by Bandy X. Lee
First published 2024
Dr. Bandy X. Lee examines the psychological mechanisms behind Donald Trump's enduring political influence. The forensic psychiatrist, who specializes in violent behavior, applies her clinical expertise to decode what she terms "Trump Contagion." Lee traces how Trump maintains his following despite COVID-19 mismanagement, the January 6 insurrection, and criminal convictions. She argues that fascism functions as mental pathology rather than political ideology. The author previously predicted the Capitol attack in her 2020 work and received validation from Congress members during the crisis. Lee now warns that Trump's psychological deterioration spreads symptoms throughout American culture. Her analysis connects individual pathology to broader democratic threats, positioning Trump's case as an existential danger to both American institutions and humanity itself.
Genres: political-science, non-fiction, biography-memoir, current-affairs, academic, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: existential-threat, unreliable-narrator
Setting: America, Capitol
Period: 2020, 2021
293 pages · Kindle Edition · World Mental Health Coalition, Inc.
Content warnings: mental-illness