By Ad astra

Around two years ago, The Political Sword published Is Donald Trump mad? In November of last year, it published Is Donald Trump crumbling?

It could be argued that Trump’s recent behaviour warrants another such article. But why bother? We’ve said it all before, as have columnists the world over.

Trump’s recent behaviour has been characterized by requests directed to the Ukraine leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, and less specifically, to ‘China’, to ‘investigate’ his adversary Joe Biden, and his son Hunter, whom Trump accuses of corruption. This foray portrays an even more bizarre motive than most – to discredit a possible opponent in the 2020 Presidential election. Biden may not be his opponent, but Trump, exposing his deep-seated paranoia, wants to kill him off politically well ahead of time.

More recently, Trump announced that he was withdrawing his troops from Syria’s border with Turkey to allow Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to carry out a plan to create what Erdogan calls a ‘safe zone’ in northern Syria. This move has evoked astonishment, anger and trenchant criticism from fellow Republicans, who regard this precipitous move as foolhardy and dangerous. Many regard the deserting of the Kurds, a loyal ally against Islamic State, as reprehensible. The awful outcome of Erdogan’s invasion of Syria is being displayed on our TV screens every day. Islamic State fighters may soon be unleashed once more to wreak the brutal havoc they have exhibited in the past.

So instead of repeating the well-worn words of dismay that you are now reading in countless political columns, let me remind you of what we’ve said previously.

Here’s the introduction to Is Donald Trump Mad?

No, I don’t mean ‘hopping mad’. We know that he is hopping mad with the media and its ‘fake news’, with CNN particularly, and with some of its commentators whom he has chosen to label as intellectually deficient, and unpleasant to the eyes (bleeding from a face lift!).

We know he is hopping mad about the criticism he attracts.

We know he prefers admiration, adulation, even reverence.

We know he craves the hero worship he received as host and star in his TV reality show The Apprentice. We know he needs his image to be polished endlessly. Fame is more important to him than fortune.

No, I mean ‘mad’ in the clinical sense, in the sense of the many synonyms of the word: mentally disturbed, insane, lunatic, maniacal, even crazy or crazed. Some peri-clinical synonyms of ‘mad’ too might be applicable: unstable, erratic, unsafe, dangerous, perilous, foolish, even senseless.

‘Mad’ derives in part from the Old English ‘gemædde’: ‘out of one’s mind’, ‘extremely stupid’, ‘insane’ or ‘foolish’.

Do you see a nexus between these words and Trump’s behaviour?

Let me present you with some evidence so that you can make up your own mind about whether Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America is indeed ‘mad’.

Click here to read the whole piece.

Now, read the beginning of Is Donald Trump crumbling?:

As you witness the increasingly bizarre behaviour of Donald Trump, the President of the United States, the mightiest nation on earth, do you wonder about his mental state? Do you speculate about his stability, his judgement, his reasoning? Recent events, piled on each other, beg the question; ”Is Donald Trump crumbling”?

Mental deterioration can afflict any of us quite suddenly. On the other hand, it can overcome us in a number of smaller steps. Could this be the case with Donald Trump?

Let’s recount some recent events that are indicative.

Take the devastating fires in Southern California that Vox described ”…as the single most destructive and third-deadliest fire in state history”. In its account of the fires, Reuters reported: ”Donald Trump is known for his fiery comments, but his recent tweet has outraged prominent celebrities who slammed it as ‘demented’.

What did he say? Did he empathise with those who had lost their houses? Did he express horror at the appalling loss of life? No. He reflected on the emergency, in a Tweet of course, with: “There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!” A dire threat as a proxy for empathy!

This example alone is sufficient to raise the suspicion of significant mental deterioration, even in someone as bizarre as Trump.

The president of the California Professional Firefighters assailed Trump with “The president’s message attacking California and threatening to withhold aid to the victims of the cataclysmic fires is ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines.” Celebrities lashed out at Trump’s ’ill-judged and out-of-touch’ tweet as an absolutely heartless response…there aren’t even politics involved. As you tweet, there are good American families losing their homes and evacuating into shelters.”

But that’s just the start. Read the rest of the piece here.

Steps are now well advanced to impeach this man. Not only Democrats, but may others see him as a dangerous liability to the United States.

How impeachment will proceed is anyone’s guess, but the need to remove him from office occupies the minds of not just countless Americans, but international observers too.

What a dilemma Trump is for international statesmen and ordinary folk the world over, all of whom fear what this erratic, unpredictable, unbalanced, loud-mouthed, egocentric man will do next. Just listening to his daily harangues from the White House forecourt, and reading his endless Tweets, are enough to alarm any sensible observer. His pronouncements on trade and economic issues have confused the stock market and sent it into disarray.

Which is why we ask once more: Is Donald Trump mad? Let us have your opinion.

If you still have lingering doubts about Donald Trump’s mental state, take a look at this YouTube videotape from MSNBC: The Dangerous case of Donald Trump; 27 Psychiatrists Assess.