A top psychiatrist, Dr. Bandy Lee, has described former President Donald Trump’s behavior as “abnormal and pathological,” comparing it to that of a “toddler” seeking to be “ruler of the universe” to combat feelings of helplessness. Dr. Lee, a forensic and social psychiatrist who has taught at Harvard and Yale, has raised concerns about Trump’s mental health. These concerns were dismissed by the White House as “false speculation for political purposes.” Lee was one of 36 physicians who signed an open letter in 2023 calling for Trump’s removal from office under the 25th Amendment, citing a “marked deterioration in cognitive functioning.” The 25th Amendment allows for the removal of a president who is deemed unfit to serve due to mental or physical incapacity. In an interview, Lee pointed to recent events, including Trump’s remarks on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, where he claimed that firefighters had to carry him away from Ground Zero shortly after the Twin Towers collapsed. However, multiple news organizations found no evidence to support this claim, and New York Magazine labeled it a “weird lie.” Trump later defended his account on his social media platform, Truth Social, stating that “everything I said was exactly accurate” and that he was “there, obviously not on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter.” Lee said this behavior reflected Trump’s tendency to place himself at the center of major events, which she described as a sign of a fragile sense of self. She noted that such behavior is typical for toddlers but abnormal for an adult. She also expressed concern over recent Truth Social posts by Trump, including memes that appear to show him preparing to launch nuclear weapons. Lee described Trump as “an incredibly mentally unstable individual who’s become far more unstable with time, with more power he’s given and the less he is constrained.” The state of Trump’s mental and physical health has drawn public interest, with reports of apparent daytime drowsiness, bruising on his hands, and swollen ankles. Multiple health experts, including Nobel Peace Prize-winning psychiatrist Henry David Abraham and CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner, have commented on these issues. A YouGov survey in April found that 48 percent of respondents believed Trump had experienced modest or significant mental or physical decline. The White House has strongly rejected claims that Trump is unwell or unfit to serve. A White House spokesman dismissed critics as “Democrat hack doctors” and stated that Trump is “the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history.” The White House attributed Trump’s recurrent bruising on his hands to frequent handshakes and said chronic venous insufficiency caused his ankle swelling. Trump himself has insisted he is in excellent health, stating after a May physical that “everything” had “checked out PERFECTLY.”