John Gartner (psychologist)

John D. Gartner is an American psychologist, psychotherapist, author, activist, and former part-time assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University Medical School.

Education

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Gartner graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University. He received a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and then completed his post-doctoral training at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.[1]

Career

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Gartner is a psychotherapist with private practices in Baltimore and Manhattan,[2] where he specialized in the treatment of borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder and depression. He was a part-time professor, until 2015, for 28 years at Johns Hopkins University Medical School,[3] and is a widely published author of books, and of articles for scientific and other journals.[4]

Activism

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Gartner has described himself as a member of "The Resistance" against Donald Trump, stating:

"I went through a similar process like some of the other people you have spoken to who have decided to step away from being active members of 'the resistance.' For five years I did that work with total energy and commitment. I was sounding the alarm about Trump basically every day. I did hundreds of interviews. I made it my full-time job like I was at war. But after five years, when Biden was inaugurated, I thought, okay, the war's over, I can take off my metaphorical uniform."[5]

Gartner has described Trump as "an animal" who is "convinced that he actually believes that he has some type of God-like powers". Gartner has described Trump as "unwell, dangerously unfit, malignant personality who has reaped massive destruction", who is "hypomanic", "showing gross signs of dementia", and other mental illness and personality disorders.[6]

2017 mental fitness for Office of President Trump petition

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In the first months of 2017, Gartner collected the signatures of more than 25,000 mental health professionals. The petition, "Mental Health Professionals Declare Trump is Mentally Ill And Must Be Removed", was sent to the Minority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York.[7] At the end of April 2017, Gartner sent the petition to Washington D.C., with more than 41,000 signatures.[3]

According to Gartner, Trump's mental handicaps are a mixture of narcissism, paranoia, sociopathy and a measure of sadism.[8] The petition's declaration stated:

"We, the undersigned mental health professionals (please state your degree), believe in our professional judgment that Donald Trump manifests a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States. And we respectfully request he be removed from office, according to article 4 of the 25th amendment to the Constitution, which states that the president will be replaced if he is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."[9]

Duty to Warn

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In 2017, Gartner founded Duty to Warn, an organization of mental health professionals and laypersons who consider it their duty to warn patients, clients, and the community-at-large, when aware of potential danger.[10][11]

2024 probable dementia mental fitness for Office of President Trump petition

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In an attempt to raise public awareness about Trump's apparent cognitive challenges and the extreme danger they represent to the nation if he were to take back the White House in the 2024 United States presidential election, Gartner started a petition at Change.org called "We diagnose Trump with probable dementia: A petition for licensed professionals only".[12] John Gartner, Harry Segal, and their expert guests, weekly Podcast sessions analyze the psyche of Donald Trump, "documenting his cognitive decline and (...) his malignant narcissism" e.g. at Spotify.[13][better source needed]

Bibliography

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Gartner is the author of numerous scholarly articles and several books, including:

  • The Hypomanic Edge (2005), in which he argues that many American leaders could be diagnosed as "hypomanic"[14][15]
  • In Search of Bill Clinton (2008), which claimed Bill Clinton showed manic tendencies[16]
  • Rocket Man: Nuclear Madness and the Mind of Donald Trump
  • The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President(2017), contributor

References

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  1. ^ "John D Gartner Bio". johngartner.com. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  2. ^ "Shrinks Battle Over Diagnosing Donald Trump". Psychology Today. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Bulman, May (April 21, 2017). "Donald Trump has 'dangerous mental illness', say psychiatry experts at Yale conference". The Independent. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  4. ^ "Dr. John Gartner, PHD, Psychologist, Baltimore, MD, 21204".
  5. ^ DeVega, Chauncey (February 23, 2024). "Dr. John Gartner on a tale of two brains: "Biden's brain is aging. Trump's brain is dementing"". Salon. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  6. ^ DeVega, Chauncey (February 23, 2024). "Dr. John Gartner on a tale of two brains: "Biden's brain is aging. Trump's brain is dementing"". Salon. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  7. ^ Willingham, Emily (February 19, 2017). "he Trump Psych Debate: Is It Wrong To Say He's Mentally Ill?". Forbes. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Devega, Chauncey (June 13, 2018). "Psychologist John Gartner on Trump's behavior: 'It's a coup that's not moving slowly anymore'". Salon.
  9. ^ "Mental Health Professionals Declare Trump is Mentally Ill And Must Be Removed", Change.org petition, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  10. ^ Sword, Rosemary K.M.; Zimbardo, Philip (February 27, 2017). "The Elephant in the Room". Psychology Today. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  11. ^ Sanders, Linley (October 14, 2017). "President Trump is Unstable, Dangerous and Could Start Nuclear War, Doctors Warn". Newsweek. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  12. ^ DeVega, Chauncey (March 26, 2024). ""Hastening his deterioration": Dr. John Gartner on impact of court trials on "Trump's fragile brain"". Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  13. ^ Shrinking Trump. Podcast. https://open.spotify.com/show/4xuuqHxzruLEsQXtTuJjP4
  14. ^ "The Hypomanic Edge". Publishers Weekly. 2005. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  15. ^ Karlgaard, Rich (June 2, 2006). "Blessed Are the Hypomanic". Forbes. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  16. ^ Yardley, Jonathan (October 26, 2008). "Jonathan Yardley on 'In Search of Bill Clinton'". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
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