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I have always admired Dr. Taylor's excellent work in the area of psychosomatics and alexithymia where we have had an overlapping interest. However, in regard to our American President Donald Trump, Dr. Taylor (a Canadian), and I have starkly different opinions. We have a “causality dilemma.” In essence, has president Trump and his personality, phallic aggression, and hugely unorthodox political behavior caused the hatreds, divisions, fears, anxieties, and deep-seated political differences in America and beyond? Or, is Trump looked to as a charismatic, aggressive leader at a crucial time in history, desiring to rebuild an American national image of economic and military strength, and to reform the gridlock of corruption and ineffective leadership in Washington, DC? The recent anniversary of D-Day and the Normandy invasion was a powerful historical echo of the need for American-led, Canadian, Australian, and Allied military and political strength. After eight years of what many Americans may have considered tepid leadership by Barack Obama as commander-in-chief, the need for returning America to a strong diplomatic leadership position in the world backed by military strength was, in my opinion, long overdue.
Many psychologists and psychiatrists—and Dr. Taylor one of them—state or imply that Trump is mentally ill, endangers America, and damages mental health in America and beyond. I stoutly disagree with Taylor and these colleagues. I think that they dislike —or despise —Donald Trump, and, their negative countertransference feelings toward Trump lead to negative projections onto Trump. The projections often take the form of wild applied psychoanalysis1 and psychologically weaponized