‘Trump is in a Psychiatric Crisis
‘Trump is in a Psychiatric Crisis and Controls 5,000 Nuclear Warheads’
‘Psychiatrist and Professor Bandy Lee Says the United States is Facing a National Emergency’
Danger of Extinction
“He has enough weapons at his disposal to destroy the planet seven times over.”
With the above subheading, Francesc Peirón interviewed me for La Vanguardia (below is a translation):
What did you think when you saw the AI-generated image of Trump as Jesus Christ, performing a healing?
I saw a man in the throes of an acute psychological crisis. As a psychiatrist, I often see severely-ill patients who wish to view themselves as an omnipotent God in order to combat the painful sensation that they are losing their sanity. It is a defense mechanism against feelings of helplessness and a lack of control, as well as against a loss of contact with reality.
Do you believe we are facing an emergency situation?
I feel that we are facing a critical psychiatric emergency—so much so that I have held meetings and written to the four living former presidents. We are in a situation that cannot wait for impeachment proceedings or for the 25th Amendment—even if those things were to eventually happen. The dangers must be contained now, largely because we have a president who is in the midst of a psychiatric crisis, yet no one is taking action, and he holds control over 5,000 nuclear warheads.
A looming danger?
Due to the level of the president’s psychiatric deterioration and the technology he has at his disposal—not only nuclear weapons but also the most powerful military on the planet—he could easily erupt in an impulsive fit of rage that could result in the annihilation of the human species. He has enough weapons at his disposal to destroy the planet seven times over. Amid the conflict with Iran, he stated that “an entire civilization will die tonight.”
Is the threat even greater today than it was before?
The emergency has become imminent. We have issued a call to members of Congress to take action, because we cannot wait for the 25th Amendment, as is currently being discussed. I was deeply involved in the discussions regarding the 25th Amendment during his first term. I met with more than fifty members of Congress, and progress was being made toward establishing a body capable of removing a president from office on grounds of incapacity. Yet, at that time, we were stymied by the American Psychiatric Association. They accused us of issuing a professional opinion without having evaluated the patient. They claimed that one cannot diagnose from a distance—but we were not issuing a diagnosis. We were identifying warning signs regarding potential danger to the public, stemming from apparently psychiatric causes, and that second part is a duty; it is an obligation that can be legally binding. They misled the public by conflating the two things. No one is treating the President. We are protecting society, which is one of our primary obligations according to the American Psychiatric Association’s own code of ethics.
These days, we hear things about the President’s erratic behavior—about his outbursts of rage, his fabrications. Does all of this make him dangerous?
A history of past violence is a predictor of future violence. He has been verbally aggressive. He has employed violent rhetoric. He has boasted about sexual assaults. He has shown an affinity for brutal dictators. He has demonstrated a fascination with dangerous weapons—including nuclear weapons—saying things like: “Why do we have them if we do not use them?” He is reckless and impulsive in his behavior and his decision-making. This goes back a long way. We have observed that he is incapable of assimilating facts, information, or critical advice. He does not process that information. He is unable to consider consequences before making a decision, or to maintain a consistent stance once a decision is made. He repeatedly shifts his position and fails to remain grounded in reality. All of this points to mental incapacity.
Is this reflected in the current year, 2026?
It is much worse. A month ago—at the request of several senators—we issued a statement regarding our medical concerns, in which we noted a deterioration in his cognitive functioning, as well as an exacerbation of his grandiose and delusional beliefs. These delusions—which, again, have worsened—involve him casting himself in roles such as the Pope or a warrior hero, depicting himself as hurling feces at civilians, and now as Jesus Christ.
There is more….
We are speaking of severely impaired judgment and significantly compromised impulse control. He has advocated for the use of lethal force against civilians and has encouraged extrajudicial killings. He also exhibits a significant loss of self-control—manifesting as disinhibition and getting “stuck” on the same thoughts or actions—as well as compulsive behaviors, such as making 150 social media posts in a single night. Furthermore, he displays a fixation on perceived enemies, persecutory delusions, and disproportionate attacks on individuals and institutions. And he poses a threat to security.
People in his inner circle say that he is no longer the same person he used to be.
He is worse, because we did everything possible to exacerbate his psychiatric situation. We provided him with no containment, no treatment, and no boundaries; the result is that his psychiatric state has deteriorated drastically.
Yet he continues to claim that he is the best president—the one who heals.
One of the first things to vanish when mental health deteriorates is insight—the capacity to recognize that something is amiss. The deeper he descends into the psychotic spiral that currently entraps him, the less he will acknowledge that he is doing anything wrong. He will deny having any impairment whatsoever and will act in direct opposition to what would be beneficial for his mental health. And he has filled his Cabinet with individuals who either mimic him or appear to be just as impaired themselves.
Our Statement of Medical Concerns is set to be presented to the Senate floor, as early as today, with thirty-six of the most eminent authorities, including Nobel laureates and former chairs of departments. Still, I continue to urge that Congress act immediately to contain the risk of nuclear war, under the control of a president in psychiatric crisis (according to retired CIA analyst Larry Johnson, during an emergency meeting three days ago, Donald Trump tried to access the nuclear codes but Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine countermanded it):
Announcement:
Dr. Bandy X. Lee is in the process of establishing SURVIVAL UNIVERSITY. Please use the contact form to join and to help make this unprecedented effort successful. She is also leading a public course series with Preventing Violence Now, about which you can find out more and register here.
Discussion about this post
https://bandyxlee.substack.com/p/trump-is-in-a-psychiatric-crisis
Thank you for doing so much to protect both the earth and all species with your knowledge and courage. No one else will speak such truths. This information needs to get out to everyone.
So important. He’s been unstable for many, many years. I can only imagine what’s going on inside Trump’s head but it can’t be good.