‘Malignant narcissism’: Trump is an ‘existential threat to democracy’ health experts warn

25.10.2024 20:07

Raw Story

Donald Trump's "symptoms of severe, untreatable personality disorder—malignant narcissism—makes him deceitful, destructive, deluded, and dangerous,"and “grossly unfit for leadership,” a group of more than 200 mental health professional say in a rare open letter, published as a full-page ad in The New York Times.

"As mental health professionals, we have an ethical duty to warn the public that Donald Trump is an existential threat to democracy," the 233 signatories say in the letter. It was organized by attorney George Conway's Anti-Psychopath PAC, which says it "is dedicated to highlighting Donald Trump’s mental instability, bringing it to the forefront of national discussion."

The experts agree that "Trump exhibits behavior that tracks with the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual’s (DSM V) diagnostic criteria for 'narcissistic personality disorder,' 'antisocial personality disorder,' and 'paranoid personality disorder,' all made worse by his intense sadism, which is a symptom of malignant narcissism. This psychological type was first identified by German psychologist Erich Fromm to explain the psychology of history’s most 'evil' dictators."

They also address professional guidelines, the "Goldwater Rule," which prohibits mental health professionals from offering a diagnosis without examining a patient.

"We believe that we have an overriding ethical duty to warn the public of the danger this individual poses. History has taught us that in such circumstances, saying nothing is never the more ethical choice."

"Since the Goldwater Rule was adopted," they write, "the field has modernized the DSM diagnostic system, which relies exclusively on 'observable behavioral criteria.' For many years, we’ve all observed thousands of hours of Trump’s behavior, reinforced by the observations of dozens of individuals who have interacted with him personally. Using the DSM V, it is easy to see that Trump meets the behavioral criteria for antisocial personality disorder. Even a non-clinician can see that Trump shows a lifetime pattern of 'failure to conform to social norms and laws,' 'repeated lying,' 'reckless disregard for the safety of others,' 'irritability,' 'impulsivity,' 'irresponsibility,' and 'lack of remorse.'"

They also offer an example.

"Because of their sadism, malignant narcissists often derive joy from inflicting suffering on others because they disregard the emotions and wellbeing of other people—especially their perceived enemies. For example, according to first-hand accounts, Trump watched the violence he unleashed on January 6 for three hours on TV with 'glee,' watching his favorite parts 'over and over' on 'rewind.'"

And they warn of what some have called Trump's "cognitive" issues.

"Trump appears to be showing signs of cognitive decline that urgently cry out for a full neurological work-up, including an MRI and neuropsychological testing," the write. "These symptoms include: a dramatic decrease in verbal fluency, tangential thinking, diminished vocabulary, overuse of superlatives and filler words, perseveration, confabulation, phonemic paraphasia, semantic paraphasia, confusing people (not just names), as well as exhibiting deteriorating judgment, impulse control, and motor functioning (including a wide-based gait). We suspect the results of such an evaluation would be disqualifying."

Despite Trump's claims to the contrary, he has never released a full medical workup. One report he did release was a single-page letter in 2015 from a physician to whom he dictated a letter claiming he "will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."

In a companion video, for of the 233 mental health professionals explain why they believe Trump "is unfit for office."

"Trump is incapable of caring about you, our country and the Constitution that a president swears to faithfully execute He's only capable of caring about himself," they say.

Watch below or at this link.