Psychiatrist Andrew Spitznas has published a clearly written explanation of Donald Trump’s psychopathology in Patheos. Patheos is a “non-denominational, non-partisan online media company providing information and commentary from various religious and nonreligious perspectives.” By publishing his article here Spitznas, who is a self-described atheist, brings the subject of Trump’s mental health to a new audience.
Spitznas resigned from the American Psychiatric Association in November 2017 “due to its inflexible adherence to the Goldwater Rule.” Read his letter of resignation here.
As Trump’s behavior demonstrates more and more alarmingly how his psychopathology is pushing the decision-making which is eroding our freedoms, this is another explanation of how he is driven by a combination of his racism and his personality disorder. His authoritarianism (the latest example on display here) and his malignant narcissism are inextricably linked. It behooves those who want to fight Trumpism to understand both what and who we are up against.
We are contending with the fear-driven bigotry and ignorance of his supporters, and the authoritarianism and psychopathology of Trump himself. We are at war. We must understand what drives the enemy.
Much has been written about the psychology of Trump supporters. Much has been written about the psychology of Donald Trump. This article is another important contribution to the latter.
There’s not much more I can write about Trump’s dangerous psychopathology so I am sharing this without further comment. Dr. Spitznas’ article begins:
Last May, I wrote of my fear that our country could cave to an unstable autocrat and degrade into tyranny. Contributing to the effort to see Trump peacefully removed from power given his lack of fitness for duty, I marshalled the evidence that he likely has Antisocial Personality Disorder and suffers from paranoid delusions.
One year later, the downward slide into fascism only accelerates. Trump and his minions strive to place more and more brown people into concentration camps, as the president openly fantasizes about gaining absolute power.
Yet, I have less hope that my words and those of my colleagues in the National Coalition of Concerned Mental Health Professionals and the Duty to Warn movement will sway public policy. One of our political parties is spineless and complicit, the other is impotent.
However, there are reasons besides political policy for telling the truth about Trump’s psyche and the dangers it poses; more about that later. And another year furnishes many more data points, allowing me as a psychiatrist to write with far greater confidence about our president than I could even a year ago.
So today I am certain that our president meets full criteria for both Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. However, the psychological construct of Malignant Narcissism, or Psychopathy, describes his psychology and behavior even better than these two diagnoses.
CONTINUED