Trump blames mass shootings on mentally ill, calls for more mental institutions

[webfact]

Trump blames mass shootings on mentally ill, calls for more mental institutions

 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey U.S. August 15, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday he supports meaningful background checks for gun buyers, but he told reporters that those responsible for recent mass shootings were mentally ill and the United States should build more mental institutions.

 

Trump said he had been speaking with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and many other Republicans about the problem of gun violence and that "they don't want to have insane people, dangerous people, really bad people having guns."

 

"We don't want crazy people owning guns," the president added. "It's them. They pull the trigger. The gun doesn't pull the trigger. They pull the trigger. So we have to look very seriously at mental illness."

 

The president is under pressure to curb gun violence following mass shootings that killed dozens of people this month in Texas and Ohio. His comments came as he started a trip from New Jersey to speak to a campaign rally in New Hampshire.

 

"We're looking at the whole gun situation," Trump said when asked whether he was pressing Republicans on tougher background checks for gun buyers.

 

"I do want people to remember the words mental illness. These people are mentally ill. ... These are mentally ill people and people have to start thinking about it. I think we have to start building institutions again," he said, adding that many U.S. mental institutions were closed in the 1960s and 70s and their patients released onto the streets.

 

"A lot of our conversation has to do with the fact that we have to open up institutions," Trump added. "We can't let these people be on the streets."

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by David Alexander and Alistair Bell; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-16

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[leeneeds]

Volunteer your own admission Mr president, 

as you do have lose marbles for a brain.

[Bluespunk]

The NRA must be very pleased that their investment is paying off so well. 

 

trump is dancing like a puppet on a string to any tune they decide to play. 

[Tug]

Are we projecting again Donald?kinda like the pot calling the kettle black lmo also he is angeling towards doing nothing to appease his base 

[Bluespunk]

15 minutes ago, leeneeds said:

Volunteer your own admission Mr president, 

as you do have lose marbles for a brain.

“Never before did I realize that mental illness could have the aspect of power, power. Think of it: perhaps the more insane a man is, the more powerful he could become...Fair makes the old brain reel, doesn't it?”

 

Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

[bendejo]

If there is any indication of the poor state of mental health treatment in the US it is DT.  Not only himself, but, er, how many people voted for him?

 

And then there's this guy in US Congress who is saying "where would we be without rape and incest?"  How did this guy get this far without being spotted?

 

 

[Estrada]

Anyone who thinks he needs an assault style weapon is mentally challenged, but Trump is not going to do anything to control guns and the daily mass shootings in the USA. 258 mass shootings so far this year. 6 policeman shot yesterday and the Mayor and Police Chief called for immediate action on gun control to protect the police and public. Trump's answer is to repeat the NRA talking point that the shootings are being carried out because a predecessor let mental patients out of mental hospitals and closed many down. So Trump's answer, no problem with guns and assault rifles, the problem is mental illness. The problem is that many of the shooters are not mentally ill and even if they were, most are only found to be mentally ill after the shootings.

[Skallywag]

POTUS has given "False or misleading claims"  12,000+ times, so not a reliable source for any type of "news"

 

I really wish the news media would quit covering the POTUS for at least a week.  Especially quit copying and pasting his tweets and calling that "news".  Anyone with a twitter account can read those rantings.  

 

Stop feeding his obsessive ego and narcissistic personality and once his news coverage stops, POTUS will end up in a mental institution himself.   

I really think without seeing himself on TV or being quoted on TV , the Trumpdud will have a mental breakdown 55 
 

 

 

[quandow]

Later that afternoon his administration made drastic budget cuts to mental health institutions.

[Lungstib]

The fact that they have this president does suggest an awful outbreak of mental illness in the USA. But are they really 100 times crazier than the rest of the world, as suggested by the number of mass shootings? 

[Credo]

Of the mass shooters that have been studied fewer than 20% have a mental illness.   That would mean roughly 80% do not have a mental illness.    It is extremely difficult to predict who will use extreme violence and many of those involved have little or no past history of violence and certainly nothing that would indicate a potential mass shooter.

 

The other concern is that it further stigmatizes people with mental illnesses.   The vast majority of people with mental illness are not a danger to anyone.   

 

[animalmagic]

5 minutes ago, Credo said:

The other concern is that it further stigmatizes people with mental illnesses.   The vast majority of people with mental illness are not a danger to anyone.   

Followed by a greater concern on who decides that people have a mental illness.  Some people in power think you're crazy if you don't agree with them.

[Credo]

6 minutes ago, animalmagic said:

Followed by a greater concern on who decides that people have a mental illness.  Some people in power think you're crazy if you don't agree with them.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about that.   It's done by mental health professionals and is based on pretty strict criteria.   

 

One of the biggest problem is that many young people are difficult to diagnose because they are not fully developed and mental illness may not be fully manifested.   Since many of the shooters are young, they may not have been in contact with mental health services that would identify them as being a danger to others.

 

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, Credo said:

13 minutes ago, animalmagic said:

Followed by a greater concern on who decides that people have a mental illness.  Some people in power think you're crazy if you don't agree with them.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about that.   It's done by mental health professionals and is based on pretty strict criteria.   

 

One of the biggest problem is that many young people are difficult to diagnose because they are not fully developed and mental illness may not be fully manifested.   Since many of the shooters are young, they may not have been in contact with mental health services that would identify them as being a danger to others.

Oh, initially I thought you were referring to people in power being diagnosed by mental health professionals.

[scorecard]

The old story it's not the guns fault which is a totally flawed argument. 

 

 

[Emdog]

"We don't want crazy people owning guns," the president added. "It's them."

So says the President who relaxed anemic gun laws so as to allow mentally ill to own guns...

[thaiguzzi]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

but he told reporters that those responsible for recent mass shootings were mentally ill and the United States should build more mental institutions.

 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

"We don't want crazy people owning guns," the president added. "It's them. They pull the trigger. The gun doesn't pull the trigger. They pull the trigger. So we have to look very seriously at mental illness."

[bendejo]

The 2nd Amendment does not address mental deficiency.

Having a criminal record is no reason to deprive someone of the right to own a gun.

Welcome to America, where insanity trickles down from the top.

 

 

[PatOngo]

From what I have witnessed over the past 3 years, the White House has become an institution for the mentally unstable!

[klauskunkel]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

"We don't want crazy people owning guns," the president added. "It's them. They pull the trigger. The gun doesn't pull the trigger. They pull the trigger. So we have to look very seriously at mental illness."

We also don't want crazy people to vote. It's them. They mark the "X" The ballot doesn't put the "X". They mark the "X". So we have to look very seriously at mental illness, especially during a presidential election.

[Paul Henry]

Quote from POTUS "Having a mental illness makes you bad and dangerous." Again showing his ignorance many people with this infliction are basic human beings who need help not locking up in another Trump Tower. Once again divide and conquer

[LomSak27]

1 hour ago, Lungstib said:

The fact that they have this president does suggest an awful outbreak of mental illness in the USA. But are they really 100 times crazier than the rest of the world, as suggested by the number of mass shootings?

But of course mass shootings, are just an aspect of gun fatality/homicide rates. Looking at the raw statistics, we find that many countries are crazier than the USA. Shock, Gasp, Horror!   ????     BTW do you reside in Thailand? I happened to notice something while looking at these statisitics ....  

[Colabamumbai]

Listening to his tweets causes killings. 

[Basil B]

Firstly there are many forms of mental illness, a psychiatrist once told me an IQ of less than 70 is one, but there are many forms of mental illness and they could affect people of all intelligences, but most persons with a mental illness are no danger to society. 

 

50 years ago we had lots of mental hospitals here in the UK where the subnormal were locked up out of sight, many stories where girls/young women were locked up for longer than a murderer on a life sentence for simply getting pregnant or even just being promiscuous.

 

The real issue is the nutters who think of every excuse to avoid gun control.

 

[Sir Swagman]

^{And this assessment from someone that has a hole in the corner of their marble bag!}

[soalbundy]

If DT sat in silence for a moment he would have a good inkling about mental illness

[edwinchester]

Trump will never admit his own part in these shootings.

The President calling people rapists, criminals, terrorists and job stealers, when all they're really doing is trying to escape a desperately poor life, is all a white, right wing nationalist needs as an excuse or reason to pull the trigger.

Now it's time to throw his 'soldiers' under the bus calling them mentally ill.

[wwest5829]

Just listened to The Donald speaking to this blame on mental illness and not the guns. I do note that he, not so strangely, ignoring stating that this was the policy of then President Ronald Reagan (R) to reduce federal spending. Consistent, reduce taxes on the wealthy, cut social program funding support.

[rgraham]

It will be interesting to see how the dimwits react to logic.

[Scott]

Troll posts removed.