The Trump presidency

The current situation of President Trump reminds me of a tragic situation I dealt with many years ago.

As ordered by a court, I did a psychiatric evaluation on a 29-year old man charged with a heinous crime. To get relevant background information, I met with his parents, who seemed surprised that their "wonderful son" had committed a heinous crime. Suspecting that the suspect's parents were in denial, I met with suspect's siblings. They revealed that the suspect had long history of antisocial behavior going back to his childhood. They said when he was in high school he was a truant, got into fights with his peers, stole stuff from other kids and neighbors, displayed cruelty to animals, and behaved badly in many other ways. As an adolescent, he beat up his girlfriends, was arrested for drug-dealing, and got involved with shady characters.

The suspect's parents always tolerated his behavior, made excuses for it, and blamed others for his outrageous behavior. They enabled him by praising him and giving him money. All siblings knew that someday he would commit a grave crime and end up in prison. They warned his parents to no avail. Now their warning had come true.

Look at the life of Donald Trump before his became President: 3,500 lawsuits, shady dealings with foreign banks and enemy governments, and many other antisocial behaviors. Look at his behavior since he became President: lying, badmouthing everyone except PutinÂ…Do you see how he poses existential danger to the United States?

K.P.S. KAMATH, Cape Girardeau