Donald Trump: Is He Crazy, Or Are Armchair Psychiatrists Going Too Far? [Video]

Is Donald Trump mentally, morally, and emotionally fit to be president? That’s a question many people are asking. The Los Angeles Times reported that Representative Karen Bass (D-CA) has publicly questioned Donald Trump’s sanity. She’s started a petition on Change.org, using the hashtag #DiagnoseTrump, to ask that Donald Trump submit to a psychiatric examination to “determine his mental fitness for the job.”

“It is our patriotic duty to raise the question of his mental stability to be the commander in chief and leader of the free world.”

Rep. Bass, a former physician’s assistant, has suggested that Donald Trump has many of the symptoms of the mental disorder Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Robert Kagan, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institute, suggested in the Washington Post that Trump’s behavior “has not been rational.

Keith Olbermann asked in Vanity Fair whether or not Donald Trump could pass a sanity test. Using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, Olbermann gave Trump 32 out of a possible 40 points. By the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, anything over a 30 is a sign of possible psychopathy. However, Olbermann is not a psychologist nor a psychiatrist. He’s a sports journalist and political commentator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDMxCgQFl1s

The Inquisitr pointed out in June that people were not merely insulting a candidate they disagreed with, but seriously questioning Donald Trump’s sanity. One of those people was attorney and author Richard North Patterson, who, like Karen Bass, suggested that Trump might have Narcissistic Personality Disorder. However, Patterson is a writer, a lawyer, a political analyst, but not a psychologist.

Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC called Trump “unfit” to be president.

“It’s becoming more and more clear that the biggest disqualifying factor as Donald Trump as president is his mental health.”

Some people have wondered if Donald Trump could be suffering from early on-set Alzheimer’s, a disease his father had. The Inquisitr discussed this possibility, and the concerns raised by some of his own supporters over his behavior.

It’s easy to call a candidate whose positions you disagree with “crazy.” It’s easy, and it’s as American as apple pie, like baseball fans calling an umpire “blind” if they disagree with his calls. But is it right?

Every American has the right to question and critique our politicians. Especially during an election year, voters can’t make informed decisions if they don’t question the candidates and their positions. Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th president, considered it unpatriotic not to criticize the president when necessary.

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

Dr. David Perry, a history professor at Dominican University, publicly criticized calling Trump crazy. Dr. Perry pointed out on CNN that non-psychiatrists accusing Trump of mental illness is not only incorrect medically, but ableist.

“There are many grounds on which to criticize Donald Trump and to argue against his candidacy. But his mental health should not be one of them, because it’s a strategy that appeals to bigotry. Leveraging ableism to achieve electoral goals is no more acceptable than using racism, sexism, anti-gay sentiment, anti-Islamic sentiment, or any other form of prejudice.

The number of Republicans refusing to back Donald Trump continues to grow: https://t.co/JiSYj4iU8y pic.twitter.com/AufeluUgai

— ABC News (@ABC) August 6, 2016

“I don’t want Donald Trump to become president for lots of reasons. He routinely makes racist and sexist comments. He lies. I don’t trust him to make good decisions or to hire good people. The list of detriments goes on and on. Yet characterizing his erratic temperament or understanding of the truth as a product of mental illness, then arguing he’s unfit to lead because of that mental illness, sends a terrible message to the millions of people with diagnosed psychiatric disabilities who are trying to make their way through an ableist world.”

Disability rights activist Kim Sauder complained that saying Trump was incompetent because of mental illness would cause people to equate mental illness with incompetence in general. The American Psychiatrist Association’s Goldwater Rule forbids psychiatrists from commenting on candidates’ mental health without actually examining the candidate and having his or her permission to speak in public. Longtime political observers will remember Senator Thomas Eagleton, who was dropped as George McGovern’s running mate in 1972 when it was learned he had sought treatment for clinical depression.

Donald Trump’s Signed Photo Removed From New York Eatery’s Wall: For nearly a decade, an autographed portrait… https://t.co/1z582diYkE

— New York News Links (@dlnynews) August 6, 2016

Is Donald Trump mentally and emotionally fit for the Oval Office? Should he and other candidates submit to a psychiatric examination to prove their competence? Are anti-Trump voters going too far in calling him crazy?

[Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images]