Yale Psychiatrist Weighs In On Donald Trump’s Mental Health: ‘His Anxieties Are Palpable’
In an interview with Raw Story published on Friday, Yale psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee discussed President Donald Trump’s mental health.
As the publication notes, the ongoing probe into Russian election interference and the recent government shutdown fiasco — Trump, after shutting the government down, failed to persuade Congress to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border — pose questions about the potential impact these developments have on the president’s psychological well-being.
“His anxieties are palpable, as he resorts to more and more extreme measures and unreal justifications for building a wall,” Lee opined.
“He needs to maintain his shrinking base as well as to give himself a sense of victory, and he will go to all lengths to achieve it.”
According to Lee, Americans continue “merely to react,” underestimating the effects Donald Trump’s “mental instability” can have on the nation. According to the psychiatrist, Donald Trump is being “driven to a corner,” and the only solution he sees is war, because he is desperate for a diversion.
Lee explained that global forces such as Israel and Saudi Arabia want Donald Trump to be cornered for their own reasons, adding that the president’s current foreign policy team “reflects his psychology.”
Donald Trump has indeed surrounded himself with war-hawks such as John Bolton. In early January, the Bush-era neoconservative asked for military options on striking Iran, according to USA Today.
Most recently, the administration backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, demonstrating willingness to “launch all measures short of war,” as Time put it, to overthrow the impoverished country’s current president, Nicolás Maduro.
Today, as Al Jazeera reported, the United States suspended compliance with the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia.
TRNN Replay: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces agreement is one of the most important international treaties and its cancellation will mean a full return to the nuclear arms race and closer to nuclear disaster, says Peter Kuznick #INFTreaty #INF https://t.co/eHFr0MLFgj
— The Real News (@TheRealNews) February 1, 2019
But it is not only the administration that is supporting the president’s war efforts. As the New York Times reported, following Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan, the Senate voted against it, passing a bipartisan measure and demonstrating strong opposition to the withdrawal.
In the context of perpetual war and mental health, Yale psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee posed a series of questions aimed at the American society as a whole.
“Do we know how close we are to nuclear war, even without mental instability in the president?” she asked.
‘Incredibly dangerous’: A Yale psychiatrist warns Trump will resort to ‘extreme measures’ as Mueller closes in https://t.co/kLIrYWHeFv
— AlterNet (@AlterNet) February 2, 2019
According to Lee, this is why psychological associations and mental health professionals across the United States need to focus on the impact mental health has on “normal political or social function.” Much like military offices, according to the psychiatrist, presidents need to be “screened.”
This is not the first time for Bandy X. Lee to publicly discuss Donald Trump’s mental health. She has done so on numerous occasions, noting that her opinion does not reflect the opinion of Yale University. As detailed by a previous Inquisitr report, Lee argued in a number of interviews that Trump should voluntarily undergo psychiatric evaluation.
