White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made a post announcing President Donald Trump’s executive order to more quickly review psychedelic drugs for treating mental illness. This led to Leavitt being mocked on social media as critics noted that the press secretary appears to be announcing that Trump was receiving treatment for serious mental illness.
Leavitt’s announcement comes at a time when Trump’s mental state is under heightened scrutiny, due to his posts on Truth Social relating to the Iran war, and his sharing an image that appears to depict him as Jesus Christ. While the president denied that he was depicted as Jesus, and that he was supposed to be representing a doctor fell on deaf ears.
President Trump signs order to fast track psychedelic drug research to treat veterans with PTSDhttps://t.co/CgFcLJL1DT
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) April 20, 2026
Meanwhile, in Leavitt’s post on X (formerly Twitter), she wrote, “Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump is Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness,” while giving a link to the executive order.
Some of Trump’s best online critics were quick to respond to Leavitt’s post, with journalist Aaron Rupar, who regularly posts about the president, writing, “We’ve noticed and i’m glad he’s getting help.”
we’ve noticed and i’m glad he’s getting help https://t.co/EWV5RCPt2A
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 20, 2026
California Governor Gavin Newsom is another major critic of Trump, and his press office team shared on X, writing, “For himself?”
For himself? https://t.co/RFP2ldnhLc
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) April 20, 2026
Following the outpouring on social media, Leavitt did seem to get the memo and reshared her original post with a clarification.
“President Trump signed an Executive Order that will accelerate access to treatments for patients with serious mental illness, reaffirming his commitment to advancing solutions that provide hope to Americans with devastating, complex, and treatment-resistant conditions,” the White House Press Secretary wrote.
Meanwhile, Trump made the executive order to speed up the review of the therapeutic benefits of LSD, psilocybin, ecstasy, and other psychedelics at an Oval Office event on Saturday, together with Joe Rogan. The president noted the success of the psychedelic drug ibogaine – a Schedule I controlled substance – while citing a study where he said participants experienced an “80 to 90 percent reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety within one month.”
🚨 Trump flanked by Joe Rogan and RFK Jr. in the Oval Office drops a bold executive order:
FDA must fast-track breakthrough psychedelic therapies for mental health, PTSD, and veterans.
“If these turn out to be as good as people are saying, it’s going to have a tremendous impact… pic.twitter.com/CKH7y1eSAk
— Don Keith (@RealDonKeith) April 18, 2026
While making the announcement, Trump joked, “Can I have some, please?” which led the room to erupt in laughter. “I’ll do whatever it takes…I don’t have time to be depressed. If you stay busy enough, maybe that’s what works too, that’s what I do.”
The president’s announcement on psychedelic drugs follows pledges made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other Trump administration officials to ease access to the products for medical use, an issue that attracted rare bipartisan support.
Veteran organizations and advocates of psychedelics have long said that ibogaine, made from a West African shrub, offers great promise for hard-to-treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and opioid addiction.
