President Donald Trump has said he would consider bringing back 'insane asylums' to detain people with serious mental illness, arguing it would make America's streets safer. In an interview with the Daily Caller published on Monday, Trump acknowledged the plan would be 'massively expensive' but lamented the release of patients from such institutions decades ago.
Trump recalled his childhood in New York, saying, 'They released them all into society because they couldn’t afford it... You can’t have these people walking around... so dangerous, so dangerous.' He did not specify what he meant by 'insane asylums,' a term historically associated with brutal conditions and involuntary long-term confinement.
The president has previously promised to use 'every tool, lever, and authority to get the homeless off our streets' and to return severely mentally ill individuals to institutions 'where they belong.' However, he falsely claimed that Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital in New York had been closed by a governor, when it remains open.
Trump also made confusing remarks about women 'screaming' and 'spitting' at men, saying, 'They spit, we hit.' He defended allowing Chinese students to study in the U.S., calling a ban 'very insulting' to China and harmful to American institutions.
