Open Letter on Cognitive Concerns in the Presidential Election
Top experts warn of cognitive decline in Trump in a letter exclusively provided to MeidasTouch, citing potential risks to national security in 2024.
In a public statement led by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Bandy X. Lee, a coalition of 50 distinguished medical and mental health experts have raised serious concerns over former President Donald J. Trump's cognitive fitness as he campaigns in the 2024 presidential race. The "Open Letter on Cognitive Concerns in the Presidential Election,” provided exclusively to MeidasTouch, highlights repeated signs of cognitive decline observed in Trump's speeches and public behavior, warning that his mental state could compromise national security if he were to return to office.
The letter details numerous behaviors indicative of cognitive deterioration. These include impaired memory, disorganized thinking, and inappropriate or incoherent speech patterns. The experts also note Trump's tendency toward repetitive and erratic thinking, which, combined with heightened narcissistic and paranoid tendencies, raises red flags about his fitness for leadership.
The statement comes from leading figures across psychiatry, neuropsychology, geriatrics, and related fields, including professors from Harvard Medical School, Columbia University, and the University of Washington. They stress that the signs of cognitive decline observed in Trump should be a key consideration for voters in the upcoming election. By publicly sharing their expert observations, they hope to foster a discussion on the importance of mental fitness in high-stakes leadership roles.
Here is the full letter:
Open Letter on Cognitive Concerns in the Presidential Election
We are a group of medical and mental health professionals with expertise in aging, mental fitness, and how these relate to the capacity for leadership and ensuring concerns our national security. We feel an obligation to express about the manifestations of poor cognitive function in former President Donald J. Trump.
While we cannot make a formal diagnosis without direct examination, his repeated public behaviors and speeches demonstrate strong evidence of significant cognitive decline, aligned with common signs of an early dementia, and include:
Deterioration in language skills, such as simpler vocabulary, incomplete and incoherent sentences, grammatical errors, and paraphasias (substituting words)
Impaired memory/recall, such as confabulation, where memory gaps are filled with false or fabricated details
Tangential thinking, where speech often drifts to unrelated topics in an erratic manner
Inappropriate or vague statements that lack connection to reality
Perseveration, where thoughts or ideas are repeated without a relevant trigger
Rigidity in thinking, evidenced by an inability to adapt or revise opinions, often manifesting as "doubling down"
Amplification of maladaptive personality traits, such as paranoid (invented threats), narcissistic (excessive focus on self), or antisocial (criminal and dangerous) personality traits
Disinhibition in speech, such as the frequent use of vulgar, profane language or hate speech
Disinhibition in behavior, such as impulsive decision making or aggression and violence
We believe these observable and repeated behaviors warrant public awareness of their implications. The multiple signs and symptoms we have observed in Mr. Trump comprise critical information for America’s 2024 presidential voters. We submit this informed opinion by fifty (50) nationally renowned professionals in the interest of public trust and safety.
Voters should consider these facts.
Sincerely,
Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div.
President, World Mental Health Coalition
Harvard Program in Psychiatry and the Law
Diane E. Meier, M.D.
Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
James R. Merikangas, M.D.
Neuropsychiatrist and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
George Washington University School of Medicine
Anthony Back, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
University of Washington
Alan Blotcky, Ph.D.
Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Frederick M. Burkle, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.
Former Professor, Harvard University and School of Public Heatlh
Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, elected '07
Eric Chivian, M.D.
Former Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Director Emeritus, Center for Health and the Global Environment
Jennifer I. Downey, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Ravi Chandra, M.D.
Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
Howard H. Covitz, Ph.D.
Former Training Analyst, Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies
Former Director, Institute for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapies
Lance Dodes, M.D.
Retired Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Harvard Medical School
Edwin B. Fisher, Ph.D.
Professor of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Henry J. Friedman, M.D.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts Medical School
Nanette Gartrell, M.D.
Retired Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Retired Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco
James Gilligan, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York University
Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University
Leonard L. Glass, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Attending Psychiatrist, McLean Hospital
Vincent Greenwood, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Washington Center For Cognitive Therapy
Anne McLean Griffin, M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Weill-Cornell Medical College
Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Director, Program in Psychiatry and the Law
Chiara S. Haller, Ph.D.
Clinical Neuropsychologist and Founder, Cognicreate Clinic
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University
Steven Hassan, Ph.D.
Fellow, Fielding Graduate University
Harvard Program in Psychiatry and the Law
Judith L. Herman, M.D.
Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
Ellyn Kaschak, Ph.D.
Faculty, San Jose State University
Faculty, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica
Kevin Kelly, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and of Ethics in Medicine
Weill-Cornell Medical College
Jerome Kroll, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus
University of Minnesota Medical School
Rosanne M. Leipzig, M.D, Ph.D.
Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Robert Jay Lifton, M.D.
Lecturer in Psychiatry, Columbia University
Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
Francis Lu, M.D.
Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of California, Davis
Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
Craig Malkin, Ph.D.
President, YM Psychotherapy and Consultation
Lecturer, Harvard Medical School
Dee Mosbacher, M.D., Ph.D.
Retired Professor of Psychiatry
University of California, San Francisco
Laura Mosqueda, M.D.
Professor of Family Medicine and Geriatrics
University of Southern California School of Medicine
Hattie Myers, Ph.D.
Faculty, Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research
Former Faculty, New York University School of Social Work
Seth D. Norrholm, Ph.D.
Director, Neuroscience Center for Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma
Translational Neuroscientist, Wayne State University
Denis J. O’Keefe, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.
Professor of Social Work, New York University
Past President, International Psychohistorical Association
Jennifer C. Panning, Psy.D.
President, Mindful Psychology Associates
Claire Pouncey, M.D., Ph.D.
Past President, Association for the Advancement of Philosophy and Psychiatry
Bruce H. Price, M.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Chief of Neurology, McLean Hospital
Larry Sandberg, M.D.
Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Weill-Cornell Medical College
Robert C. Sharpe, M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Loyola University of Chicago School of Medicine
Stephen Soldz, Ph.D.
Professor, Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis
President-elect, Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology
Thomas Strouse, M.D.
Professor of Palliative Care Research and Education
University of California-Los Angeles School of Medicine
Michael J. Tansey, Ph.D.
Former Assistant Professor of Psychology
Northwestern University Medical School
Adele Tutter, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Lise Van Susteren, M.D.
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, George Washington University
Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
Robert J. Waldinger, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Director, Harvard Study of Adult Development
Richard M. Waugaman, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown University
Training and Supervising Analyst Emeritus, Washington Psychoanalytic Institute
Drew Westen, PhD
Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry
Emory University
Richard Wood, Ph.D.
Director, Thornhill Multidisciplinary Assessment Center
Frank E. Yeomans, M.D., Ph.D.
Honorary Member, American Psychoanalytic Association
President, International Society for Transference-Focused Psychotherapy
Elisabeth Zoffmann, M.D.
Forensic Expert experienced with dementia-related disinhibition
Retired Associate Clinical Professor
Download the full letter below:
We needed this a month ago.
Definitely overdue.
Emerging and definitive diagnostic conclusion that tRump IS NUTZ? Long overdue, but nevertheless welcomed!