Democrats Plan Capitol Event to Reignite Concerns About Trump’s Mental Health

Democrats are planning a Capitol Hill event in hopes of reigniting questions and concerns about President Trump’s mental health.

Yale School of Medicine psychiatrist Dr. Bandy Lee will reportedly head up the event, which is expected to happen “within the next couple of weeks.”

Lee is an author and editor of the book The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump and is among those who believe that psychiatrists have a “duty” to warn the general public of what they believe is Trump’s deteriorating mental state.

Their assessment, however, is far from the standards of the medical community and could be viewed as a professional faux pas. Some experts say it is simply impossible and unethical to diagnose an individual with a mental illness without a one-on-one examination.

Lee has not examined the president but does not believe it is necessary. She says one does not need to be a mental health professional to “recognize the seriousness of the current presidency.”

“The president’s condition has been visibly deteriorating to the point where there’s a lot of talk right now about his mental state beyond mental health professionals,” Lee said, according to the Washington Examiner. “It no longer takes a mental health professional to recognize the seriousness of the current presidency.”

Dr. Ronny Jackson gave Trump a clean bill of health– both mentally and physically– in early 2018. He said there were “absolutely no concerns about his [Trump’s] cognitive ability, or his neurological function,” adding that Trump was “mentally very sharp, very intact” and “fit for duty” in all aspects.

Dr. Jackson: “I had absolutely no concerns about his cognitive ability, or his neurological function. So, I was not going to do a cognitive exam…The reason that we did [it] is, plain & simple, @POTUS asked me to do it.” pic.twitter.com/2o7O7XHxBv

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 16, 2018

Navy physician Sean Conley confirmed Trump’s status as a healthy individual earlier this year.

“While the reports and recommendations are being finalized, I am happy to announce the President of the United States is in very good health and I anticipate he will remain so for the duration of his Presidency, and beyond,” Conley said in February.

Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-KY) confirmed that the Capitol Hill event is in the pipeline.

“We’re planning to put together an event,” Yarmuth said, according to the Washington Examiner. “She’s [Lee] calling it a town hall. We haven’t actually determined the format, but it’s going to be an event where she is going to present her findings, and media will be invited.”

Yarmuth noted that the event has nothing to do with the left’s case for impeachment.

“I don’t think an assessment of someone’s mental health is an impeachable issue,” he said.

Rather, the event is to raise awareness, letting others know that they share the same fears– fears “that the president is manifesting dangerous behavior and the American people need to be alert to it,” Yarmuth said.