Following several high-profile mass shootings in the United States, President Donald Trump consistently identified mental health issues as the primary cause of such incidents, rather than gun access or other potential contributing factors. This framing of mass violence as primarily a mental health issue has drawn significant pushback from mental health experts, researchers, and professional organizations who argue that such characterization is both inaccurate and potentially harmful to individuals with mental illness. This article examines the public discourse surrounding mental health and mass shootings, the expert consensus on this relationship, and the implications of how society discusses these complex issues.
Trump's Statements on Mental Health and Mass Shootings
President Trump repeatedly characterized mass shootings as a result of mental health problems rather than gun access issues. Following the Sutherland Springs, Texas church shooting in 2017, which claimed 26 lives, Trump stated during a news conference from Tokyo: "I think mental health is your problem here. This was a very — based on preliminary reports — a very deranged individual, a lot of problems over a long period of time. We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, as do other countries. But this isn't a guns situation, I mean, we could go into it, but it's a little bit soon to go into it."
Similarly, after the Parkland, Florida school shooting that killed 17 people, Trump promised to tackle "the difficult issue of mental health" in response to the tragedy while making no mention of gun violence. In a public address following the shooting, he stated: "We must reform our mental health laws to better identify mentally disturbed individuals who may commit acts of violence and make sure those people not only get treatment but when necessary involuntary confinement."
Trump further reinforced this position with the memorable phrase: "Mental illness and hatred pull the trigger. Not the gun." This statement was echoed following multiple mass shootings, including those in El Paso and Dayton that killed 31 people in 2019.
In response to these incidents, Trump suggested reopening mental institutions that had been shuttered decades ago as a potential solution to mass violence. His administration also directed federal health officials to avoid posting anything on social media related to mental health, violence, and mass shootings without prior approval, a directive that alarmed some government mental health experts.
Expert Consensus on Mental Illness and Violence
Mental health experts and professional organizations have largely disputed the characterization of mass shootings as primarily a mental health issue. Arthur Evans, chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association, called it "unfounded" to blame mass shootings on mental illness in place of considering other possible factors, such as hate, bigotry and access to assault weapons. He noted that calling every mass shooting a mental health problem is "inaccurate and it's stigmatizing."
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