# Book: "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump..." **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 25, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247 "2017-09-25T02:20:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/1 "2017-09-25T02:20:16Z")
Full title: _[The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President](https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Case-Donald-Trump-Psychiatrists-ebook/dp/B07262SJDC)_ If there’s already a thread on this, I missed it. Also, I put it in CS, 'cause it’s a book, but maybe it needs to be moved? > [@](#): > > Amazon blurb: The consensus view of two dozen psychiatrists and psychologists that Trump is dangerously mentally ill and that he presents a clear and present danger to the nation and our own mental health. Reviewed in the Washington Post along with other books on related topics. > [@](#): > > Gone are the days when euphemisms about President Trump’s mental health insulated the man like so many padded walls. Erratic. Unpredictable. Unstable. Unmoored. Temperamentally unfit. This was what politicians and commentators said when they wished to question Trump’s state of mind but feared the consequences of a more colloquial assessment. Yet the deeper we plunge into this presidency, the more willing people become to call it like they see and hear it. > … > > Now, some psychiatrists and other mental-health professionals are shedding long-held norms to argue that Trump’s condition presents risks to the nation and the world. “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” features more than two dozen essays breaking down the president’s perceived traits, which the contributors find consistent with symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder, sociopathy and other maladies. “Collectively with our coauthors, we warn that anyone as mentally unstable as Mr. Trump simply should not be entrusted with the life-and-death powers of the presidency,” Judith Lewis Herman of Harvard Medical School and Bandy X. Lee of the Yale School of Medicine write in the book’s prologue… [Cite](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/book-party/wp/2017/09/22/is-trump-mentally-ill-or-is-america-psychiatrists-weigh-in/?utm_term=.247bd47ab100) ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/2 "2017-09-25T05:06:25Z")
The very best assessments are by psychiatrists who have never met the patient. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/3 "2017-09-25T05:45:38Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > The very best assessments are by psychiatrists who have never met the patient. Seriously, there’s even precedent. I don’t think that you necessarily can’t, but you probably shouldn’t… > **[Goldwater rule](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwater_rule)** > > The Goldwater rule is Section 7 in the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Principles of Medical Ethics, which states that psychiatrists have a responsibility to participate in activities contributing to the improvement of the community and the betterment of public health, and when they are asked to comment on public figures, they refrain from diagnosing, which requires a personal examination and consent. It is named after former US Senator and 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barr The... ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/4 "2017-09-25T06:35:42Z")
Interesting… Could lead to even greater rigour in presidential races. _“You’re a loony !”_ \*“No, you’re a loony !” \* _“No, **you’re** a loony !”_ \*“No, you’re a **loony**!” \*etc… ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/5 "2017-09-25T06:56:10Z")
Hilariously enough, with some quick googling you can also find multiple psychiatrists and other mental health experts saying the exact same thing about other presidents, notably then-current articles on George W Bush and Barrack Obama which also charge them with narcissistic personality disorder, sociopathy, paranoia and other mental diseases. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/6 "2017-09-25T07:50:16Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > The very best assessments are by psychiatrists who have never met the patient. Of course not. However that’s irrelevant since we’re _never_ going to get a real evaluation by a competent doctor of him (or any other President). The only examination that would ever would be allowed would be one by some partisan quack who’d announce he’s perfectly rational even if he was eating his own fingers at the time. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/7 "2017-09-25T08:22:22Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Of course not. However that’s irrelevant since we’re _never_ going to get a real evaluation by a competent doctor of him (or any other President). The only examination that would ever would be allowed would be one by some partisan quack who’d announce he’s perfectly rational even if he was eating his own fingers at the time. What are you talking about? We have an assessment that says he’s the healthiest person ever! Written in a style similar to his own speaking voice. Oh, you said a _competent_ doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/8 "2017-09-25T08:49:52Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Of course not. However that’s irrelevant since we’re _never_ going to get a real evaluation by a competent doctor of him (or any other President). The only examination that would ever would be allowed would be one by some partisan quack who’d announce he’s perfectly rational even if he was eating his own fingers at the time. Quite possibly. However partisan idiocy such as this is no more pertinent, nor aware, than an equal assessment by 100 pinball arcade attendants, or 100 chambermaids, or a 100 insurance adjusters. And even allowing for the snobbery in considering ‘professionals’ as having more weight, or that people conditioned by neurotic Jewish script writers into thinking a psychiatrist has deeper insight, presuming these bozos involved are movitated by anything but spite or had not reached their conclusions in advance beggars credulity. Idiot Hillary — who had one job, just one job — boasted at the end 115 military endorsements of flag officer rank [_they liked the way her mind worked !_], far more than the civilian Donald; such endorsements are only of such weight as one values the contributions and opinions of generals. And the same goes for any other random group from a profession. However, it is interesting to note America needs an **American Psychiatric Association** (APA), an **American Psychological Association** (APA), and an **American Psychoanalytic Association** (APsaA), from that Goldwater link. They should all have their annual meetings in the same hotel, leading to wacky hijinks. Along with the\*\* American Association of Psychics & Psychic Mediums\*\*. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/9 "2017-09-25T09:25:04Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > However, it is interesting to note America needs an **American Psychiatric Association** (APA), an **American Psychological Association** (APA), and an **American Psychoanalytic Association** (APsaA), from that Goldwater link. They should all have their annual meetings in the same hotel, leading to wacky hijinks. > > Along with the\*\* American Association of Psychics & Psychic Mediums\*\*. I’d lay out money on that being cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/10 "2017-09-25T10:52:37Z")
I feel sorry for the trees who gave up their lives to be used to publish this crap. Can’t even use this as toilet paper to wipe your butt. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/11 "2017-09-25T11:01:35Z")
[Moderating] While I realize that this is about a book, the topic of discussion is going to be the subject of the book, which is political. I think it’d be a much better fit for Elections than for here. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/12 "2017-09-25T12:33:28Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > The very best assessments are by psychiatrists who have never met the patient. That would account for Krauthammer’s entire output during the Clinton administration. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/13 "2017-09-25T12:56:11Z")
I think it is completely obvious that Trump has mental health issues. Not because of his politics, but because of his personal behavior. I defy anyone to earnestly assert that he is a healthy, well-adjusted individual. The only question really is whether his mental illnesses are of such a grave state that he is jeopardizing people’s lives. On that count, I agree that psychologists cannot adequately evaluate the issue. It is far more likely that the Cabinet may decide that under the 25th Amendment. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/14 "2017-09-25T13:39:16Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Of course not. However that’s irrelevant since we’re _never_ going to get a real evaluation by a competent doctor of him (or any other President). The only examination that would ever would be allowed would be one by some partisan quack who’d announce he’s perfectly rational even if he was eating his own fingers at the time. We can’t get good data, so let’s use shitty data. That makes sense. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/15 "2017-09-25T14:13:15Z")
It was silly when Sen. Frist diagnosed Terri Schivo from watching her on TV, it’s silly now for these doctors to try and do the same with Trumplethinskin. It doesn’t help. and it just gives his base something else to feel persecuted about. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/16 "2017-09-25T14:14:11Z")
A women who claims to take responsibilty for her election loss…but then writes a WHOLE book that (by various accounts I’ve seen) blames the loss on EVERYBODY else… I detect a bit of narcissism there too… ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/17 "2017-09-25T14:14:57Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > However, it is interesting to note America needs an **American Psychiatric Association** (APA), an **American Psychological Association** (APA), and an **American Psychoanalytic Association** (APsaA), from that Goldwater link. They should all have their annual meetings in the same hotel, leading to wacky hijinks. You do understand that psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychoanalysts are three different medical specialties, with differing qualifications and roles in health care despite some overlap, and that rolling them together into one would be about as appropriate as rolling together, say, gastroenterologists, otolaryngologists, and endocrinologists? ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/18 "2017-09-25T14:24:50Z")
Now you’re just making words up. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/19 "2017-09-25T14:24:53Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Seriously, there’s even precedent. I don’t think that you necessarily can’t, but you probably shouldn’t… > > [Goldwater rule - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwater_rule) As mentally defective as Trump is, I have to admit that, my personal distaste for the man aside, he still probably can’t quite top Richard Nixon during the worst of his Watergate-induced psychosis. Generals took the extra-constitutional step of procuring the nuclear launch codes before Nixon’s resignation took effect. Some around him were genuinely worried about his state of mind and that he might want to send a nuclear middle finger to the world that hated him (as Nixon saw it anyway). Of course, this is not to say that Donald Trump couldn’t get to that point – I could see a Donald Trump meltdown, and God help us all if he does. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247/20 "2017-09-25T14:55:32Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > It was silly when Sen. Frist diagnosed Terri Schivo from watching her on TV, it’s silly now for these doctors to try and do the same with Trumplethinskin. It doesn’t help. and it just gives his base something else to feel persecuted about. Yep. I think Trump is a danger to the country, and I don’t need some shrink to tell me that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/797247.md?page=2)