Renowned forensic psychiatrist Dr. Bandy Lee explains how Donald Trump’s psychological pathology is trickling down to the public, why the midterms won’t save us, and what she calls “battered nation syndrome.”
NOVEMEBR 3, 2026
There are signs that Donald Trump and the MAGA faction are going to face major electoral losses. They will likely lose control of the House, and possibly even the Senate. In a functioning democracy, it’s expected that the losing party and leader will gracefully concede and change tactics. Unfortunately, this is far from the case in the United States.
Trump demonstrates authoritarian and fascist tendencies, and is openly hostile to democratic values and won’t tolerate any form of oversight. He is the centre of a political personality cult, and there are serious concerns around his mental state. As Senator Chuck Schumer recently highlighted ‘He [Trump] will do everything he can to try and disrupt the election process. Citizens need to be aware of his dangerous intentions’. The danger he poses goes far beyond just one election cycle.
Dr Bandy Lee is a leading Social and Forensic Psychiatrist specialising in Violence Research. She has also edited the critically acclaimed book ‘The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President’. As part of our conversation, she explains that we are currently facing a public health crisis as the Trump era has impacted everyone.
She explains that even if the Democrats win in the upcoming midterms, there can be no magical fix. ‘The next few weeks and months could be some of the most dangerous times in history. We’re seeing what I call Trump Contagion Syndrome. We’re seeing his erratic and aggressive behaviour trickle down to his base, and then into the general population’.
There has been a definite increase in aggression from the public in the last few months. Road rage, random fights and people feeling like they’ve had enough. What does research say about this?
As we knew it would, people are becoming increasingly stressed and angry. They are often taking out their frustrations onto the wrong people. This is exactly how Trump operates. I and my colleagues have been sounding the alarm since his first term. We knew that his lack of psychological stability would cause chaos and violence across the country, ultimately destroying American culture, politics and democracy.
What are you doing to protect your wellbeing?
One of the main things we learn in mental health is setting boundaries. If you start letting the person take over your mind, you won’t be able to help them. I set strong boundaries.
Honestly, my mental health hasn’t suffered at all due to Trump’s resurgence. I actually have more of an appreciation for the universal truths in life. Throughout history, whenever we are at our worst and most destructive as a society, we tend to have a desire for higher ideals.
Do you really believe the transition will be extremely dangerous regardless of the outcome of the election?
Absolutely. We have seen evidence of this already. I was warning the public back in 2020 but many didn’t believe me. However, January 6th 2021 proved me right. We didn’t manage to properly contain his mental illness and now it has gotten worse. Many people refuse to believe it due to how scary it is. He openly talks about wanting to press the nuclear launch button (even sharing AI images of himself doing so) yet he still has the power to destroy us all due to his bitterness that he isn’t getting the worship he believes he deserves.
Many people believe that once we get past the midterms it’ll all go back to normal. What would you say?
I’m always reminding people that voting won’t save our democracy. The election process has been compromised. Trump has tried to manipulate the process from every angle due to the massive power of the presidency. Even if we get a good outcome on election night (Our only hope), he still has the capability to cause serious violence.
He often threatens to destroy countries like Iran completely. This would cause mass deaths and wipe out whole civilisations. How do these awful thoughts become accepted? What does this say about our culture?
It’s all down to human nature. Many people don’t realise how easily our minds can cope with extreme situations. Many believed that his followers would eventually turn on him. However, this is not the case. His followers are attached to him due to their mental illness. This is a case of Narcissistic Symbiosis. It’s like battered nation syndrome. The public are constantly being abused and the worse it gets, the more people start to empathise with the abuser.