White House officials called psychiatrist for fear of 'unraveling' Trump

White House officials were reportedly so concerned about Trump’s mental state and increasingly erratic behavior last year that they contacted a renowned Yale psychiatrist for help.

Dr. Bandy Lee, who edited the best-selling book “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,” told Salon and The New York Daily News on Thursday that two senior administration officials reached out to her two separate times on the same day last October because Trump was “scaring” them and they believed he was “unraveling.”

She also said a Trump family friend contacted her around the same time to express concerns about his mental state.

Because of her role as a public educator, Lee felt it would be inappropriate to provide any type of therapeutic advice, so she referred them to outside resources for help. That’s also why she says she didn’t mention the incidents until now.

“I thought I would be more effective by retaining my public role then getting involved in either the treatment of those who were feeling scared or in the actual intervention with the President,” she told The New York Daily News.

Lee’s startling revelations come amid renewed questions about Trump’s fitness for office, this time stemming from new details about his behavior revealed in a tell-all book by veteran journalist Bob Woodward, as well as in a New York Times op-ed authored by an anonymous senior administration official sounding the alarm about Trump’s instability.

Lee said she wasn’t surprised by any of the behavior described in Woodward’s book, telling Salon that “it is all consistent with the psychological signs we observed and warned against 18 months ago.”

“We now warn that things will rapidly deteriorate and that the president should submit to an urgent, independent mental health evaluation by an appropriate specialist, as is warranted,” Lee told Salon.

Lee gave a similar warning last December, when she briefed more than a dozen members of Congress on Trump’s mental state and fitness to serve.

Noting Trump’s past behavior, including his penchant for believing in conspiracy theories, lying, and denying things he has admitted before, Lee told lawmakers at the time that Trump was spiraling out of control and would “become uncontainable with the pressures of the presidency.”

“He’s going to unravel, and we are seeing the signs,” she told the concerned lawmakers.

Lee is hoping that lawmakers will heed her advice this time, telling Salon, “We may be delayed, but it is still not too late. The 25th Amendment is a political decision, but it would set in motion the proper treatment of an individual showing his signs of instability.”

While it remains to be seen whether Congress will actually take any action, one thing is clear: It seems that the only person who isn’t concerned about Trump is Trump himself — and that alone is cause for concern.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.