Dem Lawmaker Says Trump Needs A Psych Evaluation

He's got "all the symptoms" of narcissistic personality disorder, says Rep. Karen Bass.
Rep. Karen Bass says it's Americans' "patriotic duty" to ensure their president is mentally stable. Seems reasonable.
Rep. Karen Bass says it's Americans' "patriotic duty" to ensure their president is mentally stable. Seems reasonable.
Bill Clark via Getty Images

WASHINGTON ― A Democratic congresswoman launched a petition Wednesday urging Republican Party officials to require Donald Trump to undergo a psychological exam to confirm he is “mentally fit” to be president.

“Donald Trump is dangerous for our country,” reads the petition by Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.). “His impulsiveness and lack of control over his own emotions are of concern. It is our patriotic duty to raise the question of his mental stability to be the commander in chief and leader of the free world.”

Bass, a former physician assistant and clinical instructor, says she knows it’s unethical for psychiatrists and psychologists to comment on a person’s mental state without personally examining them. That’s why she wants them to publicly pressure GOP officials to insist that Trump undergo an evaluation. Her petition is laced with the hashtag #DiagnoseTrump.

In the meantime, the California Democrat has her own ideas about what may be behind the Republican presidential nominee’s erratic behavior.

“Mr. Trump appears to exhibit all the symptoms of the mental disorder Narcissistic Personality Disorder,” she said. “It is entirely possible that some individuals with NPD can successfully function in many careers, but not the Presidency of the United States.”

As spelled out in the petition, the DSM IV criteria for diagnosing NPD includes a grandiose sense of self-importance, being preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, requiring excessive admiration and lacking empathy.

As of Monday night, Bass’ petition had 6,520 signatures.

A Trump spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.

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