Trump needs a psych evaluation after surviving shooting: legal analyst

Former President Donald Trump should be given a psychological evaluation after surviving an assassination attempt at his Pennsylvania rally over the weekend, national security lawyer and political commentator Bradley Moss suggested.

The issue, he wrote on X, is that situations like this can cause severe trauma that might affect their mental health.

"The former president was the victim of an attempted killing," wrote Moss. "Putting aside the need for the voting public to have a medical update on any physical issues (they appear minor), it would be nice for him to undergo a psych evaluation. There is this thing called trauma. And survivor's guilt."

The attack left Trump slightly bloodied but otherwise unharmed; the gunman, a young man named Thomas Crooks who according to sources hung out in conservative circles and was rejected from his high school rifle club for poor marksmanship, was killed, along with a local firefighter, Corey Compartore, whose family described as heroically shielding them. Two other people were critically injured.

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All of this comes amid widespread speculation and reporting about the mental health of both presidential candidates. President Joe Biden has faced alarm from within his own party after a low-energy debate performance last month in which he seemed to be unfocused. He has since carried out a blitz of public events and interviews seeking to reassure supporters and donors of his ability to continue campaigning and leading as president.

Trump, for his part, has long faced speculation from observers about his own mental competence, owing to bizarre and erratic behavior at rallies that include confusing former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). He has denied any mental decline, and repeatedly bragged about "acing" the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a common neurological test that doesn't actually affirmatively prove the subject doesn't have dementia.