The More Dangerous State of the World, the Need for Fit Leadership, and the Much More Dangerous Case of Donald Trump

A Summary of Expert Opinions by U.S. Security and Mental Health Professionals

Below is a summary review of the critical themes from our major National Press Club conference offered to us by Dr. Sally Adnams Jones, author, psycho-educator, and therapist. Video headings are credited to Dr. Madeline Taylor, also author, psycho-educator, and therapist.

On September 27, 2024, a major conference was held in Washington, DC, at the National Press Club. Convened by Dr. Bandy Lee, forensic and social psychiatrist, violence expert, and president of the World Mental Health Coalition. This apolitical, nonpartisan, medical- and security-focused conference addressed the problems of dangerous leadership today, in particular, the dangerous case of Donald Trump. The panel of experts addressed our current crises, the state of mental health in the U.S., its upcoming presidential race, and the possible implications for the survival of the human species.

This important discussion included the dangers of a man who spreads what Dr. Lee refers to as “Trump Contagion,” in her book The Psychology of Trump Contagion: An Existential Danger to American Democracy and All Humankind, which describes the present, collective mental health emergency. Dr. Lee and other distinguished mental health experts, psychiatrists, and psychologists first convened, as a duty to society, in 2017, to discuss the dangers of another Trump presidency, at Yale School of Medicine. Together, they then published, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President, which became an instant New York Times bestseller. In 2019, this was expanded, to include ten more experts, and this year, The more Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump, 40 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Warn Anew has been released, with important new updates and warnings, including the “Dangerousness Risk Assessment” done on Donald Trump, by eminent psychiatrists, as a pre-sentencing report, intended to be submitted to the courts for sentencing recommendations.

According to Dr. Lee, Trump shows several dangerous personality traits that were discussed at the conference, and which conclusions are summarized below, in detail. Apart from his personal lack of moral character, which include criminal charges of sexual assault, he is responsible for 1.2 million deaths from COVID 19, due to pandemic mismanagement. He has been indicted for an unprecedented, violent, insurrection against the elected U.S. government, and is also responsible for an escalating global conflict, through his violence-prone psychology; his upending of order; his emboldening of violent dictators; his reversal of gains made in collaborative alliances; and devolving international relations into competition, conflict, and animosity. And yet, he is now running again for election into the top position in the U.S., that is understood to need to safeguard world democracy.

Dr. Lee states that the goal of mental pathology is eventually destruction and death, and we are presently in a death spiral, headed quickly to a place of no return. We are at a critical juncture for the wellness, even survival, of our planet. This is considered to be a medical crises, which has led to a political one. Dr. Lee has steadily spoken out, despite her attempted silencing by professional bodies, and has corrected the misinformation regarding her own approach to this problem, which is one of psycho-education, and not diagnosis. She has also convened expertise, with depth, rigor, and experience, to educate the public with accuracy on this matter, so that voters can make informed decisions, relevant to both national and international security.

The expert panelists at the conference signed a conclusive statement that reads: “This election comes at a most important turning point in the nation’s history. For these reasons, top security and mental health experts came together as never before on September 27, 2024 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, to participate in this unprecedented conference. The theme was ‘The More Dangerous State of the World and the Need for Fit Leadership,’ organized by the World Mental Health Coalition. The experts feel it is most important to inform the country of the conclusions they collectively expressed. First, that mental fitness is a medical issue, not a political one. Second, the immense powers of the presidency require that any one elected to that office is mentally fit. Third, in a nuclear age the president must understand that there is no security without mutual security. Fourth, ‘fitness for duty’ and ‘dangerousness’ are different evaluations from diagnosis of mental illness, and they are assessments that mental health experts are obligated to do, as part of their societal and professional responsibility. Finally, Donald Trump has demonstrated signs that could make him unsuitable and dangerous for the White House. In fact multiples of our evaluations would suggest so.”

Dr. Lee says the experts tackled how the U.S. is governed, and whether the institutions of democracy are sufficiently resilient, and self-correcting, to meet the dangers and challenges of our time. She and the panelists urged all Americans to ponder why the experts had to come together, for this singularly important gathering, at this critical time, and endorse this urgent statement. She said that political approaches, legal methods and military means have failed to prevent the many possible dangers ahead. Panelists encouraged voters to understand that neither the Supreme Court, nor Congress, are of any help now. Only by voting, focused on moral character and fitness, can we help to reverse the great risk to democracy, of there being someone in the White house who is mentally incompetent for the job.

She reminded attendees of Trump’s authoritarian and lawless disposition, that he had a plan to seize voting machines to rerun the last election, using the military. This is neither sanity, nor fitness for the presidency. We also face grave risk with Project 2025—a cabal of individuals, who only have their own self-interest at heart. Others at the conference emphasized that the dictatorship has already begun. “When you tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her body, when you tell schools what books they can or cannot read, when you have no interest in maintaining the laws that already exist for same sex marriage—we have a dictatorship.” The choice is now clear for voters: “Do we want more chaos, that is a threat both at home and abroad, or do we want a completely capable Commander in Chief, from day one? The future of the country is at stake.”

The successful conference was well-attended, to hear nineteen professionals came together to assess Donald Trump as a leader, because no one can follow or trust an unfit president. The speakers agreed that this election is an extreme national security risk. They focused on the only candidate whose dangerousness has been demonstrated, over and over again, but which has not yet been recognized or publicly discussed, because mental health experts have been excluded from most discussions. This censorship of the most critical information for the public seems quite deliberate, Dr. Lee said. This hampers the public’s ability to gain knowledge, power, and the ability to protect itself, as well as to make informed decisions. The World Mental Health Coalition now has material from the conference that can be distributed, and highlighted, for newspapers and the media. They will also tackle battle-ground states, to get this message out. The slightest difference could make all the difference in this close race.

(To be continued.)

Dr. Bandy Lee’s latest interview, with Back Room, is 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.  The conference website will have regular updates.  Please continue to support our getting out our critical message, for, as our conference revealed, we may not survive another dangerously unfit presidency in this very dangerous world!