Trump is set to have his first physical examination..but does not include mental health evaluation..

[riversedge]

Mental health has always had a taboo about it, and now, I fear this taboo will be increased with Trump in office.



https://apnews.com/db975de28b484b41837e96ae993c8aeb/Trump-wishes-for-better-libel-laws-after-book-slams-him



..............Chatter about Trump’s mental fitness for office has intensified in recent months on cable news shows and among Democrats in Congress.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders this week called such suggestions “disgraceful and laughable.”

“If he was unfit, he probably wouldn’t be sitting there and wouldn’t have defeated the most qualified group of candidates the Republican Party has ever seen,” she said, calling him “an incredibly strong and good leader.”

Trump is set to have his first physical examination as president this coming Friday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

This exam does not typically involve having the president undergo a mental health evaluation, as some Democrats have urged.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introduced a bill in April to establish a commission that would study if the president is mentally or physically unable to perform his duties. And in August, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., introduced a resolution urging the vice president and Cabinet to have Trump undergo a mental and physical exam to determine if he’s competent. Neither measure has gone anywhere.

In early December, the House voted overwhelmingly to kill a resolution from a liberal Democrat to impeach Trump. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, said Trump had associated his presidency with causes rooted in bigotry and racism......................

[PJMcK]

1. Trump's mental capacity

This week, I'll have several medical exams. It's that time of year for all my annual checkups. None of them include a formal mental health evaluation.

Trump doesn't need one, either. First, as Josh Marshall pointed out, (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/is-president-trump-mentally-ill-it-doesnt-matter), the medical and scientific results of such a test don't matter. His observable behavior shows us exactly who the man is. As citizens of the U.S., we don't need a psychiatrist to tell us what we already know: Trump is nuts. He is clearly unfit to be president.

Second, what would happen if there were a formal diagnosis of some mental illness? There's really nothing that says the president must be removed for a mental condition. Would such a diagnosis trigger a 25th Amendment solution? Pence, the Cabinet and Congress don't need a formal diagnosis to act under that Amendment. They already know what we know: Trump is nuts. He is clearly unfit to be president.

Lastly, the soft science of psychology has squishy metrics. How would we codify what's acceptable and what requires action? Professionals in the field often disagree about their patients. Would such presidential examinations be used for political purposes? Besides, mental health professionals (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/opinion/psychiatrists-trump.html) have already declared what we know: Trump is nuts. He is clearly unfit to be president.

I find it uncomfortable when a president releases his medical records. Aren't these the kinds of things we want to keep private? I certainly don't want other people to see my records, including my employers. It's a difficult issue.