Lawmakers on Capitol Hill invited a Yale University psychiatry professor to brief them about President Donald Trump’s mental health over two days last month. The meetings were attended by more than a dozen Democrats, and one Republican senator according to the professor, Dr. Bandy X. Lee.
Some of the red flags Dr. Lee highlighted was President Trump’s repetition of conspiracy theories, denying things he has admitted before and being drawn to violent videos. She pointed to his rush of tweeting as an indication of inability to cope with stress. “Trump is going to get worse and will become uncontainable with the pressures of the presidency. He’s going to unravel, and we are seeing the signs,” Lee said.
Lee has authored “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,” a book that includes testimonials from 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts that assesses President Trump’s level of “dangerousness.” It’s a topic that she says has garnered a lot of interest on Capitol Hill. “[Lawmakers’] …level of concern about the president’s dangerousness was surprisingly high,” she said.
There has been a lot of talk about the president’s mental health in recent days and weeks especially as it relates to the 25th Amendment. That Amendment allows the President to be removed by the Vice President and others when it’s deemed that the President is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
There was renewed debate around the president’s mental fitness after he tweeted about nuclear weapons earlier this week. Many have speculated whether Democrats have raised doubts about Trump’s fitness for office as a foundation for invoking the 25th Amendment. White House officials have dismissed such talk as subversion put forth by “Never Trumpers.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in response to questions that “…the people of this country should be concerned about the mental fitness of the leader of North Korea. This is a president [Trump] who is not going to cower down,” she said.
Dr. Lee declined to identify who the Republican Senator was that attended her briefings.