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A major mistake of the Trump era may prove to be repeatedly using political/legal processes to retroactively punish Trump for egregious/inhumane/illegal behaviors/actions, instead of using those behaviors to justify/compel mental health evaluations to pre-empt *future* harm. 1/
To be clear, this doesn’t necessary mean involuntary commitment, because as many mental health professionals have pointed out,….: 2/ https://twitter.com/DMRDynamics/status/1139141499051024384
However, after listening to impeachment testimony and watching Republican congressmen engage in political theatre/fiction, it is painfully obvious that, from a process/procedural standpoint, it is a mistake continue to look at Trump’s behavior (mental health)…. 3/
…from a legal/political angle that focuses on previous harmful acts to others/country…..when the assessment should be focused on a more basic, “ability to perform essential job functions”, standard.....as viewed through the lens of Cluster B Personality Disorders ( #unfit) 4/
There are two reasons for shifting to retroactive punishment, to pre-emptive removal. First, many of even the most ardent Trump supporters will concede that Trump is a raging Narcissist. This establishes an accepted inference of Cluster B personality-disordered behavior.5/
And second, the country is stuck in a perpetual cycle of attempting to use past behavior as evidence to “prove” Trump’s guilt to such an extent that our legal and political institutions will “award” (to use legal terms) “extraordinary relief” or an “extraordinary remedy”. 6/
There are many problems w/this strategy. First, even setting aside the “extraordinary” nature of indicting or impeaching a sitting president, we've reached a point where corruption/cowardice at the highest legal (DOJ/Bill Barr) and political (Congressional Republicans) levels…7/
…virtually assures the country that even “ordinary relief” (a functionally, morally, competently behaving president) will not be encouraged,.... let alone that any “extraordinary relief” will be provided. 8/
As a result, we have repeatedly seen legal arguments that at best were circular in their logical reasoning, and, at worst, were intellectually dishonest attempts to protect and shield a corrupt president: 9/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1119616795382435840
Furthermore, as @PreetBharaha pointed out, in real criminal trials, every senator would be struck "for cause" (disqualified) b/c they violated the principles of a neutral jury: 1) Senators have looked at & pre-judged evidence before they’re asked to stand in judgment of it;...13/
2) Senators not only follow media reports before being asked to sit in judgment on the evidence, but they actually drive the media narrative by giving on and off the record comments; 3) Some senators (notably @LindseyGraham) refuse to even hear/read/view the evidence; 14/
And 4) Perhaps most problematic, is that according to reports, Devin Nunes’ involvement with indicted individuals (Lev Parnas), essentially makes Nunes a “fact witness”…..15/ https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1197607345414660098
….who is inexplicably sitting in judgment of his own potential guilt…16/ https://twitter.com/Teri_Kanefield/status/1198626549970296833.
As a result, it’s become futile to rely on legal/political institutions to contain Trump and the GOP, when the very same acts of subversion and neuterization of the institutions that has created their culpability.....has also been weaponized by Trump/GOP to avoid culpability. 17/
There have been many arguments used by the Republicans to excuse, justify, and “exonerate” Trump’s egregious, illegal, inhumane, and unconstitutional behavior, including: 1) that he doesn’t know any better; 2) That no indictments have been issued;....18/
...3) That Trump’s illegal acts occurred before he was president; 4) That Trump doesn’t lie, he only exaggerates or is sloppy with the facts; 5) t\\That there is no one/single incident that rises to the level of “extraordinary relief” (impeachment);.... 19/
….and even, amazingly, 6) That because Trump’s behavior is so consistently egregious, that no single incident rises far enough above his day-to-day behavior to independently punish that act in an “extraordinary” way..... 20/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1193571870085242880
….which, essentially, is the equivalent of Trump receiving a “lifetime achievement award” from the Republicans for so consistently exhibiting sociopathic behaviors…21/
With all of this as a backdrop, instead of relying on the criminal and political systems’ backward-looking, “retroactive orientation” to hold Trump accountable for illegal/unconstitutional actions, those behaviors/actions should be used to justify/compel.…22/
…. an independent psychological/psychiatric evaluation and diagnosis that, once established, can be used to remove Trump from office because of the invariable presentation....and therefore inevitable outcomes....of the disorders. 23/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1114535416907145216
Essentially, instead of retroactively using past behavior to criminally or politically remove Trump from office…..use those behaviors to establish an indisputable psychopathological invariance of disordered behavior to preemptively remove Trump from office. 24/
For example, when Trump (University) defrauded thousands of students out of $millions, it’s evidence of Trump exhibiting Cluster B disordered behavior of being “interpersonally exploitative by taking advantage of others to achieve his/her own ends”;…25/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/04/10/trump-university-settlement-judge-finalized/502387002/
…“Lacking empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others”, showing a “Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest”,…26/
…..engaging in “Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure”, and possessing a “Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing”. 27/
When Trump defrauds charities/misappropriates money from his foundation it’s evidence of Cluster B: interpersonally exploitative, Lacking empathy, failure to conform to social norms/laws, Deceitfulness, Reckless disregard for others, & Lack of remorse. 28/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/11/donald-trump-ordered-to-pay-2-million-for-charity-fraud/
When Trump mocks disabled journalists, admits to serial sexual assault, separates and cages kids, attacks gold-star families, criticizes the mental toughness of vets with PTSD….29/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1059412244528656384
…this is evidence of Cluster B disordered-behavior: interpersonally exploitative, Lacking empathy, failure to conform to social norms/laws, Deceitfulness, Reckless disregard for others, & Lack of remorse. 30/
When Trump obstructs investigation into a “crime” he/GOP claim never occurred simply because his pathologically fragile ego can’t handle people knowing his election victory occurred w/Russian assistance, it's evidence of Cluster B disordered behavior: 31/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1123561858022031360
When Trump leveraged bi-partisan tax payer money to coerce a personal political benefit from Ukraine, this is evidence of interpersonal exploitation, Lacking empathy, failing to conform to norms/laws, deceitfulness, reckless disregard for others, and lack of remorse. 33/
When Trump’s behavior is so consistently egregious that no single act rises sufficiently above the rest,….34/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1193571870085242880
….this is evidence of “consistent” Cluster B disordered-behavior: interpersonal exploitation, Lacking empathy, failing to conform to norms/laws, deceitfulness, reckless disregard for others, impulsivity, consistent irresponsibility, and lack of remorse. 35/
When Trump lies thousands upon thousands of times, this is evidence of Trump’s Cluster B disordered behavior: Pathologically Dishonesty. 36/ https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/trump-has-told-13-435-while-in-office-wapo-71560773873
And even if Trump’s “errors”/inaccuracy is given the benefit of the doubt, one of the main requirements of the president is to be an effective communicator to the people that (s)he represents and serves. Words matter. Facts matter. 37/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1173573550797512704
Serial inaccuracy, reckless disregard for the truth, and lack of attention to detail are a dereliction of duty that would be unacceptable in just about every other line of work. 38/
Yet Trump is repeatedly excused for what is, at best, gross incompetence, and, at worst, is pathological, self-serving sociopathic exploitation/manipulation. It’s absurd that the highest, most powerful office in the world is held to one of the lowest professional standards. 39/
Especially considering that financial markets rise and fall, wars can start, foreign policy is created, and even election interference can occur as a result of a single, reckless/dishonest Presidential statement/tweet. 40/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1138061567361110021
So, it is irrelevant whether it is due to a pathologically dishonest intent, exaggeration,… 41/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1173573552445911047
….or simply an incompetent level of factual accuracy…..because the net result is the same. 42/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1147504506504011776
Taking all of this into account, it leads to one conclusion: Donald Trump’s Cluster B personality disorders make him psychologically ill-equipped/unfit for a job that requires him to be responsible for the well-being, safety, and interests of millions/billions of people. 43/
Unfortunately, this conclusion and responsibility doesn’t just exist in the abstract because Trump’s self-serving decisions to pull out of Syria and to withhold aid for Ukraine’s war with Russia…. 44/
….have caused former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s warning to Nikki Haley to come to fruition:
“People are going to die”.
45/ https://www.axios.com/nikki-haley-book-rex-tillerson-john-kelly-7361fc12-c2ce-4e10-a709-d1fa63d5b67b.html.
“People are going to die”.
45/ https://www.axios.com/nikki-haley-book-rex-tillerson-john-kelly-7361fc12-c2ce-4e10-a709-d1fa63d5b67b.html.
It is only a matter of time before Trump’s disregard for the safety of others is no longer limited to Kurds that some in his base couldn’t care less about,….46/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1184223383476506624
….or the Ukrainians, who “patriots” like Tucker Carlson are actively rooting against….47/ .
…because similar to many of Trump's "faithful" followers on the Christian Right......48/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1198601349165932544
...Trump has repeatedly "demonized", disparaged, and dehumanized fellow American citizens/constituents (“disgusting”, “horrible”, “human scum”) while also alluding to “civil war”. 49/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1178619059207688192
Just rewrote/added this thread as an article: 50/ https://www.patreon.com/posts/31965639
Follow up, corollary thread: https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1241370247187365890
