Gilead · Donald Trump · Mental health

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump

Mental health

Fig. 1. Psychopaths. Photograph by Presidential Press and Information Office (Russia, Kremlin.ru), June 28, 2019,, via Wikimedia Commons Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0

We don’t actually know that Donald Trump is a white Christian nationalist.^[1] What we do absolutely know is that the very worst elements of white Christian nationalism are where he gets the adoration he plainly craves and indeed demands, and that he rose to the U.S. presidency in the context of a global political and economic system that encourages and rewards psychopaths.^[2]

George Simon’s article^[3] in particular describes Trump perfectly, without ever even once naming him. James Kimmel, Jr., explains how Trump and his followers seem addicted to grievance.^[4] And delusional claims, especially about the 2020 election and about COVID-19, make difficult any denial of a claim that Trump is psychotic.^[5]

Lingering questions from Trump’s political career include whether he was in fact fit or was too dangerous for office^[6] and whether he should have been removed from office^[7] prior to launching the coup attempt on January 6, 2021.

Brian Resnick, “Psychiatry’s ‘Goldwater Rule’ has never met a test like Donald Trump,” Vox, May 25, 2017, https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/5/25/15680354/psychiatry-goldwater-rule-trump

George Simon, “Understanding and Dealing with Narcissistic Rage,” Counselling Resource, July 24, 2017, https://counsellingresource.com/features/2017/07/24/understanding-narcissistic-rage/

Rosemary Sword and Gail Sheehy, “How Close Is Trump to a Psychiatric Breakdown?” Daily Beast, March 23, 2018, https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-close-is-donald-trump-to-a-psychiatric-breakdown

George Monbiot, “Outer Turmoil,” June 17, 2019, https://www.monbiot.com/2019/06/17/outer-turmoil/

WebMD, “Psychosis and Psychotic Episodes,” July 13, 2019, https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/guide/what-is-psychosis#1

James Kimmel, Jr., “What the Science of Addiction Tells Us About Trump,” Politico, December 12, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/12/trump-grievance-addiction-444570

Michael Kruse, “Is Trump Cracking Under the Weight of Losing?” Politico, December 20, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/20/trump-white-house-losing-448903

1. ^[1]Chris Moody, “Trump in ‘04: ‘I probably identify more as Democrat,’” CNN, July 22, 2015, https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/21/politics/donald-trump-election-democrat/index.html↩
2. ^[2]George Monbiot, “Outer Turmoil,” June 17, 2019, https://www.monbiot.com/2019/06/17/outer-turmoil/↩
3. ^[3]George Simon, “Understanding and Dealing with Narcissistic Rage,” Counselling Resource, July 24, 2017, https://counsellingresource.com/features/2017/07/24/understanding-narcissistic-rage/↩
4. ^[4]James Kimmel, Jr., “What the Science of Addiction Tells Us About Trump,” Politico, December 12, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/12/trump-grievance-addiction-444570↩
5. ^[5]WebMD, “Psychosis and Psychotic Episodes,” July 13, 2019, https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/guide/what-is-psychosis#1↩
6. ^[6]Bandy Lee, ed., The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump (New York: Thomas Dunne, 2017); Brian Resnick, “Psychiatry’s ‘Goldwater Rule’ has never met a test like Donald Trump,” Vox, May 25, 2017, https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/5/25/15680354/psychiatry-goldwater-rule-trump; Mary L. Trump, Too Much and Never Enough (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2020).↩
7. ^[7]Paul Campos, “Pence Should Remove Trump From Office on Sunday,” New York, December 23, 2020, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/12/if-trump-uses-martial-law-pence-should-use-25th-amendment.html↩