Trump Needs to Go 'Into Psychotherapy', Says Howard Stern: He Was 'Traumatized' by His Childhood
Donald Trump should consider going to therapy for his mental health, according to his friend Howard Stern.
“From what I know of Donald and his relationship with his father, it sounds traumatic,” the radio talk show host told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an interview, set to air on Saturday.
“It sounds like the father was very domineering, the father expected a lot from him and military school. You read these drips and drabs and you go, ‘Wow,’ I can assure you he’s been traumatized,” Stern continued. “Donald, his level of narcissism is so strong and he has troubles with empathy, we know that.”
Stern added, “I wish he’d go into psychotherapy. I’d be so proud of him if he did. He would probably flourish.”
In his new book, Howard Stern Comes Again, Stern, who last spoke to Trump when he turned down the request to speak at the Republican National Convention in 2016, talks about how psychotherapy has impacted his life for the better.
“There’s no way, I do not believe [Trump]’s ever done psychotherapy. He’s demonstrating a lot of the behaviors that I recognize,” Stern told Cooper.
“I don’t think he likes being president at all,” said the SiriusXM star, who called Trump’s candidacy for president a “publicity stunt.”
“I think he liked winning the presidency. He likes to win,” Stern explained, adding, “I’m not Donald Trump’s psychotherapist.”
When asked by Cooper if he believes Trump has changed since becoming president, Stern said, “I think he’s the same exact person. I think the only way you change is to do analysis. So yeah, I think he’s the same guy.”
In addition, Stern shared that re-election may be difficult for Trump if he were to win the 2020 race.
“I think psychologically if he really got under the hood, I think he’d say, ‘What am I doing? I’m in my 70s,’ ” he said.
Most recently, Stern called himself “the poster-boy for psychotherapy” during his interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, which aired on Tuesday.
“I used to kind of laugh at and think, ‘Oh, I have it all together. I know what’s going on.’ And I equated my success with [thinking that I was] fine,” Stern said. “But I’d gone through a divorce and had three young daughters at the time. I pushed myself into psychotherapy, and I’ve gotta tell you — I’m the poster-boy for psychotherapy. I think it’s terrific, and I got in touch with a lot of things about myself that I didn’t like. It was quite a journey.”
Stern’s full interview with Cooper will air in an hour-long AC360 special airing Friday at 10 p.m. ET on CNN.
