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Chapter 7 - Furor

The Debate over Donald Trump

from Part II - Professionalization and the Rise of the Goldwater Rule

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2020

John Martin-Joy
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School
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Summary

This chapter examines the controversy over psychiatric comment on Donald Trump. In 2016, Trump’s election led many psychiatrists to grow concerned for the country’s safety and to argue that when the country is unsafe, commenting on a public figure’s mental health is in fact an ethical obligation. The APA, on the other hand, held firm to and even strengthened its ban on such comment. For my narrative and analysis, I draw on original interviews with APA officials – including medical director Saul Levin and ethics chair Rebecca Brendel – and with critics of the APA, including Bandy X. Lee, Judith Herman, Robert Jay Lifton, and Leonard Glass. Using this new material and looking at the age of Twitter, this chapter presents the first sustained analysis of the controversy and its importance for psychiatry, ethics, and journalism in the age of Trump. As I note, in recent years, several prominent figures have argued for a revision of the libel standard articulated in New York Times v. Sullivan. These figures include the late Justice Antonin Scalia, current Justice Clarence Thomas, and President Donald Trump himself – leaving the future of libel law contested, as it has been since 1964.

Type
Chapter
Information
Diagnosing from a Distance
Debates over Libel Law, Media, and Psychiatric Ethics from Barry Goldwater to Donald Trump
, pp. 192 - 223
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Furor
  • John Martin-Joy
  • Book: Diagnosing from a Distance
  • Online publication: 29 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108761222.008
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  • Furor
  • John Martin-Joy
  • Book: Diagnosing from a Distance
  • Online publication: 29 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108761222.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Furor
  • John Martin-Joy
  • Book: Diagnosing from a Distance
  • Online publication: 29 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108761222.008
Available formats
×