Psychologist Stephen Soldz: With Trump's coup threat, America now faces a "defining crisis"
Trump represents "classical fascism" and Republicans are committed to "abolishing democracy," Soldz tells Salon
IGOR DERYSH
SEPTEMBER 26, 2020 10:00AM (UTC)
A prominent psychologist who has sounded the alarm of the danger posed by President Trump's administration for years warns that Americans should take seriously threats of violence by Trump's supporters or risk being unprepared for a defining crisis.
Dr. Stephen Soldz, a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in Massachusetts and a professor at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, told Salon that he was "surprised" by the degree to which the Republican Party has become an "overtly anti-democratic party" under Trump and said that "propaganda" outlets like Fox News help prop up his presidency by feeding his supporters' "illusions."
Soldz, who has led efforts to end the use of torture by the U.S. government and to prevent psychologists from participating in torture and similar abuses, also warned that Americans should take heed of the authoritarian threats of a "coup" by Trump associates like Roger Stone.
Soldz, who is the former president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility and co-founder of the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology, previously joined dozens of other mental health professionals to warn of the dangers posed by the president's mental health in "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump," a book edited by Yale psychiatrist Dr. Bandy X. Lee.
https://www.salon.com/2020/09/26/psychologist-stephen-soldz-with-trumps-coup-threat-america-now-faces-a-defining-crisis/
This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.
IGOR DERYSH
Igor Derysh is a staff writer at Salon. His work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald and Baltimore Sun.
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