Concerns over the mental stability of the president have been well documented at this point. Trump regularly puts his volatility on full display through his endless tweeting, seemingly under the impression that it’s a good idea to taunt a nuclear-armed state on Twitter.
Considering this, reports from inside the White House about presidential aides questioning the president’s mental fitness are not exactly surprising. Such reporting was included in the recently published incendiary book from author Michael Wolff, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.
Now, a member of the U.S. House from Pennsylvania has an idea to keep concerns like the ones presently circulating about the president from ever arising again.
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle announced Tuesday that he had introduced the cleverly named “STABLE GENIUS Act,” named after one of the president’s most curious defenses against the credible allegations of mental incompetence raised by Wolff’s book.
The President believes he is a “stable genius.” I do not. Today, I introduced the
Standardizing
Testing and
Accountability
Before
Large
ElectionsGiving
Electors
Necessary
Information for
Unobstructed
SelectionAct to ensure that Presidential candidates are fit to lead. pic.twitter.com/ZalCqySlo8
— Rep. Brendan Boyle (@CongBoyle) January 9, 2018
Last Saturday, responding to Wolff’s book, Trump wrote, in part:
‘Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart… I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius …. and a very stable genius at that!’
Trump’s claims are self defeating here since he’s angrily taking to Twitter to shout about how much of a stable genius that he is. “Stable” people don’t feel the need to employ a nickname for their political opponents at essentially every single opportunity, as Trump has done yet again in the very tweets that are supposed to convince us that he’s stable.
The examples, of course, of the president’s apparent instability do not end with those tweets, and in that light, Rep. Boyle has announced the STABLE GENIUS Act.
The two words “stable genius” in the bill name are an acronym, making the bill’s more full name the “Standardizing Testing and Accountability Before Large Elections Giving Electors Necessary Information for Unobstructed Selection Act” — which is lengthy, but works.
As Rep. Boyle put it:
‘The President believes he is a ‘stable genius.’ I do not. Before voting for the highest office in the land, Americans have a right to know whether an individual has the physical and mental fitness to serve as President of the United States… I believe we must also be proactive and do all we can to ensure a situation like this does not arise again.’
Boyle’s legislation, if passed, would require presidential candidates to file a report with the FEC that they had undergone an exam conducted by the medical office under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy.
To be sure, considering the fact that Republicans currently control both houses of Congress, Boyle’s legislation isn’t particularly likely to get off the ground — but Democrats could become the majority party in at least one house of Congress if not both following this year’s midterm elections.
Democrats currently enjoy a sizable lead in generic Congressional ballot polling, and there is no real sign of that lead going away anytime soon with less than a year to go until the midterm elections.
Featured Image via JIM WATSON/ AFP/ Getty Images
