Reprinted with permission from Alternet

President Donald Trump shocked the U.S. military and security officials over the weekend with the announcement that he would be withdrawing U.S. troops from northeastern Syria — where they have been working with Kurdish-led forces. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the news, although Trump warned on Twitter that he will “totally destroy and obliterate the economy of Turkey” if “Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits.” And Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert (who hosts the PBS series “This Emotional Life”) found that tweet disturbing, saying that it seriously raises questions about Trump’s mental health.

Monday on Twitter, Gilbert posted, “Am I the only psychologist who finds this claim and this threat truly alarming? Wouldn’t these normally trigger a mental health hold? Right and left must set aside politics and agree that there is a serious problem here.”

As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019

Gilbert’s tweet inspired a lot of responses. Author Adrian Bethune posted, “You don’t even need to be a psychologist to reach that conclusion.” @Woman_on_Pause tweeted, “I am beyond alarmed. Doesn’t take a Ph.D. to realize this man is and has been off the rails mentally.” And @zaphirax  posted, “It’s no more insane than when he proclaimed to be ‘The Chosen One’ and retweeted that he was God the King of Israel.”

Am I the only psychologist who finds this claim and this threat truly alarming? Wouldn’t these normally trigger a mental health hold? Right and Left must set aside politics and agree that there is a serious problem here. https://t.co/1JJvznG1oU

— Daniel Gilbert (@DanTGilbert) October 7, 2019

I'm a bookkeeper from Florida. I am beyond alarmed.

Doesn't take a Ph.D. to realize this man is and has been, off the rails mentally.

— Steely Jan (@Woman_on_Pause) October 7, 2019

Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northeastern Syria has drawn strong criticism from everyone from GOP activist Meghan McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham (normally a Trump sycophant) to liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.