Last night PBS’s Frontline ran “The Choice 2016,” which provided a reasonably good look at the biographies of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. (A link to the full video is provided below.)
One portion of the video jumped out at me. People, rightfully, have speculated as to the state of Donald Trump’s mental health. How firm is his grip on reality? Is it possible that one major political party has nominated a sociopath for the presidency?
Against this backdrop, I noticed this illuminating episode at about the 1:18 mark as Mr. Trump was confronted with the pending failure of his Taj Mahal Atlantic City casino. The situation was perilous. He owed more than $3 billion to scores of banks, and the impending collapse threatened not just to wipe out all of his investors and employees, etc., but also to financially ruin Trump for good. And then you get this description:
Narrator: The banker descended on Trump Tower.
Biographer: “The bankers held a gigantic meeting at Trump Tower with like 40 banks all sitting around a room. Donald was very sober, looking like not quite penitent perhaps but serious.”
Banker: “When we were talking to him in the meetings, it just didn’t seem that he had any idea how big the problem was or how it would be resolved. But as far as being a CEO and understanding the numbers and the ramifications, it didn’t seem like he took economics or accounting in college.”
Substitute the words “Situation Room” for a “conference room.” In the biggest crisis of Trump’s career key participants at the meeting most remember that Trump appeared disconnected, uninformed, incompetent and unconcerned.
I’ve read others here admonish that no one can draw conclusions about a person’s mental fitness from afar. I don’t agree, and certainly don't agree in the context of electing a President. Frankly, there have been enough red flags already just in this campaign. And somehow we have settled in to discussing this issue with the more comfortable term “temperament.”
Maybe I have an added “benefit” as a life long NY’er because I have watched Mr. Trump for decades. Here is the benefit of my experience: I could never vote for Mr. Trump under any circumstances because I don’t believe he is mentally stable. That’s it. I don't say it as a pejorative. And if there is one serious issue generally missing from the public debate, this is it.