# Is Donald Trump mentally ill? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271 "2012-11-07T19:59:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/21 "2012-11-08T13:56:21Z")
I’m thinking his show is starting to wear thin and he’s desperate to keep his name in the public eye to keep that show. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/22 "2012-11-08T14:08:05Z")
Desperate aging attention whore, who’s tv show is losing it’s appeal, doing anything bigger and more outrageous, to attract attention to himself. How his ‘co network’ reported his upcoming October surprise press conference with a straight face, amazes me. Of course, once it was reported there, the other networks felt obligated to report it as ‘news’. Overt craven manipulation of the news for personal gain and ratings. Not one network, that reported the story, had the ovaries to call it the transparent stunt for ratings that it was. The next day, his good friend Barbara Walters is on her show giving him her best stern look and earnest advice to ‘Just stop!’. You gotta know that was all just as staged to achieve the same goal. Keep two fading celebrities, in the news and relevant. And America laps it up. They are both disgusting - not mentally ill. No matter how addictive celebrity and fame may be, both have been around long enough to know exactly how scummy they’ve become. When money/celebrity buys this kind of access, maybe it’s time to make some changes? ---
**Author:** ![al27052](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@al27052](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/al27052)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/23 "2012-11-08T14:31:21Z")
I think Trump may come out of it in a few years. At least I hope so. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/24 "2012-11-08T14:51:53Z")
Trump is a very successful professional troll, long before we started using the word troll. (And not unlike Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, etc.) It’s just that whenever people start getting used to his shtik, he has to kick it up a notch, because, really, he has nothing interesting to say. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/25 "2012-11-08T15:36:36Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I think that he is secretly being controlled by that parasite on his head. And that parasite need a meds adjustment. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/26 "2012-11-08T15:46:34Z")
[QUOTE= Trump Tweet] Lets fight like hell and stop this great and disgusting injustice! The world is laughing at us. [/QUOTE] They’re laughing at you, dude. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/27 "2012-11-08T15:56:04Z")
Does he make more money from his celebrity pursuits, such as appearing on The Apprentice, or from his real estate ventures? Because I imagine that the sort of people who can afford luxury apartments are going to be repulsed by this sort of behavior. (As it is, from what I’ve seen, his apartment buildings look really flashy and vulgar.) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/28 "2012-11-08T16:00:50Z")
Well hasn’t he declared bankruptcy more than once? I suspect his real estate empire is all show. There was speculation that he would never actually run for office because his income is mostly from his TV show. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/29 "2012-11-08T16:54:06Z")
I suspect he has a dose of what Michael Jackson had; Rich-Man-In-A-Bubble-Of-Yes-Men Syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/30 "2012-11-08T17:27:42Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Not unless being an asshole counts as a mental illness. Well, it can. There are personality disorders in the DSM-IV. /shrugs/ ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/31 "2012-11-08T17:31:20Z")
I think he’s bored. _The Art of the Deal_, business kept him busy most of his adult life. He didn’t have time for much else. Now he’s just a media personality saying stupid crap and making an idiot of himself. It’s kind of sad really. At one time, years ago, he developed and built some important buildings. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/32 "2012-11-08T17:32:35Z")
> [@](#): > > There was speculation that he would never actually run for office because his income is mostly from his TV show. The network that lead with the story of his ‘run’, the co network to the one that airs his show, knew full well, he was contractually obligated for another season, and so could not, by law, run for president, at the time they aired it! But they have no qualms about overtly manipulating the news cycle to improve ratings and publicize stunts that benefit them. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/33 "2012-11-08T17:38:39Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > I am of the opinion that it’s an act, sort of. I mean, he says things he kind of believes in, but he also believes that saying silly things will get him in the media, and that being in the media is really really important to him. > > So he really does hate Obama and thinks he’s a terrible president, but does he really believe he’s from Kenya, or is that just trolling? I have the feeling that a con man like Trump has been around the block long enough and made enough money fleecing investors in his properties that he doesn’t believe his own BS. On the other hand, to really sell something to the suckers, it helps to first convince yourself. > > So there’s a satanic fusion of conscious lies, and self-delusion that feed on each other. You tell the lies, then you get yourself to believe your own lies, and that makes you better at selling the lie. So the buffoon mask is put on, and then your face grows to fit the mask. Ooh, I love that last line, though I’d change buffoon to troll. I also thought of alzheimer’s when I read his latest tweets - they really do remind me of the couple of people I’ve known who had it. I’m not about to make an armchair diagnosis though. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/34 "2012-11-08T18:11:29Z")
What’s the deal with the Electoral College? Does he think Romney won the popular vote? There is one other possibility to consider: maybe he is just stupid. Greed and ambition don’t necessarily point to intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/35 "2012-11-08T19:31:11Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > What’s the deal with the Electoral College? Does he think Romney won the popular vote? > > There is one other possibility to consider: maybe he is just stupid. Greed and ambition don’t necessarily point to intelligence. At the point in the evening when Trump posted about the EC Obama had been declared winner but they hadn’t counted many votes on the west coast yet. Without the California/Oregon/Washington votes tallied, Romney was leading the national popular vote by about 1 million votes. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/36 "2012-11-08T20:14:41Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Either that or he’s just a a shameless self promoter who doesn’t like the President and has found an issue that he wants to bring attention to and draw attention to himself in the process. I think you’re being redundant. The only issue Donald Trump wants to or has ever wanted to bring attention to is Donald Trump. He’s not promoting himself as a means to an end. Promoting himself is his only goal. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/37 "2012-11-08T20:55:29Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Trump is a very successful professional troll, long before we started using the word troll. (And not unlike Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, etc.) It’s just that whenever people start getting used to his shtik, he has to kick it up a notch, because, really, he has nothing interesting to say. “Professional troll” is exactly the phrase I was going to use. That about sums it up. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/38 "2012-11-10T17:40:19Z")
> [@Otara](#): > > There seems to be a level of desperation with scone of the recent attempts. Narcissism would explain most of it without needing to be actually mentally ill though. > > Otara Just a quick check–you are aware that narcissism is a personality disorder, right? I mean, you could be saying that you can show narcissism without having the disorder, or believe that a personality disorder is distinct from a mental disorder (even if both are in the DSM-IV). But I thought you might not really know. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/39 "2012-11-10T17:42:09Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > What’s the deal with the Electoral College? Does he think Romney won the popular vote? I’m pretty sure he originally said that before all the votes had come in, when Romney was leading in the popular vote. And, assuming he’s still saying it, I think he just may not have bothered to notice the update. Or he noticed it had traction, so he’s repeating it even though he knows it’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271/40 "2012-11-10T23:44:31Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > The network that lead with the story of his ‘run’, the co network to the one that airs his show, knew full well, he was contractually obligated for another season, and so could not, by law, run for president, at the time they aired it! No, at most he would have been in breach of contract if his presidential run duties had kept him from the show. And I doubt the network would have enforced the contract because him becoming or running for pres, because for him to do so would be ratings gold for them. As to Trump, DNFTT. Which this thread does in an indirect way. Just ignore the wanker. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-donald-trump-mentally-ill/640271.md?page=3)