Is Trump in desperate need of psychological intervention?

WHAT?   Oh!  I should clarify.  The headline question is not referring to President Donald Trump but to his niece, Mary L. Trump, who harbors a lifelong obsessive hatred for her uncle (and the rest of the Trump family) – and has been using (abusing) her degree in psychology to give unwarranted credence to her outlandish claims about Uncle Donald with unethical diagnoses.

In a recent MSNBC interview, Mary repeats her old claims that Uncle Donald is a dangerous psychopath.   Her armchair diagnoses incorporate virtually every mental malady known to the psychiatric profession.  Naturally, that makes Mary a popular guest on the anti-Trump news circuit.

Mary’s venom is not limited to television appearances.  Her first book in 2020, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man”, became a bestseller largely due to its sensational claims about Donald Trump’s upbringing, personality, and alleged psychological issues. But beneath the headlines and media appearances lies a troubling pattern of a personal vendetta cloaked in the language of psychological analysis.

Mary’s critiques of her uncle have grown increasingly outrageous and bizarre over time. In recent years, she has claimed that Donald Trump is exhibiting signs of “steep cognitive decline,” citing his behavior at public events such as town halls and interviews. She has described him as “decompensating before our eyes” and “no longer tethered to reality”. Whatever anyone might think of Trump, he is not manifesting any cognitive issues beyond having a pugnacious personality.

Mary’s sensational statements raise serious of mental stability and ethical conduct – mostly about herself. As a trained psychologist, she is well aware of the professional standards that prohibit diagnosing individuals without direct clinical evaluation – and then to keep such medical information private. Her public commentary violates the spirit and the letter of those standards.  Many in the mental health community have appropriately expressed discomfort with her approach.

Mary’s criticisms extend far beyond Donald. In interviews and writings, she has painted a bleak picture of the entire Trump family. She has accused her grandfather, Fred Trump Sr., of being a “high-functioning sociopath” and described her grandmother as emotionally absent. She has also claimed, without evidence, that racism was normalized in her household growing up. These sweeping indictments have alienated her from most of her relatives. Donald Trump himself has dismissed her as “not exactly a family favorite,” and other family members have reportedly criticized her for misrepresenting their experiences and motivations.

Mary’s motivations have been questioned not only by her family but also by observers across the political spectrum. Her memoirs and media appearances often blur the line between personal grievance, dubious professional analysis and political activism. Her second book, “The Reckoning”, was timed to her uncle’s 2024 run for reelection. In it, she attributes her alienation from the Trump family to her life as a lesbian growing up in a conservative household, and to the emotional neglect she says she suffered as a child from the entire Trump family. While these experiences may have shaped her worldview in her own mind, they do not justify the level of vitriol she directs at her relatives.

Her public feud with the Trump family reached a legal boiling point when Donald Trump sued her for allegedly violating a confidentiality agreement by sharing family financial documents with The New York Times. The lawsuit, which stemmed from her role in exposing alleged tax irregularities, was dismissed, but it underscored the deep rift between Mary and the rest of the family.

Mary’s critics argue that her recent round of interviews are less informative than they are performative. Her repeated, nothing-new claims about Donald Trump’s mental fitness are delivered with dramatic flair and lack the clinical rigor expected of a licensed psychologist. Moreover, her tendency to frame every family interaction as evidence of mental dysfunction suggests a personal emotional bias that undermines her credibility. Rather than offering a balanced view of her family’s dynamics, she presents a one-sided narrative that casts herself as the lone truth-teller in a sea of corruption and mental maladies– when, in fact, it is Mary who spreads lies and false narratives out of a deep bitterness.  It is Mary who manifests serious mental issues.

It’s worth noting that Mary’s public persona has evolved in tandem with her uncle’s political career. Her first book was released during the 2020 election cycle, and her subsequent media appearances have often coincided with major political events. This timing has led some to question whether her critiques are driven more by political opportunism than genuine concern for the public good.

In the end, Mary Trump’s statements may say more about her own unresolved emotional issues from her childhood than it does about her uncle’s fitness for office. Her fixation on Donald Trump’s alleged flaws, her willingness to violate professional norms, and her estrangement from nearly every member of her family suggest a deep-seated animosity that borders on obsession.

While Mary may believe she is serving some perceived public good by exposing what she sees as dangerous behavior, her approach has nd raised serious questions about her own credibility and mental stability.  Dr. Mary, heal thyself.

So, there ‘tis.

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