Should presidential candidates be required to pass mental health tests?

[msc545]

We've had too many presidents with obvious mental disorders. In order to avoid that in the future, perhaps a requirement that they should be tested before they names are placed on the ballot might be a good idea. What do you think?

[abc3643]

Yes and no.

Personally, yes, I would love a board of psychiatric professionals evaluate every person for public office of sufficiently high level so as to prevent Hitlers and Trumps before they go any further. However, it's just not feasible.

Specifically, the long form MMPI exam should be required test. It would then be evaluated by a psychiatric professional, and then, as required by law, released to the public.

However, that violates patient privacy. So, for instance, let's suppose Bob Smith is running for President, takes the MMPI, has his scores made public, the (unqualified) news media discuss it and Bob loses the race for President. That phase of his life is now over, but his MMPI results are forever public knowledge. That's unacceptable.

An alternative would be to have MMPI results be privately evaluated and have a pass/fail on the overall grades. This could only be done via a Constitutional amendment. However, it would never even get that far because the evaluation is opaque and there's no due process in violation of the 14th Amendment.

It's just unrealistic because that is unacceptable to the public.

Mmmmmaybe what could happen is another branch of government be created which includes a "Supreme Board" of psychiatrists. The Supreme Board members would have to be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Their job would be the administration, evaluation, and record keeping on all psychiatric tests of all required members of government.

Unfortunately, last week, the US Supreme Court just fucked everything up. Unless the Supreme Board members have lifetime appointments like Supreme Court members, the President can now fire any member at any time. So as not to be part of the Executive Branch of government (and thus immune to Presidential firings), the Supreme Board would have to be its own branch of government like the Judicial Branch.

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https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/06/court-allows-trump-to-fire-ftc-commissioner-and-overturns-major-restraint-on-presidential-power/
Supreme Court allows Trump to fire FTC commissioner and overturns major restraint on presidential power
By Amy Howe / Jun 29, 2026

Updated on June 29 at 8:15 p. m.

The Supreme Court on Monday gave President Donald Trump sweeping new authority over approximately two dozen multi-member agencies that Congress intended to be independent. By a vote of 6-3, the justices struck down a federal law that bars the president from firing members of the Federal Trade Commission except in cases of “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” That law, a majority of the justices ruled, violates the constitutional separation of powers between the three branches of government. And in reaching that decision, the court overruled its 91-year-old decision in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, which had upheld the law at the center of the dispute.

More broadly, Monday’s decision was a major victory for proponents of the “unitary executive” theory – the idea that the president should have complete control over the executive branch. Under this theory, the president should be able to fire any member of the executive branch, and laws – like the one that the court struck down – that restrict his ability to do so violate the separation of powers.
...

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ABOUT THE MMPI

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a standardized psychometric test used to assess adult personality and psychopathology. Clinicians and psychologists use it to help diagnose mental health disorders, develop treatment plans, screen high-risk job applicants, and provide forensic evaluations. [1, 2]

Current Versions of the MMPI

MMPI-3 (2020): The latest, most up-to-date version consisting of 335 true-or-false items. It takes approximately 35 to 50 minutes to complete.
MMPI-2 (1989): A widely used older version featuring 567 true-or-false items, taking about 60 to 90 minutes to complete.
MMPI-2-RF (2008): A restructured form consisting of 338 items, designed to provide a more focused and distinct approach to clinical assessment.
MMPI-A / MMPI-A-RF (Adolescent): Specialized versions tailored for teenagers aged 14 to 18. [6]
How It Works

The test yields scores across a series of specialized scales to measure specific traits:

Validity Scales: Designed to detect untruthful or inaccurate responses, such as intentional attempts to "fake good" (make themselves look better) or "fake bad" (exaggerate symptoms).
Clinical/Restructured Scales: Target specific psychological conditions like depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, and hypochondriasis.
Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) Scales: Assess broader personality traits related to psychopathology, such as aggressiveness, psychoticism, and negative emotionality. [8, 9]
Because the MMPI requires professional psychological training to administer and score accurately, it must be ordered or administered by a licensed professional. You can explore testing resources and professional training options through Pearson Assessments. [4]

AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Multiphasic_Personality_Inventory
[2] https://www.amazon.com/MMPI-Instruments-Assessing-Personality-Psychopathology/dp/0190065567
[3] https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-minnesota-multiphasic-personality-inventory-2795582
[4] https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/health-and-medicine/minnesota-multiphasic-personality-inventory-mmpi
[5] https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-57726-002
[6] https://www.reachlink.com/advice/psychotherapy/the-mmpi-test-a-comprehensive-mental-health-assessment-tool/
[7] https://www.tokyomentalhealth.com/minnesota-multiphasic-personality-inventory/
[8] https://post.ca.gov/portals/0/post_docs/publications/psychological-screening-manual/MMPI-2_MMPI-2_RF.pdf
[9] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2605647/

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BOTTOM LINE

As much as it might be enticing to have members of public office be psychiatrically evaluated before taking public office, it's just not feasible and intuitively wrong. Instead, like in a jury trial, persons running for public office are judged by their peers in the election process. Unfortunately, like in the case of Trump, the peers are often idiots and just as weak-minded and psychiatrically fucked up as those they vote for.

[msc545]

I routinely use the NMPI in my practice. The thing about it is that if someone takes it and essentially fakes good, thatis not always clear based on the scores on the validity scales, of which there are 4. Certain configurations of these profiles render the entire test uninterpretable, but if you conclude that it seems likely, we would conclude that often in the population we are proposing to test, there would have to be some procedure whereby we explain to the public and to the candidate himself why we couldn't give any results. Further, I believe that with appropriate coaching, a person could essentially "pass" this test when they really should not have.

[MrChinaski]

The 25th Amendment provides the means to remove and replace a president due to mental incapacity.

[msc545]

Yes, it does, but the President's Cabinet has to endorse that. That's the problem in this case.

[Sevenpointfive]

i'm convinced it's just the playbook. without that playbook, they have to hold people accountable. look at mitch. it's always cancer or some life-threatening scenario when they leave. it's supposed to be some sort of consolation prize because they aren't going to prosecute them. we won't forget when we can do something about it. no more pardons.

[SeekerOfTruth007]

Trump supposedly got a perfect score on a mental acuity test, so I don't know what to tell you about testing. If Joe Biden had been tested, he'd need someone to auto-pen his name for him.

[msc545]

So I know what to tell you about testing? It wasn't a mental acuity test. It was a test that literally a 10-year-old could pass without any trouble at all. As a VA C&P examiner, I used to give that test because I was forced to, because it was part of the protocol, but we used to make jokes about it that a worm could pass it. Seriously, if you saw it, you'd think it was pretty funny.

[SeekerOfTruth007]

BS. Nobody would bother testing a grown ass man with a test meant for a 10-years old.

I've been tested by the State of Louisiana one time myself, and they considered me "Vastly Superior" or "Low Genius" on the WAIS and I've tested with MENSA and got a 187 IQ score one time.

If you're testing an adult and you're a professional, you'll use an adult test.

[msc545]

This test is not specifically meant for ten-year-olds. What I said, instead, if you'd read it carefully, was that a ten-year-old could pass it easily. You didn't get a 187 IQ score on anything valid because the most valid IQ score that can be measured is on the WAIS4 at 150, and that is somewhat questionable. I test adults, and I'm a professional, and I use adult tests, and the WAIS4 is an adult test. Please don't make the mistake of trying to lecture me about my profession.

[SeekerOfTruth007]

I most certainly did score 187 on the Mensa High IQ society test. I got a perfect score on the Raven's Squares test on both WAIS and Mensa, and a verbal score of 134, which was my lowest category.

I also have been tested on a General Learning Ability test and got 155 on clerical and 143 on overall score. I could have done better, but I missed two college level math questions because I under-estimated the tricks involved in the questions on the test. Otherwise, I would have had a perfect score on that test too. I did all the math questions in my head without using pencil and paper, even though pencil and paper were available, and the only reason I missed the two questions I did miss is because i hadn't seen a math problem like that in a few years at the time. There's some truth to the fact that if you don't use certain math disciplines often enough, you forget them.

The test classified me as an INT-J "Visual Learner" which is the truth. I suck at text-based learning and need to be able to visualize things to learn at my best, which is why I'm so good at Raven's Squares tests and can even solve them above IQ test difficulty sometimes.

[SeekerOfTruth007]

Also, I took the ASVAB test in 2001 and solved all of the coding section and only missed 2 questions on the entire test, both of which were related to Mechanical questions, and the test administrator told me, "Don't worry about it, everyone misses those anyway."

Again, nobody would give a Presidential Candidate a test that you claim a 10 years old could pass.

You're very unprofessional.

[msc545]

Good, provide all the reliability and validity statistics on all these tests that you supposedly took, and then I'll decide whether or not they're valid and reliable.

[FrodoSkywalker007]

Should be a requirement for all politicians, but that would be difficult since many hold their posts uncontested

[slatyb]

Do you think it would do any good? Trump is obviously incompetent but tens of millions voted for him.

[Pterodon]

I’ll agree with that but it should be obvious who’s insane by just asking either candidate how many genders there are or ask them to define a woman

[msc545]

It takes a lot more than those two questions, which are indicative of political orientation, to determine mental health or the lack thereof. The fact that you're using the word insane in this context also tells me that you know nothing of what we're talking about. For reference, the word "saying" is a legal term, not a medical one. We're not talking about legalities here.

[Pterodon]

No those two questions are all you need

[msc545]

They may be all you need, but they certainly are not even close to what I need. I get paid for this stuff. It's probably a good thing that you don't.

[Pterodon]

That’s because you don’t know sanity or how to define a woman yourself

[msc545]

Are you capable of any rational thought at all? Or is everything you say going to be just an attack? You really are rather an obtuse old man.

[Pterodon]

More than two genders? Really? Can’t define a woman? You think I’m irrational?

[msc545]

I think you are quite irrational and you have lousy reality testing.

[Pterodon]

You know over half the American population disagrees with you on those two points. For a Supreme Court nominee to be unable to define a woman tells me she didn’t learn anything with all that ultra expensive education. What also strikes me is that weirdos that want to “transition” choose either male or female. Baby’s when born are either male or female. Your out of touch with reality

[msc545]

That is a political question, not a scientific one.

[SeekerOfTruth007]

I agree with Pterodon on this. If you think there are more than two genders, you should be considered insane. If you think abortion is a woman's right, you should be put in prison, because abortion is obviously murder.

[msc545]

@SeekerOfTruth007 I don't necessarily disagree with these things, but neither of you has any notion of what the word insane actually means at all.

On the other hand I don't think abortion is a woman's right, and I do think abortion is murder.

[Pterodon]

Whoa you’re starting to sound like us

[Pterodon]

We do know what the definition of insane is. Einstein said it best. It’s doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result

[msc545]

Please look up the definition of insane. Insane is a legal term, not a medical term. For abortion, I probably hate abortion more than you do or anybody else you know. I hate it more because I know exactly how they're done, and if you knew that, you'd hate it as much as I do.

[Pterodon]

We do hate it because it’s killing life. We value life. Your party is a culture of death

[msc545]

No, I'm sorry. You're the death culture. You people start all the wars, and you started the riots at the capitol, and ICE has killed innocent people.

[Iron_Man]

Sure, of course

[IknowthatIdontKnow09]

Is absolutely needed i think

[Micheal6918]

Yes they are