File this one under “too little, too late,” but at least his heart is the right place.
Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu of California has been so troubled by the behavior of the new President of the United States that he wants to send a psychiatrist to the White House.
The Congressman will be filing legislation in the next week that would mandate a psychiatrist to be on duty at the White House full time. Good call.
Way back in 1928, Congress recognized the importance to the nation of a healthy President, so a law was passed that required a physician to be on duty full time at the White House. Back then, no one would have openly admitted the need for a psychiatrist, so that wasn’t included.
Now, says Congressman Lieu, people are much more comfortable with idea of mental health support. Given the incredible pressures of the office, it makes sense for our President to have access to a professional.
Lieu put it this way:
“I’m looking at it from the perspective of, if there are questions about the mental health of the president of the United States, what may be the best way to get the president treatment?We’re now in the 21st century. Mental health is just as important as physical health.”
Nice, smooth explanation Congressman.
But here’s the real story.
Rep. Lieu made it clear that his real worry isn’t the future mental health of a future POTUS.
No. The real story is that Congressman Lieu is more than a little freaked out about the mental health of the guy in the oval office right now. He said:
“It is not normal for the president of the United States, within 24 hours, to write about death and destruction and fake news and evil. The most troubling aspect of this is it is very clear he has a disconnection from the truth. … The very first press conference he had in this administration, they could have talked about jobs or health care. They talked about crowd size. And then lied about it. It’s one of the most bizarre events I’ve witnessed in politics.”
Rep. Lieu has concluded that Donald Trump “is a danger to the republic.”
A lot of people agree with the Congressman, and several of them are serving on Capitol Hill. Elected officials from Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca) to Jason Chaffetz (R-Ut) have suggest that a mental health evaluation would be a really good idea for the guy who has his hands on the nukes.
It might be a little on the late side, but given the increasingly bizarre statements coming out of the White House, it certainly seems like a good idea.
Featured image via YouTube screengrab.
