One of the reasons why the 2024 presidential campaign has been one of the most unusual in American history is that Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have directly and relentlessly attacked each other’s mental health. It lies in the fact that they are exchanging attacks. Personal toxicity obscures and trivializes the suffering of millions of Americans with mental health issues.
Mr. Trump’s assault began last summer when he called Ms. Harris.stupid as a rock,””crazy kamala,””If you saw her laugh, she’d be crazy“and”crazy“in rally More recently, he called her “mentally ill” and “mentally ill.” he is reported to have “Redacted,” Harris said at a private dinner.
Larry Hogan, an anti-Trump Republican and former governor of Maryland who is currently running for Senate. told CBS He said Trump’s rants were “insulting not only to the vice president, but to people who actually have mental illnesses.”
Mr. Harris, on the other hand, did not hold back. She has questioned Trump’s suitability for the Oval Office. I’m saying He becomes “increasingly unstable and incapable of freedom.” Her comments echo those of critics who question President Trump’s mental stability. During a rally at City Hall, after President Trump danced strangely to music for 30 minutes while health care workers responded to two medical emergencies in the audience, Harris said: said. posted on social media“I hope he’s okay.” Meanwhile, a signed letter dated Oct. 13 said: 238 medical professionalsThe group, organized by Physicians for Harris, claimed that President Trump “displays alarming features of impaired vision” in seeking the release of his medical records.
President Trump fired back at Harris and asked her to take a cognitive test. On October 14th, on his platform “Truth Social”, he said: I wrote“I believe it is extremely important that Kamala Harris pass the cognitive stamina and agility test.”
The candidates shared a summary statement from a doctor certifying that they are mentally healthy enough to successfully perform the duties of the presidency. Dr. Harris said“She has the physical and mental resilience necessary to successfully carry out the duties of the presidency.” The Montreal mini-test that President Trump underwent during his first physical as president in 2017 He did not say whether she had undergone any other psychological tests. December 2023 Although he claimed on the campaign trail that he “passed with flying colors” a cognitive function test during a recent medical exam, he has provided no evidence to support that claim.
Since the country’s early days, politicians running for office have used chilling rhetoric when referring to their opponents, sometimes calling attention to their opponents’ physical ailments.
But what we’re seeing in this campaign, one candidate’s sustained front-and-center attack on another candidate’s mental health, is unprecedented. The last time candidates’ mental health received such attention was in 1972, the year I first covered the health of political leaders for The New York Times. That year, Missouri Sen. Tom Eagleton forced to resign He was chosen as the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee because he deliberately concealed from presidential candidate George McGovern the fact that he had been hospitalized three times for treatment for depression, two of which involved electroshock therapy. is. The issue at the time wasn’t just the stigma of mental illness, it was also a question of trust. How could Mr. McGovern be sure that Mr. Eagleton would speak up in future discussions between them and with the public?
An issue that received little attention arose during the 1988 presidential election campaign. In response to a question about rumors that Democratic candidate Michael S. Dukakis suffers from depression, President Reagan said:Look, I’m not going to choose an invalid.” About 20 minutes later, President Reagan returned and told reporters: …I don’t think I should have said what I said. ”
While the current vitriolic attacks have garnered more attention, the broader issue of improving access to mental health care has also been raised frequently during the campaign. Vice President Harris defended the Biden administration’s efforts. Fund more mental health counselors At school and enforce the rules This law requires insurance companies to cover the cost of behavioral health care at par with the cost of physical care. Furthermore, her campaign Mental health resources for veterans. She also responded to President Trump’s attacks on her cognitive abilities. said on the podcast In September, he said the lack of mental health care is “perhaps one of the greatest public policy failures in our country.”
President Trump has not talked specifically about improving access to behavioral health care. But he has focused his campaign on related mental health issues, including child welfare, substance abuse and chronic disease management in the wake of the COVID-19 government shutdown. He also promised that Prohibit gender-affirming care For the children, pediatrician and psychological health organization Warn that it may put the patient’s mental health at risk.
President Trump has also mentioned mental health when discussing gun control issues. As president, he said the country should build more mental health institutions to “take dangerous, mentally unstable people off the streets,” both of which are true and that the United States should It seems like we need more beds for people with serious mental illnesses, but it’s also offensive. We are proposing warehousing rather than treatment. He also signed As president, he introduced a bill to create a suicide and crisis hotline called 988. issued Executive Order on Veteran Suicide Prevention.
On Monday, while 2024 candidates asked questions about each other’s mental health on the campaign trail, the National Academy of Medicine annual general meeting There are a variety of mental health issues occurring in Washington. Participants did not address the accusations regarding the candidates’ mental health. Rather, they spoke about issues such as mental illness, the need to destigmatize dementia, youth suicide prevention, the long-term impact of COVID-19 on families, and increasing salaries for trained mental health workers. spoke.
During a break in the meeting, Eric Larson, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington who studies age-related diseases such as dementia, said the idea that people with cognitive problems are the last to notice them is “true, but not always. That’s not necessarily the case.” Larson says that while many people seek medical attention after noticing that their consciousness is off, many others are unaware of the change or deny it. That’s what it means.
“If we live long enough, most of us will develop dementia,” he said, statistics “About one-third of the 85 people had symptoms of dementia, with about half of those aged 90 and two-thirds to three-quarters of those aged 95.”
In an interview after speaking at the meeting, Virginia Democratic Representative Donald S. “I want a leader who can control the situation.” . But Bayer said the “more important issue” is the nation’s mental health crisis, particularly suicide prevention among young people. The US system for matching support to the needs of people with mental health problems is “incredibly broken”.
Linda Fried, dean of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, said the candidates “are not talking about the mental and physical health of Americans.” She criticized the “lack of focus over the past three decades on finding ways to improve the physical and mental health of Americans.”
According to , approximately 1 in 4 Americans currently have a mental health problem. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionBut the workforce is woefully inadequate to meet their needs, experts said at the conference. (Full disclosure: I am a member of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly known as the Institute of Medicine) but had no role at the conference.)
Ann Garland, a psychiatrist at the University of California, Sun, said the mental health profession and society need to “how do we use the resources we have to recruit and train the current and new workforce.” “We need to do a better job of figuring out how we can leverage it.” Diego. This requires increasing compensation for front-line mental health workers, she said, adding, “In San Diego County, the average wage for fast food workers is higher than the average wage for community health workers, which is a demoralizing factor. “It is decreasing,” he said.
These are all mental health issues that deserve attention from politicians. Many people have suffered from mental illness or cognitive decline at some point in their lives, or have loved ones in the same situation. But the testy exchange between Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris has distracted from the pressing mental health crisis facing the United States.
If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned about a loved one, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 9-8-8 or by visiting please. www.988lifeline.org.
Timmy Broderick and Sarah Owermohle contributed reporting.
Lawrence K. Altman is a physician, clinical professor of medicine at New York University, and former New York Times reporter and Doctor’s World columnist. He researches and writes books about the health of political leaders.
