Is President Trump "Psychotic"? Are His Enemies?

Source: Voice of America/Wikimedia Commons

It all started with a permanent marker and a hurricane. In the midst of what's become known as Sharpiegate, MSNBC host Chris Hayes asked regarding President Trump on Twitter, "Is he having a psychotic break?" He wasn't alone. Conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin said, “Even when it’s so blatant, so irreversible, he can’t stand to be in the wrong. And so he goes to these elaborate hoops to make it seem he was right all along. Of course, had he done nothing this would have passed days ago. But he keeps going back to it in this rather psychotic fashion, frankly, trying to convince us that white is black, black is white, up is down, down is up.” Sean Hannity rebuffed these arguments by claiming that it was actually the "psychotic jackasses" in the media who were incorrect in their criticism of the president.

I respect some of the individuals named above, others not so much. You might feel the same way, perhaps in a different direction. Regardless, it is clear that for both the right and the left, "psychotic" has become a label that we use to question the sanity of our political enemies.

If you're looking for an article on whether or not Trump is psychotic (or narcissistic, or has dementia or experiences any other mental illness) you will not find that here. I'm also not interested in rehashing the pros and cons of adhering to the so-called "Goldwater rule." Rather, I approach the issue as someone who sits across from people experiencing psychosis on a daily basis.

I have met people so tangled in their dense web of delusions it is impossible to sort out the truth from the construct, others who cannot give up their connection to the voices that speak to them daily. Others, perhaps with more insight, know in their bones that no one outside is watching them but can never shake the feeling. They may come to loathe the voices that whisper evil in their ear or, worse, come to believe that they are speaking the truth. In other times and in other cultures those who heard voices or saw things were thought to be more connected to the spiritual realm, but in an era that prizes rationality and reason they are seen as an aberration.

We as a society have come a fair distance in de-stigmatizing people with mental illness; many of the young people I work with speak quite openly about their depression or anxiety. That isn't the case for all mental disorders, though, which is in part due to prevalence rates. In 2017 roughly 7% of U.S. adults experienced an episode of depression, whereas the estimated prevalence rate for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders is around 0.25-0.64%. In the absence of experience, ignorance too often reigns.

It is fine if you want to criticize Trump and/or his enemies; in my private life I do the same. When you use words like "psychotic" or "crazy" or "moronic" to do so, however, you are using words with a history, words that come weighted with the ways in which they have been used as sticks to bludgeon those who are different.

Recently Kamala Harris was criticized for the way in which she laughed at a supporter who called Trump "mentally retarded" at one of her rallies. I felt heartened by the way in which a word that was a common schoolyard taunt during my childhood has quickly become unacceptable in our discourse. Let's not stop there. You can hate Trump or love Trump without calling him or anyone else "psychotic" when they act in a way you don't understand.