Muzzling Its Members Is A Dereliction Of Duty By The American Psychiatric Association
In 1964, Fact magazine published an unscientific survey asking psychiatrists whether they thought the Republican nominee, Barry Goldwater, was psychologically fit to serve as president of the United States. The problem wasnt that professionals felt the need to share their views of what they considered Goldwaters dangerous ideas it was the irresponsible and often bizarre analyses that were in some cases based entirely on rank speculation. Goldwater is basically a paranoid schizophrenic who resembles Mao Tse-tung, one offered. Another said that he has the same pathological make-up as Hitler, Castro, Stalin and other known schizophrenic leaders. A third said that a megalomaniacal, grandiose omnipotence appears to pervade Mr. Goldwaters personality.
The American public is inadequately educated about mental health. It would take a serious, sustained explication, backed by the power and reach of a professional association, to help us understand why the emotional and psychological stability of our leaders matters and can have an impact on all of us. Every day legal experts weigh in on Donalds unconstitutional or norm-breaking behaviors. Since his covid-19 diagnosis, medical experts have speculated about the course of his illness and the potentially dangerous side effects he may be experiencing as a result of the experimental treatments hes received. Only the mental health experts have been effectively sidelined.
What Is Trump Derangement Syndrome
President Trump and his defenders have suggested that some of his opponents behave in a way they characterize as “Trump Derangement Syndrome” or TDS. They say that President Trumps actions trigger people to have distorted opinions, extreme emotions, and hysterical behaviors. However, Trump Derangement Syndrome is not a real, diagnosable, or treatable mental disorder. Opponents have responded that TDS is a term used to discredit and delegitimize criticism of the president.
When He Tweeted That The Fbi Had Failed To Capture The Parkland School Shooter Because They Were Spending Too Much Time On Russia
Trumps failure to tackle gun violence in the US is almost as bad as his inability to accept responsibility for anything and point the finger elsewhere.
In the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting in Florida in February 2018, Trump attempted to blame the FBI for the massacre, claiming that they were spending too much time investigating his alleged collusion with Russia.
At a time when his people needed him the most, he opted to look the other way. Shameless.
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Walked Out Of A Medal Ceremony In The Oval Office
On 7th December, Trump hosted a special ceremony for Dan Gable, a wrestler who was being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Nothing wrong there. Surely Trump couldn’t do anything scandalous here, right? Wrong. After saying a few further things about the election, Trump abruptly decided that he’d seen enough and walked out of the event leaving Gable looking completely baffled and confused, alone in front of the press.
Trump walked out of the Oval Office when asked about inauguration during a Medal of Freedom ceremony. So embarrassi https://t.co/Giy0cEQ7hx Scott Dworkin 1607429799
When He Lied About His Inauguration Crowd Sizes
Ready to fire Trump and make inauguration crowds great again. https://t.co/v1DkY9X6BN Tweetxit 1600080222
Size matters to Trump which is why he and his team practised their very first professional gaslighting by insisting that the crowds gathered for his inauguration were the largest ever, despite extensive photographic evidence to the contrary.
Later it emerged a government photographer had even edited photos to make crowds appear bigger, according to a Guardian investigation.
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When He Seemingly Told Police Officers To Rough Up Suspects
Here’s the president of the United States encouraging police officers to be rough with people they arrest https://t.co/iLzoUEY89e David Mack 1501267005
In 2017, Trump gave a speech in Long Island to members of the Suffolk County Police Department. In it, he seemed to encourage roughing up suspects, saying:
“When you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over, like, don’t hit their head and they’ve just killed somebody. Don’t hit their head. I said, you can take the hand away, okay?”
He doubled down, saying Dont be too nice. The remarks drew such criticism that Suffolk County even tweeted a rejoinder.
As a department, we do not and will not tolerate roughing up of prisoners. Suffolk County Police Department 1501275200
How Did Psychologists Respond To President Trumps Election
Psychologists clashed in their response to President Trump. Many spoke out despite the Goldwater Rule: Psychologist John Gartner began with a petition, signed by thousands of mental health professionals, declaring that Donald Trump must be removed from office because he has a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States and later founded the advocacy organization Duty to Warn.
Others in the field vehemently disagree with the decision to diagnose President Trump. Psychiatrist Allen Frances, who helped write the DSM-5, argues that President Trump is a threat to democracy but one that needs to be addressed politically rather than psychologically. Diagnosing President Trump based on public behavior alone is inadequate because forces such as political motivation could be driving such behavior and that behavior may not be causing distress or impairment, he argues.
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Tried To Take Credit For The Covid Vaccine
Just days after he lost the election, news of a successful coronavirus vaccine was announced. The Trump administration was quick to claim a victory over the pandemic and falsely attributed Operation Warp Speed with being instrumental in the vaccination. In a similar move, on 11th November Trump did a tone-deaf tweet about how well the stock market was doing and that the ‘vaccine coming soon.’ In comparison to the more reserved statement from the incoming Biden administration, Trump’s tweet looked insincere at best.
Four Seasons vs. Four Seasons Total Landscaping https://t.co/HZDrCz2uP7 The Daily Show 1604932802
When He Removed Protection Status From 59000 Haitians Forcing Them To Return To Disaster
In November 2017, Trump ended a humanitarian programme that had allowed 59,000 Haitians to reside and work in the U.S, as the country still tries to recover from 2010s devastating earthquake, which ripped through its social fabric.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere money sent back home from ex-pats is a lifeline.
Worse still, in 2020, the forced deportations of Haitians continued during the pandemic, despite human rights activists warning that Trump was essentially exporting coronavirus to a nation that would not be able to cope with an outbreak.
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Trump Warns Of ‘problems’ Like ‘we’ve Never Seen’ If He’s Indicted
Its not the first time Republicans have hinted at potential civil unrest.
If a thing like that happened, I would have no prohibition against running, former President Donald Trump said.
09/15/2022 01:56 PM EDT
Former President Donald Trump said Thursday the nation would face problems … the likes of which perhaps weve never seen if he is indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, an apparent suggestion that such a move by the Justice Department could spark violence from Trumps supporters.
The former president said an indictment wouldnt stop him from running for the White House again and repeatedly said Americans would not stand for his prosecution.
If a thing like that happened, I would have no prohibition against running, Trump said in an interview with conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt. I think if it happened, I think youd have problems in this country the likes of which perhaps weve never seen before. I dont think the people of the United States would stand for it.
Hewitt asked Trump what he meant by problems.
I think theyd have big problems. Big problems. I just dont think theyd stand for it. They will not sit still and stand for this ultimate of hoaxes, Trump said.
Hewitt appeared to see Trumps comments as a nod toward potential unrest, asking the former president how he would respond when the legacy media accuses him of inciting violence.
Nancy Vu contributed to this report.
Delayed Signing The Covid Relief Bill
Towards the end of December, Trump belated signed a $900bn Covid relief bill into law, after millions of Americans had already lost their unemployment benefits. Although the bill had been delayed for months thanks to disagreements between Democrats and Republicans, Trump had initially refused to sign the bill calling it “wasteful spending” and actually wanted the stimulus checks to be increased from $600 to $2000, which we can probably all agree is a good thing. However, the delay put many unemployed Americans in desperate situations as was exemplified by the replies to this tweet by journalist Dan Rather.
I am thinking of all those desperate for extended unemployment benefits tonight. Heartbreaking. The abject cruelty, https://t.co/yHV3Yq1twj Dan Rather 1609038547
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A Dearth Of Shared Facts And Information
One of the few things that Republicans and Democrats could agree on during Trumps tenure is that they didnt share the same set of facts. In a 2019 survey, around three-quarters of Americans said most Republican and Democratic voters disagreed not just over political plans and policies, but over basic facts.
Much of the disconnect between the parties involved the news media, which Trump routinely disparaged as fake news and the enemy of the people. Republicans, in particular, expressed widespread and growing distrust of the press. In a 2019 survey, Republicans voiced more distrust than trust in 2o of the 30 specific news outlets they were asked about, even as Democrats expressed more trust than distrust in 22 of those same outlets. Republicans overwhelmingly turned to and trusted one outlet included in the study Fox News even as Democrats used and expressed trust in a wider range of sources. The study concluded that the two sides placed their trust in two nearly inverse media environments.
Some of the media organizations Trump criticized most vocally saw the biggest increases in GOP distrust over time. The share of Republicans who said they distrusted CNN rose from 33% in a 2014 survey to 58% by 2019. The proportion of Republicans who said they distrusted The Washington Post and The New York Times rose 17 and 12 percentage points, respectively, during that span.3
Why Has President Trump Changed Ideas About Truthfulness In Public Life
The presidents falsehoods have fundamentally shifted societys relationship with the truth. Past politicians have liedbut the Trump administration eroded the very notion that an objective truth exists. Instead, people seem to think that theyre entitled to their own truths. In addition to President Trumps rhetoric of fake news and alternative facts, this shift is due to factors such as the creation and calcification of information silos and the evolution of the ability to believe things that cant be seen.
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Edited A Video To Make It Look Like He Won The Nobel Prize
Nearly two months after the election, Trump released a bizarre campaign video, which parodied a beef commercial from the 1990s. If that wasn’t strange enough an image included in the short video featured Trump on the White House balcony with the Israeli prime minister and officials from UAE and Bahrain with a Nobel Peace Prize superimposed on it for no apparent reason at all other than to make it look like he might have actually received the prestigious prize.
@realDonaldTrump When it says you stand for peace they show an image of the Nobel Prizesomething you never won l https://t.co/b203K0d9az Scott Dworkin 1609221110
Pence Says Trump Was Wrong That He Could Have Overturned 2020 Election
After losing his re-election campaignto Democrat Joe Biden in November 2020, the Republican Trump in a bid to stay in office pressured Pence to block congressional certification of the results while presiding over the proceedings on Jan. 6, 2021.
Pence, a loyal lieutenant during the four years of Trump’s tumultuous presidency, opted not to block certification.
Trump has often disparaged Pence since then, and on Sunday issued a fresh statement saying the former vice president could have “overturned” the election.
“President Trump is wrong,” Pence said in a speech to the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. “I had no right to overturn the election.”
“The presidency belongs to the American people, and the American people alone. And frankly there is no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president,” Pence added.
Pence’s comments represented his most forceful criticism of Trump to date. A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I understand the disappointment many feel about the last election. I was on the ballot,” Pence said. “Whatever the future holds, I know we did our duty that day. John Quincy Adams reminds us: Duty is ours results are God’s,” Pence added, quoting a 19th century U.S. president.
Trump issued a statement later on Friday disagreeing with Pence.
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Hear Detail About Georgia Official That Stood Out To Legal Analyst
Washington Trying to pick the most notable lies from Donald Trump’s presidency is like trying to pick the most notable pieces of junk from the town dump.
The most telling lie: It didn’t rain on his inaugurationThe most dangerous lie: The coronavirus was under control The most alarming lie saga: SharpiegateThe most ridiculous subject of a lie: The Boy ScoutsThe ugliest smear lie: Rep. Ilhan Omar supports al QaedaThe most boring serial lie: The trade deficit with China used to be $500 billionThe most entertaining lie shtick: The burly crying men who had never cried beforeThe most traditional big lie: Trump didn’t know about the payment to Stormy Daniels The biggest lie by omission: Trump ended family separationThe most shameless campaign lie: Biden will destroy protections for pre-existing conditionsThe lie he fled: He got Veterans Choice
When He Falsely Accused Barack Obama Of Spying On The Trump Campaign
Trump has accused predecessor Barack Obama of many things without providing a lick of evidence.
And he started as he meant to go on by bizarrely claiming Obama had wire-tapped the phones in the Trump Tower.
To achieve what end? So he could listen to the sound of Fox News and crinkling fast food packets for 24 hours a day? Sure.
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Did Trump Damage American Democracy
Did Trump permanently damage American democracy? This question has spawned a veritable cottage industry of hand wringing over the state of American democracyunderstandably so. Never before have we had a president who schemed to overturn legitimate election results, who attacked the press and the civil servants who worked for him, who admired dictators, who blatantly profited from his public office and who repeatedly lied to the public for his own selfish purposes. But while Trumps four years of rhetoric have been a shock to democratic norms, did they inflict permanent damage on our democracy? My answer is a qualified no. The guardrails of democracy held. The institutions designed to check autocracy are intact.
Successful democratic systems are not designed for governments composed of ethical men and women who are only interested in the public good. If leaders were always virtuous there would be no need for checks and balances. The Founding Fathers understood this. They designed a system to protect minority points of view and to protect us from leaders inclined to lie, cheat and steal. Fortunately, we havent had many of those in our 200-plus years of history, which is why the Trump presidency sent such shock waves through a large part of the body politic.
Did Trump weaken the powers of Congress? No.
When He Suggested Vaccines Cause Autism
While on the campaign trail, Trump met with anti-vaxxers, including Andrew Wakefield whose now-disproved study into the MMR vaccine and autism helped renew an anti-vaccine movement in 1998.
This followed over 20 occasions where Trump tweeted about links between vaccines and autism, for which there is no evidence.
Once elected, Trump had plans to establish an advisory committee to look at federal vaccine policies, reportedly because he had some doubts and questions.
Funnily enough, with coronavirus floating about, hes now a big fan of vaccines.
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Nominating Election Deniers Was The Gop’s Biggest Mistake
The biggest factor in the GOP’s underwhelming midterm performance, says the Los Angeles Times in an editorial, was the party’s “attempts to put election deniers in charge of elections” in numerous swing states. Democrats beat “far-right opponents” for secretary of state the official who oversees elections in Michigan, New Mexico, and Minnesota. “Georgia voters re-elected Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger who famously rebuffed Trump’s plea to “find” enough votes to make him victorious in 2020 after rejecting a Trump-backed challenger in the primary.”
In Arizona, where the counting continues, “GOP election deniers Kari Lake and Mark Finchem are in tight races for governor and secretary of state, respectively.” If Lake “who’s said she would not have certified Biden’s win in Arizona if she were governor in 2020” and Finchem “whom the Arizona Republic describes as ‘the loudest election denier in the state'” win, “they will have critical roles in a swing state in the 2024 election, raising frightening prospects for the integrity of the next presidential race. The entire nation should be terrified.” Voting against toxic far-right subversives like these was easy. “The fate of the country and democracy” depended on it.
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