Experts Warn Congress of Trump's Dangerous Mental Instability

Bipartisan group of mental health professionals urge immediate action to address President's escalating rhetoric and behavior.

Apr. 14, 2026 at 12:36pm

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A cinematic painting of a dimly lit government office at night, with a lone figure sitting at a desk, their face obscured in shadow, conveying a sense of solitude and unease.As tensions escalate, mental health experts warn Congress that the President's unstable psychology poses an immediate danger that demands urgent action.NYC Today

A group of prominent mental health experts have sent an urgent letter to Congressional leaders warning that President Donald Trump exhibits the 'Dark Triad' of personality traits - narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy - which make him a grave threat to national security. The experts are urging Congress to immediately reassert its constitutional authority over war powers, convene high-level consultations with administration officials, and formally initiate the process to determine the President's fitness for office under the 25th Amendment.

Why it matters

The experts warn that Trump's recent public statements and actions, including threats to 'bomb Iran back to the stone ages' and ordering a naval blockade without Congressional approval, demonstrate a severe psychological crisis that could lead to catastrophic escalation and conflict. They argue that the President's compromised judgment poses an immediate danger that Congress has a constitutional duty to address.

The details

In the letter, the group of mental health professionals - including former presidents of the American Psychoanalytic Association and the World Mental Health Coalition - state that Trump's behavior aligns with the 'Dark Triad' of personality traits, which is characterized by narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. They warn that when individuals with this profile face obstacles they cannot control, they tend to escalate rather than recalibrate, driven by an urgent need to relieve psychological pain and a disregard for consequences.

  • On April 13, 2026, the letter was sent to the bipartisan Congressional leadership.
  • In recent public statements, Trump has threatened to 'bomb Iran back to the stone ages' and ordered a US naval blockade of Iran.

The players

James Gilligan, M.D.

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine, Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, former Faculty of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and former President of the International Association of Forensic Psychotherapy.

Prudence L. Gourguechon, M.D.

Former President of the American Psychoanalytic Association and former Vice President of the World Mental Health Coalition.

Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div.

President of the World Mental Health Coalition, Co-Founder of Preventing Violence Now, former Faculty of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and former Faculty of Law and Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.

James R. Merikangas, M.D.

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at George Washington University, Research Consultant at the National Institute of Mental Health, Co-Founder of the American Neuropsychiatric Association, and former President of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists.

Jeffrey D. Sachs, Ph.D.

University Professor at Columbia University.

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What they’re saying

“President Trump exhibits what forensic mental health experts have, across dozens of independent assessments, identified as the 'Dark Triad' of personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.”

— James Gilligan, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry

“The President's recent public communications have been, by any normal standard of political discourse, alarming. His posts demanding that Iran 'open the fuckin' strait, you crazy bastards' and his threat to bomb Iran 'back to the stone ages,' adding that 'a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,' are not the rhetoric of calculated geopolitical pressure. They are the expressions of a man in profound psychological distress who is reaching for the most extreme retaliatory threats available to him.”

— James Gilligan, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry

What’s next

Congress must immediately reassert its constitutional authority over war powers, convene urgent consultations with senior administration officials, and formally initiate the process to determine the President's fitness for office under the 25th Amendment.

The takeaway

This letter from prominent mental health experts underscores the grave threat posed by a president exhibiting severe psychological instability and the urgent need for Congress to fulfill its constitutional duty to address this crisis and prevent catastrophic escalation.