Donald Trump is not the first US president to be called unhinged. Many of his predecessors are thought to have endured mental health conditions ranging from social anxiety to bipolar disorder and even psychopathy. A 2006 study by Duke University Medical Center estimated that 49% of presidents suffered from a mental malady at some stage in their life, with 27% affected while in office.
George Washington apparently attempted suicide by redcoat during the American Revolutionary War. In the summer of 1776, the future first president lapsed into a catatonic state as British soldiers charged at him. His aides grabbed the reins of his horse and spirited him to safety. One general later said Washington was 'so vexed at the infamous conduct of his troops that he sought death rather than life'.
John Adams, the second president, was described by rival Thomas Jefferson as 'sometimes absolutely mad'. Theodore Roosevelt was theorised by the Journal of Abnormal Psychology to be a 'psychological example of the distortion of conscious mental processes'. Woodrow Wilson, after a stroke, was accused of turning the White House into an insane asylum, though bars on windows were actually from Roosevelt's tenure.
The Duke University study found that one in four presidents met the diagnostic criteria for depression, including Wilson and James Madison. Teddy Roosevelt and John Adams had bipolar disorder, while Thomas Jefferson and Ulysses Grant struggled with social anxiety. Professor Jonathan Davidson said: 'The pressures of such a job can trigger issues in someone that have been latent. Being president is extremely stressful.'
Donald Trump, who maintains he is 'a very stable genius', has been the subject of numerous psychiatric analyses, with titles such as 'The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump' and 'Rocket Man: Nuclear Madness and the Mind of Donald Trump'. However, the historical record shows that mental health challenges have been a recurring theme among US presidents.
