The disorders attributed to Trump are not clear-cut

The argument

It is undeniably true that Donald Trump has some of the traits that are present in those with narcissistic personality disorders. But the presence of traits is not the presence of a disorder, and there is no definitive point at which we can say yes, he has it, or no, he does not. The difficulty is not a shortage of opinions about Trump; it is that the question as posed cannot be settled with the evidence anyone outside his private life actually has. It is not enough to simply say Donald Trump is showing the symptoms of a mental disorder, because many people show these symptoms but do not have the disorder. Traits of this kind are distributed across the general population, and a public figure whose every gesture is recorded and replayed will always furnish more instances of any trait than a private person would. Observing them at high frequency in someone under constant observation tells us little about their underlying prevalence. Many mental health professionals assert that these traits only become a disorder when they have a detrimental effect on someone's life. That threshold is what converts a personality description into a clinical diagnosis, and it is a threshold that can only be assessed from the inside. If Trump's inflated sense of self-importance were damaging his relationships with his family and friends, that might be a sign of mental illness. However, there has been no suggestion that his traits are damaging those relationships. Nobody has asked his family members questions about their relationship with Donald Trump, and even if they did, the Trump family may not publicly reveal these details. The one piece of evidence the diagnosis would require is precisely the piece that is unavailable, and no amount of public conduct can substitute for it. It is therefore impossible to say whether Donald Trump's narcissistic personality traits are indicative of a narcissistic personality disorder.

Context

Modern research has indicated that mental illness is not a black and white issue. It is not a case of an individual either has a narcissistic personality disorder or they do not. These disorders exist on a spectrum.

Premises

Counter-arguments

At a certain point, showing the traits of a mental health disorder becomes a diagnosis of having a mental health disorder, otherwise nobody would ever receive a diagnosis. If that threshold is that it is damaging to the relationships around you, then that threshold has undoubtedly been reached with Trump. His White House is full of people that have anonymously expressed concerns over his mental health. This is a sign of strained relationships with those around him. Additionally, his inflated sense of self-importance and emphasis on personal relationships over the interests of the American people (particularly in areas like foreign policy) are damaging his relationship with government institutions. He openly rejected the findings of his own national intelligence institutions on Russian interference in the 2016 US election because Vladimir Putin was "extremely strong and powerful in his denial". This damaged his relationship with the intelligence community. He has fallen out with and publicly insulted plenty of people who were at one point close to him, including; Steve Bannon, Michael Cohen, Omarosa Manigault, George Papadopoulos, Barbara Res, Tony Schwartz and Rex Tillerson. Whatever the threshold is for mental illness, Donald Trump's behaviour and inability to maintain relationships clearly indicates that he meets it.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] It is possible to determine that point and Trump surpasses it.