In the wake of Joe Biden’s admittedly disastrous performance in the June 27th presidential debate, many observers on both sides of the aisle have suggested he submit to a psychological evaluation in order to demonstrate his cognitive abilities. But Biden has sidestepped the issue, saying to George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, “Look, I have a cognitive test every single day.” The response seemed evasive to many and did nothing to assuage the public’s concerns.
Is there any way the Biden campaign could possibly leverage this regrettable situation to their advantage? Any way to turn this particularly rancid barrel of lemons into lemonade? I think there just might be: Joe Biden should agree to take the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, but only if Donald Trump agrees to take the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a rapid screening instrument used to determine whether the subject suffers from mild cognitive dysfunction. This is the same exam that Trump passed in 2018. (In Trump’s typically self-aggrandizing parlance, he “aced it.”) The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), on the other hand, is a test used to assess personality traits and psychopathology. Why the different tests? Because voters who are most familiar with both candidates aren’t nearly as concerned that Trump will be unable to properly recall a list of words. They’re far more concerned that he might be a paranoid, delusional sociopath with narcissistic personality disorder. Yes, these are quite different tests. But why shouldn’t Biden make his taking one conditional on Trump taking the other?
Trump’s mental health has been a concern for voters and mental health professionals alike for years. In 2017, Bandy X. Lee, a psychiatrist and assistant clinical professor in law and psychiatry at Yale, organized a professional conference to discuss Trump’s mental health. Called Duty to Warn, the conference resulted in the publication of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, a collection of essays by 27 psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health experts (including such luminaries as Noam Chomsky, Gail Sheehy, and Philip Zimbardo), all of whom concluded that Trump’s public behavior suggests serious mental health issues and that his presidency poses a grave threat to the country.
Most mental health professionals have been reluctant to even discuss this issue publicly. Section 7 of the American Psychiatric Association’s Principles of Medical Ethics (passed in 1973 and known as “the Goldwater Rule”) prohibits mental health professionals from diagnosing individuals whom they haven’t personally examined. But presumably there’s nothing to prevent a mental health professional from administering a psychological test at the subject’s own request. If Trump himself asked to take the MMPI as a precondition of Biden taking the MoCA, could the APA really forbid it?
Some will argue that this would be weaponizing psychological exams. But with so many Republicans clamoring for Biden to take a cognitive test, I believe we’ve already breached that boundary. And not to put too fine a point on it, but the whole country is standing on the precipice of fascism. So perhaps this isn’t the best time for Americans to be so squeamish about such things.
Would Trump really agree to take the MMPI? He might, if he thought not accepting the challenge would make him appear weak. But even if he doesn’t, the challenge itself puts the topic of Trump’s possible mental illness front and center in the conversation, where it belongs. Once the challenge has been presented and publicized, voters may well question Trump’s refusal to accept it, just as some are now questioning Biden’s recent sidesteps. And if Biden takes and passes the MoCA and Trump refuses to take the MMPI, the Dems will still have achieved a significant victory.
In fact, it may not even be necessary for Biden to personally challenge Trump to take the exam. If anyone reading this post thinks this idea has potential, feel free to circulate the link. If the idea begins to gain currency in social media, Trump may be forced to address it regardless of anything Biden does.
Despite extensive private speculation on the subject, there’s always been a great deal of reluctance to publicly question Donald Trump’s sanity. But if Trump is going to question his opponent’s mental fitness, there’s no reason Biden shouldn’t do likewise. Of course, however either man performs on a psychological exam, it will not automatically disqualify either from running for or holding office, and for the moment no one is suggesting it should. But it will give voters important data about the candidates that they wouldn’t otherwise have.
If Biden’s mental health is going to be part of the election conversation, so then should that of his opponent. After all, fair’s fair. Focusing on Biden’s mental functioning and ignoring Trump’s seems as unbalanced as—well, as Trump himself frequently appears.