Trump using racism as coping mechanism for ‘deteriorating’ mental state, claims scientist

A Yale professor says that Donald Trump’s recent escalation of racist comments is a “coping mechanism” for his “deteriorating” mental state.

Professor Bandy X Lee, an American psychiatrist and editor of a book of essays called The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, spoke to Raw Story about the US president.

She said: “The first thing this indicates to me is that the president is deteriorating rapidly.

He attacks as a maladaptive means of coping with stress, and he won’t stop. Given the rigidity of his repertoire, we can expect more, escalating attacks.

In the extensive interview, she goes on to claim that racism "lays bare his dangerousness".

“If the actual content of Robert Mueller’s report were to be understood properly,” the professor continued, “rather than in the light of distortion and deflection the attorney general generated to protect him, or the ‘No collusion! No obstruction!' hypnotism he has managed so far, things could become uncontrollable. We should not wait to see what happens.”

Mental health experts need to become part of the discussion, if only to reassure that there are ways of managing this. Without experts, even if the signs of disorder are obvious, it becomes a mere insult, since there is no scientific basis and no one will know what to do about it. If they are not obvious, it becomes a potential hazard to those exposed, which in the case of a U.S. president is the nation and the world.

Most mental disorders cause suffering on the afflicted person and violence against the self, but there is a small subset that inflicts suffering on and violence against others. It should be no secret in which category the president’s impairments fall. It is very easy to underestimate the depth and complexity of this form of dangerousness without expert input.

She concluded: "The truth is, one can suffer from a severe mental illness and still be criminally responsible."

This isn't the first time professor Lee has warned about Trump's alleged deteriorating mental state.

Back in 2017, just a year after Trump came into power, she appeared on France24to warn people about Trump’s "mental instability".

When we speak about Mr Trump, we are referring to an ethical duty: to warn, to report, to protect the public in the case of danger… of an emergency.

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