“How unstable and divorced from reality is President
Trump? We’ve reached the point where the nation has the right and the need to
know.
We’re not accustomed to asking such questions about our
presidents. We don’t know how to even begin inquiring into a president’s mental
health, so we rationalize aberrant behavior as being part of some subtle
strategy. We say that Trump is cleverly playing to his base, or employing the
“madman theory” of foreign relations, or simply being unpredictable to gain an
advantage by keeping everyone off balance.
But if Trump were really playing three-dimensional chess,
presumably he’d be getting things done. His approval ratings would be rising
rather than falling. Allies in Congress would be expressing admiration rather
than increasing dismay. . .
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
hit a nerve Thursday when he said that Trump “has not yet been able to
demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence” needed in a president.
That indictment was significant because Corker, who chairs the Foreign
Relations Committee, is a respected Capitol Hill veteran who chooses his words
carefully — and who thus far has been willing to give Trump a chance. Corker
said he feared that “our nation is going to go through great peril” and called for “radical change” at the White House. . .
Anyone can have a bad day. But according to many published
reports, Trump often erupts into rage — especially when he sees something he
doesn’t like on the cable news shows he is said to watch compulsively.
In his Twitter postings, he increasingly lashes out in
ways that are counterproductive. I can see some method behind his incessant
ranting about “fake news,” which may actually help him with his political base.
But why attack Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) whose help the
president needs if he is to get legislation passed or nominees approved? Why
campaign against Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has been a frequent critic but
ended up supporting Trump on health care? Is Trump unable to imagine how other
GOP senators — whose votes he needs if he is to get anything done — are going
to react?
I
have spoken with people who have known Trump for decades and who say he has
changed. He exhibits less self-awareness, these longtime acquaintances say, and
less capacity for sustained focus. Indeed, it is instructive to compare
television interviews of Trump recorded years ago with those conducted now. To
this layman’s eyes and ears, there seems to have been deterioration.
I am not professionally qualified to assess the
president’s mental health; psychiatrists and psychologists who have the proper
credentials and experience to do so are silenced by ethical rules. The stakes
are so high, . . “
“How unstable and divorced from reality is President
Trump? We’ve reached the point where the nation has the right and the need to
know.
We’re not accustomed to asking such questions about our
presidents. We don’t know how to even begin inquiring into a president’s mental
health, so we rationalize aberrant behavior as being part of some subtle
strategy. We say that Trump is cleverly playing to his base, or employing the
“madman theory” of foreign relations, or simply being unpredictable to gain an
advantage by keeping everyone off balance.
But if Trump were really playing three-dimensional chess,
presumably he’d be getting things done. His approval ratings would be rising
rather than falling. Allies in Congress would be expressing admiration rather
than increasing dismay. . .
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
hit a nerve Thursday when he said that Trump “has not yet been able to
demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence” needed in a president.
That indictment was significant because Corker, who chairs the Foreign
Relations Committee, is a respected Capitol Hill veteran who chooses his words
carefully — and who thus far has been willing to give Trump a chance. Corker
said he feared that “our nation is going to go through great peril” and called for “radical change” at the White House. . .
Anyone can have a bad day. But according to many published
reports, Trump often erupts into rage — especially when he sees something he
doesn’t like on the cable news shows he is said to watch compulsively.
In his Twitter postings, he increasingly lashes out in
ways that are counterproductive. I can see some method behind his incessant
ranting about “fake news,” which may actually help him with his political base.
But why attack Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) whose help the
president needs if he is to get legislation passed or nominees approved? Why
campaign against Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has been a frequent critic but
ended up supporting Trump on health care? Is Trump unable to imagine how other
GOP senators — whose votes he needs if he is to get anything done — are going
to react?
I am not professionally qualified to assess the
president’s mental health; psychiatrists and psychologists who have the proper
credentials and experience to do so are silenced by ethical rules. The stakes
are so high, . . “
Check out any
relaible factcheck website. He’s a
chronic offender. Factcheck.doc awarded
him the ‘King of Whoppers’ award 2 years in a row. He beat out Hillary twice.
Would it be fair and accurate to call him a 'pathological liar'--not in the psychiatric context but in a behavioral context?
A number of people do. Just google 'Trump a pathological liar'.
I was never a Trumpster, so much as I was against the war monger history of Hillary. On the campaign trail, Trump said he wanted trade, not war, and spoke out against NATO.
ReplyDeleteI know from first-hand visual that bombs and heavy artillery are not the proper tools for urban renewal and landscaping. And, IMO, NATO became superfluous in 1991.
Now, Trump has flip-flopped. Investors are flocking to the war-toy Boyz. Banksters are smiling.
I don't see Pence as an improvement, though, from the standpoint of a war's probability.
We're in trouble. "Deep doo-doo" comes to mind.
Art