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Ignoring Trump’s ADHD Doesn’t Help Him or Us
Why do we only discuss his narcissism and sociopathy, but not his ADHD?
Psychologist Mary Trump’s book about her uncle, Donald, sold more than a million copies in its first week. She describes how Donald’s hypercritical, demanding, and emotionally withdrawn father shaped Donald into the individual who runs our country today. Clearly, Americans continue to search for explanations for the unusual behavior of our president. Yet nowhere in her description does she mention his ADHD. Why is that?
The simplest explanation would be that Mr. Trump doesn’t have ADHD. After all, if his niece, a psychologist, doesn’t address it, and other books by psychiatrists and mental health experts have omitted this diagnosis, then maybe it’s not really there.
We can dismiss this possibility because Mr. Trump blatantly and pervasively displays more than a dozen of the observable, behavioral symptoms required for identifying ADHD. None of the other diagnoses that others offer can account for his hyperactivity, inattentiveness and impulsiveness, which have all been present since childhood. Furthermore, a number of ADHD experts, including psychiatrists, psychologist, and the editors of ADD.ittude magazine, have pointed out how Mr. Trump fulfills criteria for ADHD.
