A well-known psychiatrist who has publicly questioned Donald Trump’s fitness for office says she was once contacted by people she believed were White House staff who were deeply worried about his mental state.
In a 2024 interview with Daily Express US, Dr. Bandy Lee a psychiatrist formerly affiliated with Yale University said the outreach happened in late 2017, during Trump’s first year in office. According to Dr. Lee, the callers expressed alarm over what they described as signs of instability in the president’s behavior.
Trump has consistently rejected such concerns and has repeatedly stated that he passed cognitive tests while in office. Nonetheless, questions about his mental fitness have continued to surface over the years, particularly among mental health professionals and former officials.
Dr. Lee is best known as the editor of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, a 2017 book that compiled essays from 27 psychiatrists, psychologists, and other experts. The contributors argued that Trump’s behavior raised serious concerns about his ability to serve safely as president. Importantly, the book focused on publicly observable behavior rather than personal clinical evaluations.
In her interview, Dr. Lee recalled that while she was meeting with members of Congress to discuss the broader issue of presidential fitness, she was unexpectedly contacted by two individuals who said they worked at the White House. She said the calls were prompted by the publication of her book.
“At the time, I wasn’t even sure they were actually calling from the White House,” she explained. She also said she refused to become personally involved in treating the president, noting that doing so would have compromised her ability to speak publicly and impartially on the issue.
“I didn’t want to become the president’s treater,” Dr. Lee said, adding that once a psychiatrist conducts a personal examination, ethical rules limit what they can publicly discuss.
Because of those concerns, she said she advised the callers to seek help through emergency medical channels. According to Dr. Lee, those efforts ultimately went nowhere. However, she later confirmed that the phone number used to contact her did, in fact, originate from the White House.
Dr. Lee also claimed that former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had purchased copies of her book and circulated them among staff. She suggested that the material may have influenced internal discussions during tense moments, including the standoff with North Korea, though no official confirmation of that claim has been made.
As with many accounts from the Trump presidency, these claims remain disputed and rely largely on personal testimony. Still, Dr. Lee’s statements offer a glimpse into the level of concern she says existed behind the scenes during that period concerns that continue to fuel debate about presidential fitness, transparency, and accountability.
Comments
Post a Comment