{"id":5590,"date":"2017-02-14T05:52:44","date_gmt":"2017-02-14T10:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bobfelton.com\/?p=5590"},"modified":"2017-02-14T05:52:44","modified_gmt":"2017-02-14T10:52:44","slug":"is-trump-sane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bobfelton.com\/?p=5590","title":{"rendered":"Is Trump sane?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roughly 3-dozen mental health professionals<\/a>, most with a Ph.D, have signed an open letter<\/a> declaring The Donald mentally unfit for the presidency.<\/p>\n

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To the Editor:<\/p>\n

Charles M. Blow (column<\/a>, nytimes.com, Feb. 9) describes Donald Trump\u2019s constant need \u201cto grind the opposition underfoot.\u201d As mental health professionals, we share Mr. Blow\u2019s concern.<\/p>\n

Silence from the country\u2019s mental health organizations has been due to a self-imposed dictum about evaluating public figures (the American Psychiatric Association\u2019s 1973 Goldwater Rule). But this silence has resulted in a failure to lend our expertise to worried journalists and members of Congress at this critical time. We fear that too much is at stake to be silent any longer.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump\u2019s speech and actions demonstrate an inability to tolerate views different from his own, leading to rage reactions. His words and behavior suggest a profound inability to empathize. Individuals with these traits distort reality to suit their psychological state, attacking facts and those who convey them (journalists, scientists).<\/p>\n

In a powerful leader, these attacks are likely to increase, as his personal myth of greatness appears to be confirmed. We believe that the grave emotional instability indicated by Mr. Trump\u2019s speech and actions makes him incapable of serving safely as president.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well.<\/p>\n

Since I’ve been saying for a while now that Trump’s erratic behavior raises a legitimate question of mental stability, the conclusions of this letter surprise me less than the bald fact that it was written (generally, mental health professionals don’t, and shouldn’t, publicly comment on the mental health of public figures).<\/p>\n