Letter: President’s mental health in question

At a recent political rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a political candidate for the office of President of the United States described the elected mayor of that city as a “rotten” mayor who was either really “stupid or dishonest.” The mayor had simply reminded the candidate of his obligation to pay for the costs incurred by the city for the political rally. The candidate in question, with 3,500 lawsuits and six bankruptcies to his name, has a history of not paying his bills.

That candidate referred to Hunter Biden, the surviving son of former Vice-President Joe Biden, as “a loser.” This is the same candidate who bristles when his three oldest children, who have White House credentials, are criticized for traveling the world using their connections to the American president to make deals with foreign governments and others for their father’s business conglomerates.

He then described Joe Biden as “not smart” and an Obama “ass kisser.”

The candidate draws laughs from his supporters at these rallies. Some of these people bring their young children with them to witness this class act. Is this what makes America great again?

The candidate recently referred to Sen. Mitt Romney as a “pompous ass.” He said that the criticism of his telephone call with the Ukrainian president seeking political dirt on candidate Biden was “bullshit.” And when Republican state television, Fox News, released their own poll concluding that a majority of Americans want to see our current president impeached AND removed from office, that candidate said that the poll and the people who conducted it “suck.” He said that Fox wasn’t as ”loyal” as it used to be.

When the same candidate ran for office in 2016 he frequently dropped the F-bomb. At a nationally televised debate, he referred to the size of his penis.

We all know who this man is. It’s Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, a candidate for re-election. There is something wrong with a man who acts this way in public; something wrong with a man who acts this way anywhere. It is for the president to represent American values to the world. These are not the values of my America.

“Your actions define your character. Your words define your wisdom. Your treatment of others defines the real you.”

— Mayur Ramgir,

Indian author

Unfortunately, it’s worse than the repeated use of profanity. It’s not just that he is a verbal loose cannon. It’s that hundreds of mental health professionals have concluded (online, interviews, professional conferences, blogs, editorials, books) that our president is too mentally unfit to fulfill the duties of the presidency.

This is the man who, in June of this year, ordered American war planes and war ships to attack Iran only to order them to stand down while the planes were in the air. He is a verbal loose cannon and a loose cannon literally. And we know from Congressional hearings that, on at least 10 occasions last year, the White House officials disobeyed direct orders from the president because the officials knew that the orders were illegal.

The mental health professionals have diagnosed Trump by relying on what he has said and done during 50 years of public appearances, his books, his television appearances, his campaign rallies, his Twitter statements, and his interviews.

The diagnosis is one of Malignant Narcissism, a condition with symptoms reminiscent of Adolf Hitler. They say that Trump suffers from several interacting mental disorders that cause him to distort reality and make decisions that are impulsive and violent.

The psychologists rely on their medical bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). It is used by mental health professionals when testifying in courts of law and in their practices of psychiatry/psychology.

They are sending a warning to America and the world: the President of the United States is a clear and present danger to us all.

They inform us that one who suffers from malignant narcissism suffers from three mental illnesses: anti-social personality disorder, paranoid personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder. He also enjoys inflicting pain on others.

This is not a political diagnosis. It’s a mental health diagnosis.

The symptoms noted by the doctors include Trump’s failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors, repeated lying, impulsiveness, irritability and aggressiveness, consistent irresponsibility, and lack of remorse.

Trump’s symptoms also include suspecting without facts that others are deceiving him, a preoccupation with unjustified doubts about the loyalty of associates, reading threatening meanings into benign remarks, persistently bearing grudges, and perceiving attacks on his character or reputation that are not apparent to others and then reacting angrily.

Other symptoms of Trump’s mental disorder(s) include his grandiose sense of self-importance with exaggerations of his talents and achievements, a preoccupation with fantasies of brilliance, unlimited success and power, a belief that he is special and unique, his need for excessive admiration, his exploitation of others, his lack of empathy, his envy of others, and his arrogance.

The mental health professionals point out that Trump has two and half times the symptoms necessary to substantiate the three mental illness diagnoses that lead them to their diagnosis of malignant narcissism.

A few of the individual characteristics associated with Trump have also been associated with Obama, Bush II and Clinton. Certain of these characteristics tend to be found in many highly driven and successful people. However, Trump is the only president who displays such an extensive mixture of these malignant traits.

And this should scare the hell out of each of us, if you will pardon my Trumpism.

Trump, as a younger man, was able to put coherent thoughts together. Now, even while on friendly Fox News, he rambles incoherently. He can’t focus on the questions asked of him. He runs multiple random thoughts together. Trump won’t allow his sympathetic hosts to reel him back in to the subject at hand.

He is the most powerful person on Earth but he sees himself as a victim. He feels compelled to lash out at others. He is never wrong. Somebody else is always to blame. And all too often, those other people must be punished.

Historical conservatives (real conservatives) who are dismayed by what they see and hear have come forward and used the words “unpatriotic” and “coward” to describe elected Republicans who still stand with the president. They stand with Trump because they need his supporters to keep themselves in office, too. These cowards put themselves and their political party ahead of their country.

But Trump hasn’t just burned Republicans who dare to cross him. Trump has repeatedly lashed out at and turned his back on our country’s long-time allies in Europe. He has publicly criticized Germany, France, Denmark, Holland and others. America is not just isolated. We stand alone. There is no upside to this in a crazy world.

Unfortunately, Trump’s abandonment of decades of American foreign policy has not been limited to his rants.

Recently he abandoned our allies on the battlefield. Those allies, the Kurds, are trusted and held in high esteem by the American Special Forces teams with whom they have fought. The Kurds fought and expelled ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria.

In one phone call with the Turkish president, Trump abandoned comrades in arms and gave Turkey the go ahead to attack the Kurds in northern Syria. The Turks did so immediately. Trump explained his thinking, and his surprise decision, by saying, “They didn’t help us with Normandy.”

Normandy? Normandy was the WWII Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944. Seventy-five years and 2766 miles separate the fighting and the two battles on the map. Normandy?

As a result of Trump’s whim, 160,000 people are currently fleeing for their lives. 785 ISIS prisoners have escaped. Retired Gen. James Mattis tells us that ISIS will gain strength because of Trump’s pullout of American troops. Kurds who fought with American Special Forces just this month are now dying as American soldiers watch after being ordered to stand down and let the Kurds fight for themselves.

Kurds suffered thousands of casualties that saved American lives in the fight against terrorism. The Kurds may have been the only friends we had In the Muslim world. The operative word is “had.” And now the Kurds are reaching out to align themselves with Russian troops in Syria In order to survive.

Kurdish officials have said that you don’t betray men with whom you fought in the trenches. They have said that they will never trust Americans again. Green Beret officers on the ground have anonymously told American reporters that America has broken it’s trust. “What we have done is a stain on the American conscience”. One officer said, ”I’m ashamed.”

The recently retired deputy commander of U. S. Special Forces in the Middle East, Marine Col. Andrew Milburn, echoed those comments. He fought along side the Kurds. He was highly complimentary of those fighters. Milburn said the decision to abandon them was “gut-wrenching”. He said the withdrawal will cost the U. S. it’s last vestige of credibility in the region.

Trump, consistent with the comments of the mental heath experts, made a decision that was impulsive, arrogant, and irresponsible. Trump made a decision without empathy, without consultation with military commanders in the field and without discussion with allies. Earlier this year Trump said that he knew more about ISIS than his generals. He has described himself as a genius.

Thousands of men, women and children are suffering because of Trump.

The 25th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution exists to remove a president who is unfit to perform the duties of president. The vice president and other officials would have to agree to this exercise of constitutional authority. Vice President Pence has been defending the president. The likelihood of the necessary officials removing Trump is slim to none.

The voters will have to save America if not the world in 2020.

How many people will unnecessarily die before that happens?

— Charles Wieland,

retired Madera County Superior Court Judge,

Madera