Donald Trump Is A ‘Successful Sociopath’ That Is ‘Essentially A Predator,’ Says Psychiatrist Lance Dodes
Although the Goldwater Rule prohibits psychiatrists from speculating on the mental health of public figures, Donald Trump‘s erratic behavior and controversial nature doesn’t appear to have stopped all of them. In the past, Trump has been criticized by various psychiatrists, including Lance Dodes, the former assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who suggested back in August that the president’s behavior may indicate a “psychotic-like state.”
Dodes is again raising the alarm on Trump, calling him a “successful sociopath” that is “essentially a predator.”
“His focus on his personal benefit at any cost is why he’s a successful sociopath,” Dodes said in an interview with Salon, reported by Newsweek, adding that he sees Trump for “who he really is.”
“It’s very hard to get this across to the public, because every time people talk about him, they start out with the unspoken unconscious assumption that he’s basically like the rest of us. But in order to explain and predict Trump’s behavior, you have to begin with awareness that he is essentially a predator.”
According to Dodes, once people become open to the idea that Trump lacks both empathy and a conscience, he is “very easy to follow.”
“Unlike normal people, who are complex, he’s basically running on a very simple and very disordered program,” he said.
NOW: Join Dr. Kevin Washington and M.D. Bandy X. Lee in @HowardBookstore as they discuss and sign the new release of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump:37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assesses a President – Undated and Expanded with New Essays. pic.twitter.com/ds4ZF7pK4N
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As The Inquisitr reported, Yale psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee is another public figure that has been outspoken about Trump’s purported mental state. She has claimed that the president is not fit for office and believes that his “mental pathology” poses a danger to America that is not understood by the public.
She also believes that people’s reluctance to speak about Trump’s mental state is rooted in fear.
“In psychiatry, avoiding the topic at all cost counts as proof that there is an issue,” she said, per Raw Story.
According to Daniel Gilbert, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, Trump’s mental state is dire enough that he should be detained for assessment. After Gilbert’s comment, Trump suggested he would “destroy” and “obliterate” Turkey’s economy if they did anything he believed to be off-limits.
For supporters of Trump, concern about the president’s mental state is blown out of proportion and another example of his detractors attempting to remove him from office. Such sentiments are mirrored in those that attack the current Democrat-led impeachment probe into Trump, which his supporters often suggest is politically motivated. The inquiry stems from Trump’s controversial phone call with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky.
