Trump May Be Required To Have White House Therapist For 'Disturbing' Behavior
Representative Ted Lieu is introducing a bill that would require the White House to have a psychiatrist.
Lieu is not doing this just in response to President Donald Trump, he told The Huffington Post.
Rather, he is doing this for the mental health of all presidents to come.
Lieu said,
I'm looking at it from the perspective of, if there are questions about the mental health of the president of the United States, what may be the best way to get the president treatment?
But, yeah, he's also mostly doing it because of Trump.
The California Democrat has been a vocal opponent of Trump, often taking to Twitter to voice his concern about the president.
The congressman has legitimate concerns about the state of Trump's mental health, especially as he has been displaying erratic behavior and a disconnection from reality and facts.
Lieu said,
The very first press conference he had in this administration, they could have talked about jobs or health care. They talked about crowd size, and then lied about it. It's one of the most bizarre events I've witnessed in politics.
Lieu went on to say Trump's "disconnection from the truth is incredibly disturbing." He added,
When you add on top of that his stifling of dissent, his attacks on the free press and his attacks on the legitimacy of judiciary, that then takes us down the road toward authoritarianism. That's why I've concluded he is a danger to the republic.
The presidency is an extremely high-pressure, stressful position. It makes sense to want to have mandatory psychiatric help.
We're now in the 21st century. Mental health is just as important as physical health.
A 1928 law passed by Congress requires the White House to have a physician, but there was a massive stigma around mental health back then.
Lieu said,
We're now in the 21st century. Mental health is just as important as physical health.
This is something we can definitely all agree on.
Lieu is not the first person to express concerns about Trump's mental health.
Trump's friend Howard Stern said he was worried that the presidency would be "detrimental to [Trump's] mental health too, because he wants to be liked, he wants to be loved."
Congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican, was considering a bill in January that would require and independent mental health exam. He said,
If you're going to have your hands on the nuclear codes, you should probably know what kind of mental state you're in.
Again, a sentiment I believe we can all agree on.
Citations: Congressman To File Bill Requiring A Psychiatrist At The White House (Huffington Post)
