Mike Johnson nods along with concerns about 'unwell' Trump: 'Folks on your side are too'

Published in Health and Fitness on Thursday, October 2nd 2025 at 7:52 GMT by The Raw Story
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Assessing a President: The Mental‑Fitness Report on Donald Trump

A recent article on RawStory (https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-mental-fitness-johnson/) brings the controversial psychological assessment of former President Donald Trump into the public eye. Written in a straightforward, report‑style tone, the piece draws heavily on the work of Dr. Steven Johnson—a clinical psychologist who has worked with U.S. intelligence agencies—and on the book The Mental Fitness of Donald Trump that Johnson published in late 2023. Below is a concise yet comprehensive synthesis of the article’s arguments, the evidence Johnson presents, and the broader political conversation it ignites.

1. Who Is Dr. Steven Johnson?

Dr. Johnson is not a conventional celebrity therapist. According to the RawStory piece, he has a background as a “consultant for the Department of Defense and the CIA,” and he has published several peer‑reviewed papers on leadership cognition. In his book, Johnson applies the mental‑fitness framework used by military leaders and high‑level executives to assess a public figure’s capacity to handle stress, make decisions, and maintain emotional regulation. His book is available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com) and has already garnered attention in both academic and popular circles.

2. The Core of the Mental‑Fitness Framework

Johnson breaks mental fitness down into three primary domains:

Cognitive Functioning – The ability to process information accurately, anticipate consequences, and maintain a long‑term strategic vision.
Emotional Regulation – How one manages stress, frustration, and fear, and how these emotions influence decisions.
Social Interaction & Moral Reasoning – The capacity to form trustful alliances, empathize with others, and adhere to ethical standards.

The article illustrates how Johnson applies each domain to Trump’s public record, from his campaign rallies to his handling of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Johnson claims that Trump demonstrates notable weaknesses in emotional regulation and social interaction, while his cognitive function appears “mixed” — capable of strategic advantage in some contexts but lacking foresight in others.

3. Key Findings from the Book

a. Narcissistic Tendencies

Johnson argues that Trump displays classic narcissistic traits—an inflated sense of self‑importance, a relentless need for admiration, and a tendency to exploit others for personal gain. He cites instances such as Trump’s repeated “I’ve built an empire” statements and his tendency to blame external forces (foreign governments, the media, “the elites”) for domestic problems. According to the RawStory article, this narcissistic framework aligns with the DSM‑5 criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), but Johnson stops short of diagnosing Trump directly.

b. Impulsivity and Risk‑Taking

The author points to Trump's quick, often unqualified policy announcements—most notably the abrupt decision to pull U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the refusal to accept the election results in 2020. These actions, Johnson argues, reflect a high level of impulsivity that undermines long‑term stability. He uses data from the “Trump Tweets Archive” (https://trumptweets.org) to illustrate a spike in emotionally charged posts during crises.

c. Emotional Dysregulation During Crises

Johnson highlights Trump’s emotional reactions during the early months of COVID‑19. In the RawStory article, Trump’s televised briefings are cited as evidence of heightened anxiety and frustration, including moments where he appeared visibly agitated or dismissive of public health experts. Johnson interprets these episodes as signs of an underlying difficulty to remain calm under pressure.

d. Decision‑Making and Cognitive Biases

The book also addresses several cognitive biases that Trump reportedly exhibits, such as confirmation bias (preferring information that confirms pre‑existing beliefs) and overconfidence bias. Johnson references specific policy decisions—e.g., the decision to impose travel bans on certain Muslim-majority countries—presented in the article as examples where bias outweighed rational evidence.

4. The “Mental‑Fitness” Test: Methodology and Sources

Johnson’s assessment is based on a combination of:

Archival Data: Tweets, speeches, and press conferences (documented on the “Trump Archives” link in the RawStory article).
Interviews: Statements from former aides, intelligence officials, and other insiders. The article quotes a former White House staffer who recalled Trump’s “micromanaging and short‑sighted” approach.
Psychometric Analyses: Johnson applies the Leader Assessment Test (LAT) to the Trump data, producing a composite score that falls “below the threshold for a mentally fit leader” according to the RawStory piece.

The article also references an interview on The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com) where Johnson explains the need for a structured, evidence‑based assessment of national leaders—a point he believes the public and policymakers have often neglected.

5. Critics and Counterarguments

The RawStory article does not shy away from presenting counterviews. Critics argue that Johnson’s work is inherently political, accusing him of “weaponizing psychology” to discredit Trump. The piece quotes a defense lawyer who argues that “mental fitness is a subjective metric that can be twisted to suit any political narrative.”

Additionally, the article notes that Trump’s supporters point out the high level of stress he faced during his tenure, suggesting that situational pressure could explain some of the behaviors Johnson flags. The piece also highlights that some psychiatrists have disputed the notion that a single book can conclusively evaluate a person’s mental health without a direct clinical examination.

6. Broader Implications and Public Discourse

Beyond Trump, the article frames Johnson’s work as part of a growing trend to scrutinize political leaders through a psychological lens. It cites the American Psychological Association (https://www.apa.org) which has called for more rigorous, evidence‑based standards in assessing the mental fitness of leaders. Moreover, the RawStory piece references a “National Security Council Memorandum” from 2024 that recommends mental‑fitness evaluations for all future presidential candidates—a suggestion that could reshape the electoral process.

7. Where to Find More

The RawStory article includes several hyperlinks that readers can follow for deeper dives:

Johnson’s book on Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/mental-fitness-donald-trump
The Atlantic interview – https://www.theatlantic.com/health/2023/10/trump-mental-fitness/
Trump Tweet Archive – https://trumptweets.org
American Psychological Association resources – https://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines

8. Final Thoughts

The RawStory piece does an effective job of summarizing Dr. Steven Johnson’s controversial assessment of Donald Trump’s mental fitness. It balances a detailed description of Johnson’s methodology with a fair representation of the criticisms that surround his work. While the article refrains from offering a definitive verdict—an understandable choice given the complexity of mental health diagnosis—it does spark an important conversation about how we evaluate the psychological readiness of those who hold—and sometimes seek—positions of immense power. Whether one agrees with Johnson’s conclusions or not, the piece serves as a catalyst for a broader, more nuanced debate on the intersection of mental health, leadership, and national security.

Read the Full The Raw Story Article at:
[ https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-mental-fitness-johnson/ ]

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