NY Times: We don’t need a medical degree to see what’s wrong with Trump

The New York Times editorial board on Wednesday argued that President Trump’s mental stability is “beside the point” and that a medical degree is not required to see “what is wrong” with the president.

“Rather, we don’t need a medical degree or a psychiatric diagnosis to tell us what is wrong with Mr. Trump,” the board wrote in an op-ed. 

“It’s obvious to anyone who listens to him speak, reads his tweets and sees the effects of his behavior — on the presidency, on the nation and its most important institutions, and on the integrity of the global order.” 

{mosads}

The newspaper went on to say that a commander in chief should not engage in some of the activities President Trump has, like firing former FBI Director James Comey or provoking North Korea’s leader with nicknames.

“Conversely, if Mr. Trump were found to have no diagnosable illness, he would be no more fit for the office he holds than he is today,” the newspaper said.

Trump’s mental fitness came under new scrutiny last week with the release of a controversial book about the Trump White House.

Some critics took the step of suggesting the president should be removed under the 25th Amendment, whereby the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet may proclaim the president unfit to serve and therefore remove the president from office.

The president pushed back against his critics last week, suggesting he is “a very stable genius” due to his career trajectory and election to the presidency.

The Times in its editorial said impeachment, rather than the 25th Amendment, would be a more “fitting approach” to remove Trump from office, calling for future presidents to be evaluated mentally.

“In the future, it would be a good idea if presidential candidates voluntarily submitted to a mental-health evaluation, just as they often do a physical one — and in that case, psychiatrists would have a critical role to play,” the board wrote.

“But you don’t need to put Mr. Trump on a couch now to discover who he is.”