Psychiatrist warns Trump grows more dangerous, fueled by ‘paranoia’ and troop moves
NEWYORK CITY, NEWYORK: Forensic and social psychiatrist Dr. Bandy Lee, an Ivy League-trained mental health expert, described President Donald Trump's increasingly dangerous power grabs as fueled by “dark motivations.”
Dr. Lee, who has spoken extensively about Trump's mental health since his first term, said his mobilization of thousands of immigration agents and National Guard troops is motivated by 'paranoia.'
Dr Lee says Trump’s troop deployment stems from 'paranoia'
In 'The Daily Beast Podcast', host Joanna Coles asked Dr. Lee if she thought Trump had a sense of his own limitations. She responded, “Deep down, absolutely—and that is why he is constantly on guard. He’s paranoid.”
She added, “These kinds of acts come out of his almost limitless insecurity.” For Dr. Lee, Trump’s demands for powerful positioning are pathological: “Because when he demands this kind of powerful positioning of himself, he’s doing so from a place of pathology. It’s not a healthy demand.”
She further explained, “So he’s doing so in a way that actually fuels his sense of insecurity, his own unfitness, his unbelonging, and he will increasingly become more defensive and more dangerous.” The psychiatrist concluded that enabling Trump’s quest for more influence "simply doesn't benefit anyone."
Dr Lee’s past warnings and professional fallout
A former psychiatrist at Yale, Dr. Lee rose to public attention with her bestseller ‘The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,’ co-authored with two dozen mental health experts evaluating Trump’s cognitive faculties. She was later invited to a Capitol Hill briefing.
Her professional diagnostics stirred controversy in 2020 when she claimed on social media that Trump supporters were in “shared psychosis” and that Alan Dershowitz, then part of Trump’s legal team, had “wholly taken on Trump’s symptoms by contagion."
Alan Dershowitz’s employing the odd use of “perfect”—not even a synonym—might be dismissed as ordinary influence in most contexts. However, given the severity and spread of “shared psychosis” among just about all of Donald Trump’s followers, a different scenario is more likely. https://t.co/m3XK3ztQgA
— Bandy X Lee, MD, MDiv (@BandyXLee1) January 3, 2020
Yale later fired Dr. Lee, citing a breach of the American Psychiatric Association's Goldwater Rule, which bars psychiatrists from offering professional opinions without proper examination and authorization.
Public speculation over the health of the 79-year-old president has grown following photos showing bruised hands and swollen ankles, combined with several perceived mental missteps some psychologists view as “cognitive collapse.” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump had an MRI last month but insisted he “remains in exceptional health."
Dr Lee calls for limits on a 'dangerous individual’
Drawing on her experience with violent offenders in maximum-security prisons, Dr. Lee emphasized that limits on Trump’s power-seeking behavior are necessary.
“One thing about dangerous individuals such as Donald Trump is that once we contain him, we will see immediately how he would be reduced, he would fold in on himself and no longer be as threatening and intimidating as he seems right now,” she explained.
She recommended that “all manner of institutions, agencies, and stakeholders consider consulting mental health experts who deal with these situations day in and day out.”
The White House dismissed Dr. Lee’s remarks. Spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, “Hopefully this ‘doctor’ knows how to treat TDS—she can start with herself.”
