Detain Donald Trump Pretrial?

Compare Trump to Adolf Hitler?

I do not approach these questions as a journalist, or a pundit, but rather as a social psychiatrist working in public health with considerable experience serving as an expert consultant for domestic and foreign governments.  As a forensic psychiatrist working at the intersection of psychiatry and the law, furthermore, I have more than two decades of experience serving as an expert witness for civil and criminal courts, often addressing the question of whether or not a person has mental capacity.  This mental capacity evaluation can be on anything from performing a job to standing trial.  Occasionally, I also testify on more “routine” matters for psychiatry: such as whether or not a person is a danger to oneself, others, or the community, and what protective measures are recommended for the circumstances.

It is therefore not difficult to extend these responsibilities to society; indeed, our ethical guidelines have consistently emphasized that physicians recognize our societal responsibility, in addition to our patient duties.  When there is danger to society and the public, therefore, there is an ethical obligation to warn, to protect, and to do whatever one can to protect human life—even at the sacrifice of oneself (if we were to adhere strictly to the letter).

One can therefore see the irony of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA’s) parading out “the Goldwater rule”—a “rule” that was so insignificant, no psychiatric curriculum taught it and few psychiatrists had heard of it prior to Donald Trump’s campaign.  It was essentially a “technical” excuse to avoid doing what was ethically necessary—much like the Nazi doctors who were “just following orders”—by placing the privileges of a powerful public figure above a central ethical responsibility.

What was our central responsibility to society?  Public health and safety are one of our core obligations, and we are expected to participate in activities that contribute to societal wellbeing.  If we did not emphasize the extreme danger the nation and world were facing, should Donald Trump continue as president—and now possibly return as president—then when would we fulfill our obligation?  It was with these thoughts that I gathered a group of renowned colleagues to compile our bestselling book, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.

Now, the DC Judge will soon be issuing further orders properly attempting to restrain Donald Trump after his screaming a threat last Friday: “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”  Trump then held major “Trump Rallys” in Alabama Friday night and in South Carolina Saturday night, filled with outrageous defamations, thinly-veiled threats, innumerable lies and gross distortions, and an insinuation about Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith: “I really believe he is mentally ill!”

But with Donald Trump, no one has ever succeeded in restraining him before, and he is not someone who will be psychologically and mentally able to restrain himself.  Furthermore, having manipulated himself into being far in the lead for the Republican Party nomination for the presidency, we are in totally uncharted legal as well as political territory.

Before the Judge's expected upcoming orders, many are speaking up on the issue.

The well-known political commentator, Keith Olbermann, loudly declared: “Revoke Trump’s release and detain him until trial.  He is the most dangerous terrorist in this country!”

A foremost progressive radio talk show host, Thom Hartmann, concluded: “Donald Trump wants Jack Smith to throw him in jail….  Like Hitler in the 1920’s, it will make him a major martyr and gain him support.  This is why he’s trying to provoke Smith and the judge.”

Also over the weekend, the popular Saturday Night Live program rebroadcast from months ago, because of the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strike, the opening singing segment: “And Hitler, when did Hitler come back, simply basically all of three years ago, Hitler should never come back.”

When it comes to restraint and/or pretrial detention for Trump, if I were asked to testify about as an expert witness, I would say:

“When evaluating the dangerousness of this man, we must take into account not just direct violence and not just violent policies, but also violent rhetoric with a man of such public exposure.  The threshold for restraint and pretrial detention should be lower, not higher.  Donald Trump, having incited extreme violence in the past and having a high likelihood of doing so again, is a clear and present, imminent danger to public safety.  He should not only be detained but be restrained from using any public media.”

With regard to the historical reference of Hitler, here are my professional thoughts:

“APA psychiatrist, Paul Applebaum, asserted: ‘Even in the case of Hitler, it’s not clear to me what unique knowledge [we] could have added.  Psychiatrists would simply have echoed the conclusions of journalists or public intellectuals.’  However, consider that the CIA precursor employed Dr. Walter Langer, who produced an analysis of Hitler’s actions that was accurate to a ‘t’, including predicting his suicide—which was the opposite of what journalists and political analysts assumed!”

This, of course, would only be the beginning.

Who will stop this immense threat to public health and societal survival, if not mental health professionals?  Is anyone even capable of doing so, without their knowledge and input?  It would be a challenge for those who have dealt with individuals just like Trump on a daily basis.  Could anyone else, without the experience, and even if they could, would they dare?