# Trump's mental state **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 21, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926 "2017-04-21T14:28:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/21 "2017-04-21T16:21:00Z")
And there there’s [this](http://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/its-official-top-psychiatrists-at-yale-conference-warn-that-trump-has-a-dangerous-mental-illness/). ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/22 "2017-04-21T16:26:38Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Is he mentally unstable? You be the judge. [“I think, I think, for me, nuleear, is just, the power, the devastation, is very important to me.”](https://youtu.be/s0CgZ8P2goc) Verdict: Donald J. Trump is a dangerously incompetent individual with an insatiable desire for veneration and poor impulse control who, due to voters who were deluded into believing that he would or could follow through on vague promises of bringing jobs back to the United States or getting rid of “bad hombres”, is now in control of the world’s largest military power and thousands of nuclear weapons in the Enduring Stockpile. He has repeatedly asked the question of why we maintain such weapons if not to use them, and has made veiled threats of deploying them against Iran and North Korea. Trump is as unstable as an upside down [Weeble](https://youtu.be/qq0OQBdIhsc) and has approximately the same intellectual capacity. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/23 "2017-04-21T17:23:57Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Yesterday Trump said Luciano Pavarotti is [a great friend](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/trump-says-late-pavarotti-is-a-great-friend/2017/04/20/b603ec76-2610-11e7-928e-3624539060e8_video.html) – even though Pavarotti has been dead for ten years. I’ll do something here I have never done before; defend Donald F’ing Trump. This story is Occupy Democrats bullshit. What Trump said, exact words: “A friend of mine, a great friend of mine.” This doesn’t mean PAvarotti is still alive. If my friend died a few years ago and someone mention Dave I might say “Dave. A great friend of mine.” Not phrasing it as “Dave was a great friend of mine” is a mere turn of phrase, not evidence that I am unaware Dave is dead. Not that Trump might not be lying or unaware Luciano Pavarotti is dead, but this statement doesn’t mean much. There are many, many real things to worry about when it comes to Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/24 "2017-04-21T17:34:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Another way of phrasing it I’ve heard is that the best swordsman in the world doesn’t fear the second-best swordsman; he fears the worst swordsman. Another way of phrasing it, from THE BIRDCAGE: _“I’m so proud of you. That big gorilla looked ridiculous, when he sat on you and banged your head on the ground; he didn’t even know how to box!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/25 "2017-04-21T17:50:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Trump had Palin, Kid Rock and Nugent at the White House for four hours, giving them the big tour, feeding them, and letting them fellate him. Who you choose as friends reflects your own character, which pretty much defines Trump as a scumbag. Trump was able to spare \*four hours \* for these bozos? I guess four hours socializing with them is four hours he’s not trying to start a war. I wonder how often any of the Cabinet members get four hours with the President. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/26 "2017-04-21T18:58:06Z")
> [@](#): > > And Trump said that Korea used to be part of China. Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping told him this, and South Korea’s government said, ‘No, we weren’t.’ I don’t know Korean history, but I’m guessing that if the Korean peninsula was part of China, it was a couple-thousand years ago. If so, Trump would be correct on a technicality, but, if true, it was so long ago it isn’t relevant. Well, it’s sort of relevant because the Chinese really believe that any territory that was ever theirs (even theoretically…see the 9 dash line in the South China Sea) is and will always be theirs. Now…do I think Trump knows and understands this? Not a chance. 😛 ---
**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:** [April 21, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/27 "2017-04-21T19:26:03Z")
Korea certainly was under China’s influence not that long ago, even if it wasn’t technically part of China. I’m sure the Chinese think the influence was stronger than the Koreans do. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/28 "2017-04-21T19:45:43Z")
Point of order: Pavarotti and Trump were not friends. Bull shit or mental aberration? Hmm. I have noticed other signs of deterioration but this one feels like the “100s of my friends died in the Towers” one. > [@](#): > > The apparent tensions between Mr Trump and Mr Pavarotti reportedly started before his death, in 2002, when the New York billionaire hired the opera legend for a concert at one of his Atlantic City casinos. After a lackluster performance from the ageing singer, Mr Trump demanded a refund. Excuse the [cite](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-calls-pavarotti-good-friend-widow-stop-using-music-for-campaign-a7695501.html), there are others. How about this one? During his speech in Wisconsin, Trump repeatedly referred to Paul Ryan as Ron (apparently Ron Johnson). > [@](#): > > Trump’s visit took place in the congressional district of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, who did not attend because of a previously scheduled European trip to NATO countries. At one point, Trump referred to Ryan as “Ron” in saying the speaker was urging NATO countries to increase their contributions to the alliance. [cite](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-donald-trump-kenosha-visit-met-0419-20170418-story.html) The cite implies that it happened once. It happened multiple times (I was listening, Og help me. I couldn’t figure out why “Ron” was talking to NATO. There’s this word salad on the occasion of the MOAB drop. Now, it’s in part a tap dance, because it appears that he did not give approval in advance. I notice 2 things though: “my” military and he uses something that looks like the royal “we”. Seriously? > [@](#): > > “Everybody knows exactly what happens, so — and what I do is I authorize my military,” Trump said. “We have the greatest military in the world, and they’ve done a job as usual, so we have given them total authorization, and that’s what they’re doing. And, frankly, that’s why they’ve been so successful lately.” The whole “armada” to North Korea was flat out bizarre. (Leaving out whether we talk about our damn submarines, Mr. I don’t warn the enemy.) You won’t have [del]much[/del] any trouble convincing me he’s a few ants short of a picnic. Problem is, I’m not the one you have to convince. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/29 "2017-04-21T20:35:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Of course, Kim Jong-il was North Korea’s leader when Clinton was in office, and Kim Jong-un has only been in power since 2011. Trump seems to think they are the same guy. > [@QuickSilver](#): > > He [still doesn’t know what’s in the new healthcare bill](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-health-care-gotten-really-really-good) that congress may or may not be voting on. To be fair, Kim Jong-Il and Kim Jong-Un are pretty much the same guy in the manner in which they run the country, right? Kooky, dangerous, bizarre cult-of-personality megalomaniacs. And isn’t it also true that many Dems and Republicans in Congress failed to read much, if any, of the Obamacare bill that they subsequently voted on? Not that Trump isn’t all or many of the things people accuse him of: dumb, blustery, immature, unhinged, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/30 "2017-04-21T20:51:25Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The more you talk, the more misstatements you make. The less you care about the misstatements you make, the more misstatements you make. It’s just not his speech patterns and off-the-cuff remarks (or maybe everything he says is an off-the-cuff remark?). His Twitter rants, where you would expect someone had the time to write a cohesive thought or two, are indicative of not firing on all cylinders. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/31 "2017-04-21T20:56:43Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > To be fair, Kim Jong-Il and Kim Jong-Un are pretty much the same guy in the manner in which they run the country, right? Kooky, dangerous, bizarre cult-of-personality megalomaniacs. This does not excuse Trump’s not knowing who the leader of the DPRK is, or not knowing that the current leader and the previous leader are not the same person. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/32 "2017-04-21T21:01:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > This does not excuse Trump’s not knowing who the leader of the DPRK is, or not knowing that the current leader and the previous leader are not the same person. I agree and am not excusing it. The Trump administration, especially Spicer and Trump himself have been pretty breathtakingly fast and loose with “news” and “truth”. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/33 "2017-04-21T21:07:46Z")
> [@](#): > > You won’t have much any trouble convincing me he’s a few ants short of a picnic. he is _a few sandwiches_ sort of a picnic! but other than that I agree with you > [@](#): > > I don’t think he’s slowly losing his mind. I think he’s been this way for years and until now nobody really cared. Now that he is in a position to launch a preemptive nuclear strike if someone makes fun of him publicly has a lot of rational people concerned. yes, he’s been this way but he could **also be getting worse** and for the same reasons I think he is gaining weight - it just makes sense he was obese and 70 and now he is obese and 70 and with a new, very hard job and (supposedly) a new place to live. any cognition problems, just like his belly, are going to grow unless he works really hard at not letting that happen. and he is clearly not doing that. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/34 "2017-04-21T21:21:01Z")
Stress eating, or do you think he simply forgets he just ate and orders another meatloaf and gravy special? ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/35 "2017-04-21T21:45:38Z")
LOL, no I meant stress eating. he is staying at the white house all week, right? he HATES that. I was listening to a Terry Gross interview of a woman who has covered him for years. he hates not being “home” where he is comfortable. but besides all the stress he’s in a world famous house where he has his own chef and heaven knows how many people to wait on him - you think he isn’t eating more? 😛 so the answer to the OP’s question is, his mental state sure isn’t getting better ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/36 "2017-04-21T22:42:31Z")
He doesn’t have any mental disorders. He’s just a dunce without any curiosity about the world, he believes the sole purpose of power is to enrich yourself and your family, and he’s surrounded by people who know how to manipulate him. Don’t worry about him. Worry about the third of Americans who think this is perfectly normal behaviour for a leader. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/37 "2017-04-21T22:54:24Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > It’s downright uncanny how EVERY Republican president in the last 40 years has been stupid/incompetent/brain-damaged somehow. > > :rolleyes: > > (Except possibly Bush the Elder. And by a strange coincidence, he was the most liberal of the lot.) We are discussing Donald Trump, a very evil man. One who violates every bit of Christian Scripture. One who has the best claim on being an anti-Christ of any politician. We are not in any way discussing Republicans. Please stop deflecting to defend such an evil, evil man. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/38 "2017-04-21T23:31:23Z")
Yesterday on Fresh Air was a long interview of journalist Maggie Haberman, who has covered Trump for a log time, and had some very interesting and believable insights into Trump as President. She describes his manner and method of speaking about matters presidential as being vague and full of superlatives. One point she made was that when he is speaking about something he knows about, such as real estate development, his whole manner of speaking changes. He is knowledgeable and specific. [Here](http://www.wnyc.org/story/journalist-describes-the-loneliness-and-leakiness-of-trumps-white-house) is a link to a long-ish summary of the interview; I think you can reach the podcast from the same link. I recommend it. She is very matter-of-fact about everything, even about his attacks on her and his relationship with the press. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/39 "2017-04-21T23:36:37Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > We are discussing Donald Trump, a very evil man. One who violates every bit of Christian Scripture. One who has the best claim on being an anti-Christ of any politician. > > We are not in any way discussing Republicans. > > Please stop deflecting to defend such an evil, evil man. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: Yes, Donald Trump, the _ **only** _ evil, self-centered politician EVER! > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Yesterday on Fresh Air was a long interview of journalist Maggie Haberman, who has covered Trump for a\*\* log time\*\* Wow, she interviewed him while he was pooping? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926/40 "2017-04-21T23:40:54Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: > Yes, Donald Trump, the _ **only** _ evil, self-centered politician EVER! I started this thread not to discus whether Trump or any other person is evil. I started this thread to discuss whether Trump’s mental state is deteriorating. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-mental-state/784926.md?page=3)