‘Donald Trump is an existential threat to democracy’: Mental health professionals warn about the dangers of a second Trump presidency
Ahead of Election Day, hundreds of mental health professionals have signed an open letter warning of the dangers of another Donald Trump presidency while highlighting why they believe he is “unfit” for office.
In the 2024 presidential race, health has been a major topic, but it’s mostly been regarding age, physical health, and fitness. President Joe Biden backed out of the race after his age and health led to doubts about whether he was capable of leading the country for another four years. After he left the race, the scrutiny turned to Trump, who, at age 78, could become the oldest person in history elected as President. He has been cagey about his medical records while displaying increasingly concerning and erratic behavior, including making incoherent statements and dancing on stage during town halls instead of answering questions.
As much as people are interested in physical health and age in relation to the presidency, it’s interesting that this same importance has rarely been placed on mental health.
Mental health professionals say Donald Trump is “unfit” for presidency
Republican attorney George T. Conway is one of Trump’s leading conservative critics. His latest initiative to combat Trump is the Anti-Psycho Political Action Committee (PAC), which seeks to highlight the former president’s alleged “mental instability.” The PAC recently revealed that 233 mental health professionals had signed an open letter expressing that Trump “is an existential threat to democracy” and unfit to lead. As the professionals note, they cannot formally diagnose Trump without an actual evaluation. However, they have “observed thousands of hours” of Trump’s behavior and believe they have an ethical duty to share the mental health disorders they believe he may have, especially since they’re talking about someone running for the highest office in the United States.
The professionals emphasize that the letter is not meant to claim those with mental health struggles, in general, are dangerous and unfit for office. Instead, it focuses on a single rare, severe, and “untreatable” mental health disorder symptom that Trump may suffer from: malignant narcissism. Using criteria from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM V), the professionals state that Trump displays behavior that tracks with narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and paranoid personality disorder. They also claim he displays an “intense sadism, which is a symptom of malignant narcissism.”
Malignant narcissism isn’t recognized as a disorder on its own but as a rare symptom of narcissistic personality disorder. Many medical professionals believe it’s the “most severe pathology” and may have been a commonality in dictators like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. The letter highlighted the behaviors they’ve observed in Trump that track with personality disorders, including failing to conform to social norms, compulsively lying, not caring for the safety and well-being of others, impulsivity, and lack of remorse. He has also demonstrated “sadism,” such as when he allegedly sat and watched “with glee” Jan. 6 unfold on TV without taking action.
The letter also expressed immense concern for Trump’s possible “cognitive decline,” believing his recent confusion, “diminished vocabulary,” and “deteriorating judgment, impulse control, and motor functioning” urgently warrant an evaluation, the results of which they believe “would be disqualifying.” They also believe his potential cognitive decline will only exacerbate the symptoms of personality disorder. In conclusion, they emphasize, ” Without question, malignant narcissists have been history’s most grandiose, paranoid, and murderous leaders. Inevitably, they escalate until they are completely out of control, ultimately destroying themselves and the nations they lead.”
The letter is quite chilling, as it comes from hundreds of certified medical professionals. Their statement doesn’t count as an official diagnosis, but their observations and suspicions should be more than enough to warrant an immediate cognitive and psychological evaluation of Trump. Biden faced and heeded calls to step down over mere doubts of his cognitive ability and health, while Harris publicly released her medical records for transparency. Now, Trump must be held to the same standards. When hundreds of medical professors express strong doubt about his fitness to lead the country, they can’t just be ignored.
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
