Open Letter to the American People on Cognitive Concerns in the Presidential Election

Statement on Donald Trump’s Dangerous Cognitive Unfitness by Independent and Nongovernmental, Renowned Geriatric, Neurological, and Forensic Psychiatric Experts

We are a group of medical and mental health professionals with expertise in aging, mental fitness, and how these relate to the capacity for leadership and ensuring our national security. We feel an obligation to express concerns about the manifestations of poor cognitive function in former President Donald J. Trump.

While we cannot make a formal diagnosis without direct examination, his repeated public behaviors and speeches demonstrate strong evidence of significant cognitive decline, aligned with common signs of an early dementia, and include:

o Deterioration in language skills, such as simpler vocabulary, incomplete and incoherent sentences, grammatical errors, and paraphasias (substituting words)

o Impaired memory/recall, such as confabulation, where memory gaps are filled with false or fabricated details

o Tangential thinking, where speech often drifts to unrelated topics in an erratic manner

o Inappropriate or vague statements that lack connection to reality

o Perseveration, where thoughts or ideas are repeated without a relevant trigger

o Rigidity in thinking, evidenced by an inability to adapt or revise opinions, often manifesting as “doubling down”

o Amplification of maladaptive personality traits, such as paranoid (invented threats), narcissistic (excessive focus on self), or antisocial (criminal and dangerous) personality traits

o Disinhibition in speech, such as the frequent use of vulgar, profane language or hate speech

o Disinhibition in behavior, such as impulsive decision making or aggression and violence

We believe these observable and repeated behaviors warrant public awareness of their implications.  The multiple signs and symptoms we have observed in Mr. Trump comprise critical information for America’s 2024 presidential voters.  We submit this informed opinion by fifty (50) nationally renowned professionals in the interest of public trust and safety.

Voters should consider these facts.

Sincerely,

Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div.
President, World Mental Health Coalition
Harvard Program in Psychiatry and the Law

Diane E. Meier, M.D.
Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

James R. Merikangas, M.D.
Neuropsychiatrist and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
George Washington University School of Medicine

Anthony Back, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
University of Washington

Alan Blotcky, Ph.D.
Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Frederick M. Burkle, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.
Former Professor, Harvard University and School of Public Heatlh
Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, elected ’07

Eric Chivian, M.D.
Former Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Director Emeritus, Center for Health and the Global Environment

Jennifer I. Downey, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Ravi Chandra, M.D.
Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association

Howard H. Covitz, Ph.D.
Former Training Analyst, Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies
Former Director, Institute for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapies

Lance Dodes, M.D.
Retired Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Harvard Medical School

Edwin B. Fisher, Ph.D.
Professor of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Henry J. Friedman, M.D.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts Medical School

Nanette Gartrell, M.D.
Retired Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Retired Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco

James Gilligan, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York University
Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University

Leonard L. Glass, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Attending Psychiatrist, McLean Hospital

Vincent Greenwood, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Washington Center For Cognitive Therapy

Anne McLean Griffin, M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Weill-Cornell Medical College

Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Director, Program in Psychiatry and the Law

Chiara S. Haller, Ph.D.
Clinical Neuropsychologist and Founder, Cognicreate Clinic
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University

Steven Hassan, Ph.D.
Fellow, Fielding Graduate University
Harvard Program in Psychiatry and the Law

Judith L. Herman, M.D.
Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association

Ellyn Kaschak, Ph.D.
Faculty, San Jose State University
Faculty, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica

Kevin Kelly, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and of Ethics in Medicine
Weill-Cornell Medical College

Jerome Kroll, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus
University of Minnesota Medical School

Rosanne M. Leipzig, M.D, Ph.D.
Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Robert Jay Lifton, M.D.
Lecturer in Psychiatry, Columbia University
Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association

Francis Lu, M.D.
Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of California, Davis
Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association

Craig Malkin, Ph.D.
President, YM Psychotherapy and Consultation
Lecturer, Harvard Medical School

Dee Mosbacher, M.D., Ph.D.
Retired Professor of Psychiatry
University of California, San Francisco

Laura Mosqueda, M.D.
Professor of Family Medicine and Geriatrics
University of Southern California School of Medicine

Hattie Myers, Ph.D.
Faculty, Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research
Former Faculty, New York University School of Social Work

Seth D. Norrholm, Ph.D.
Director, Neuroscience Center for Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma
Translational Neuroscientist, Wayne State University

Denis J. O’Keefe, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.
Professor of Social Work, New York University
Past President, International Psychohistorical Association

Jennifer C. Panning, Psy.D.
President, Mindful Psychology Associates

Claire Pouncey, M.D., Ph.D.
Past President, Association for the Advancement of Philosophy and Psychiatry

Bruce H. Price, M.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Chief of Neurology, McLean Hosptial

Larry Sandberg, M.D.
Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Weill-Cornell Medical College

Robert C. Sharpe, M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Loyola University of Chicago School of Medicine

Stephen Soldz, Ph.D.
Professor, Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis
President-elect, Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology

Thomas Strouse, M.D.
Professor of Palliative Care Research and Education
University of California-Los Angeles School of Medicine

Michael J. Tansey, Ph.D.
Former Assistant Professor of Psychology
Northwestern University Medical School

Adele Tutter, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Lise Van Susteren, M.D.
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, George Washington University
Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association

Robert J. Waldinger, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Director, Harvard Study of Adult Development

Richard M. Waugaman, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown University
Training and Supervising Analyst Emeritus, Washington Psychoanalytic Institute

Drew Westen, PhD
Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry
Emory University

Richard Wood, Ph.D.
Director, Thornhill Multidisciplinary Assessment Center

Frank E. Yeomans, M.D., Ph.D.
Honorary Member, American Psychoanalytic Association
President, International Society for Transference-Focused Psychotherapy

Elisabeth Zoffmann, M.D.
Forensic Expert experienced with dementia-related disinhibition
Retired Associate Clinical Professor

A reading of this Statement, as well as the National Press Club Conference Joint Statement:

The original Statements are here. The conference summary video is here.  The videos of speeches from the conference are here. The book that was released with our major conference is here.  Dr. Bandy Lee’s website on this topic is here. Please continue to support our getting known our two critical Statements, for, as our conference revealed, we may not survive another dangerously unfit presidency in this very dangerous world!