Photo by Voice of America
A growing debate over presidential mental health
When columnists for the New York Times and the Washington Post called President Trump "obviously mentally ill" and "just plain crazy," nobody took them seriously. Now thousands of psycho-therapists say a "personality disorder" makes him unfit to serve. Will that discredit their profession more than America's elected Chief Executive?
FROM THIS EPISODE
Donald Trump used to criticize President Obama for taxpayer funded getaways to play golf. Now that he's President, the Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security and even the Coast Guard are racking up expenses they've never seen before.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Trump dine at Mar-a-Lago
Investigator reporter Amy Brittain of the Washington Post reports that the Chief Executive — and his family — like to travel.
Guests:
Amy Brittain, Washington Post (@AmyJBrittain)
Photo: Donald Trump/Facebook
Several thousand psycho-therapists have signed a petition describing President Trump as a "malignant narcissist" — and calling for his removal from office. Others in their profession call that narcissistic — and unethical — based on the false presumption that mental illness can be diagnosed from a distance. It's an issue that hasn't been raised in politics since the 1960's, but Trump's behavior has brought it back into the public arena. Will it help Congress decide if the President's fit to serve — or politicize and discredit a profession — to the detriment of both therapists and their patients?
More:
Gartner's petition on Trump's mental health, removal
NY Times on whether it's fair to analyze Trump from afar
Nichols on constant panic undermining Trump's critics and boosting his base
Thomas M. Nichols
In his introduction to a new book Refinery Town, Senator Bernie Sanders says, "We need more cities like Richmond, California." He's talking about the adage that All Politics is Local, and Richmond is an example of what can happen when a poor, mostly black and Hispanic community gets political. The subtitle of Refinery Town is "Big Oil, Big Money and the Remaking of an American City." The author is Steve Early, a veteran labor activist who moved to Richmond from the East Coast five years ago.
Guests:
Steve Early, labor journalist and organizer
More:
Our Revolution
Steve Early
CREDITS
Host:
Warren Olney
More From To the Point
Scott Pruitt and James Comey: In and out of the Trump Administration EPA Director Scott Pruitt is undergoing an ethics investigation, but his Obama-Era predecessor, Gina McCarthy, says the real scandal is that he “doesn’t know what he’s doing.” We’ll also tackle the backlash against fired FBI Director James Comey. Can his credibility survive angry public exchanges with President Trump?
The internet, privacy and data protection Mark Zuckerberg survived this week’s Congressional grilling. But Facebook still profits on free information: yours and mine. Three experts on big data explain how it works and lay out the risks as well as the benefits. Also, a veteran of Washington’s war games says President Trump is right to want U.S. troops out of Syria
Nuclear weapons in the 21st Century President Trump and Kim Jong Un have revived fears about weapons of mass destruction. But “tactical” nuclear weapons for use on the battlefield are still around, too. Is President Trump--like Barack Obama before him--relaying on a World War II technology ill-adapted to modern threats like cyber warfare? Would the use of low-level nukes inevitably escalate into an all-out atomic warfare? Also, Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright on his new TV miniseries “The Looming Tower” about the FBI, the CIA and September 11th.
LATEST BLOG POSTS
VOTE: Which story should we investigate next? We’ve learned quite a bit about Los Angeles these past few months, thanks to you and your great questions. In March, we explored the unidentified super-structure looming over the 101… Read More