Kentucky Dem lawmaker questions Trump’s mental health

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) became the latest Democratic lawmaker this week to openly question President Trump’s mental health.

Trump is “totally unfit for the office he serves in,” Yarmuth said in remarks to a local NAACP chapter that were posted on YouTube this week.

“He is, in my opinion, a dangerous president. I’m not sure of his mental state, but I know that he doesn’t portray someone who is in control of his faculties,” Yarmuth said in comments first highlighted by CNN.

{mosads}The Kentucky Democrat said it’s “really disturbing” that Trump, in his telling, doesn’t appear to think about the consequences of his actions. Instead, Yarmuth said Trump only seeks instant gratification, like when he’s surrounded by supporters at campaign-style rallies.

“He doesn’t seem to care about what happens once the applause stops. He seems to be in it solely for the applause, and that’s what somebody with his ego and narcissism would be,” Yarmuth said. “That’s really bad for the country.”

Trump’s behavior has alarmed Yarmuth so much that he thinks Vice President Pence would be more competent to sit behind the desk in the Oval Office instead.

“From a policy perspective it would be worse, from a sanity perspective it would be better,” Yarmuth said of the idea of Pence replacing Trump.

Yarmuth even raised the specter of impeachment, something top Democrats like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have so far tried to avoid.

“I don’t believe he’s committed an impeachable offense yet — at least we don’t know about that.”

Yarmuth isn’t the first Democrat to openly suggest that Trump’s mental state should be questioned.

Last week, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) delivered a speech on the House floor calling for a review of the Constitution’s 25th Amendment, which outlines procedures for removing a president. He warned it would fall short in cases where the president is mentally or emotionally unfit for office.

The 25th Amendment currently states that the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members can force out a president by jointly determining he or she is unfit for office. 

Blumenauer plans to introduce legislation that would empower former presidents and vice presidents to make that decision with the vice president, because he thinks a mentally unfit president could simply fire everyone his Cabinet. 

“All I’ve said is that this is strange behavior. It’s not normal in the circles I run in. And it raises questions. People can make their own diagnosis. I’m not,” Blumenauer told The Hill after specifically expressing concern about Trump repeatedly making demonstrably false statements, such as denying it rained at his inauguration.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) is also working on a bill that would require the presence of a psychiatrist or psychologist in the White House.

“Anyone who can launch 4,000 nuclear weapons in minutes absolutely should be questioned on any matter related to their physical and mental health,” Lieu told The Hill.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) told CNN’s “State of the Union” earlier this month that “a few” Republican colleagues have expressed concern to him about Trump’s mental health.

The American Psychiatric Association has long held a policy that it’s unethical for mental health professionals to offer diagnoses of public figures they haven’t personally evaluated.

But that hasn’t stopped thousands of mental health professionals from signing a Change.org petition stating Trump “is mentally ill and must be removed.”

A group of 35 psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers also wrote a letter to The New York Times warning of Trump’s “grave emotional instability.”