.
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The letter noted that mental health organisations tend to hold back from critiquing the behaviour of public figures, a self-imposed moratorium known as the Goldwater Rule.
But they added silence over Trump's behaviour has "resulted in a failure to lend our expertise to worried journalists and members of Congress at this critical time".
"We fear that too much is at stake to be silent any longer," they said.
It's not the first time the President's unorthodox style has led experts to worry about his psychological state.
Yesterday conservative political commentator Andrew Sullivan told CNN journalists should be talking about Trump's mental health.
"To have such an unstable figure, incapable of accepting reality, at the centre of the world, is an extremely dangerous thing," he said.
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The letter in full |
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Charles M. Blow (column, nytimes.com, Feb. 9) describes Donald Trump’s constant need “to grind the opposition underfoot.” As mental health professionals, we share Mr. Blow’s concern. Silence from the country’s mental health organisations has been due to a self-imposed dictum about evaluating public figures (the American Psychiatric Association’s 1973 Goldwater Rule). But this silence has resulted in a failure to lend our expertise to worried journalists and members of Congress at this critical time. We fear that too much is at stake to be silent any longer. Mr. Trump’s speech and actions demonstrate an inability to tolerate views different from his own, leading to rage reactions. His words and behaviour suggest a profound inability to empathize. Individuals with these traits distort reality to suit their psychological state, attacking facts and those who convey them (journalists, scientists). In a powerful leader, these attacks are likely to increase, as his personal myth of greatness appears to be confirmed. We believe that the grave emotional instability indicated by Mr. Trump’s speech and actions makes him incapable of serving safely as President. LANCE DODES JOSEPH SCHACHTER |