However, I would put it differently. Just using the blanket term of mental illness could actually indicate a lack of responsibility and culpability for his behavior.

I prefer to tag it with with the observation that he has severe and multiple personality disorders, that, to most of us, might appear to produce "insane" behavior and those behaviors can be exacerbated by stress and certain conditions. He is functional and responsible for his actions and that has to be underscored. Some of this is calculated and his reality TV experience provided good training for manipulation. We notice that he keeps and holds the focus.

When he dumps the sharpies and starts writing on the White House Walls and talks about his buddy, Harvey, then I would call it true mental illness; that's not out of the question, either, since he tends to appear to be very unstable, yet able to manage it. He may have a strong tendency to sink deeper into his delusions, but right now they represent distorted biases and fallacies that he firmly believes.

I am sorry to disagree by way of nuances here, but they may matter more now.

Mental illness does not mean a person is insane.

I am being picky. I know However, it is a blanket term and my thrust was about specificity. It is probably more helpful and useful to have laser focus, (on sharks?) in this case.

We are on the same page and I may just be quibbling about semantics, but the media is the massage.

Moscow Don is one messed up Puppy. And he is being more self consumed daily.

Let's be careful about using the word "proven" because he hasn't been examined and diagnosed by a mental health professional.

That said, he fits the criteria of a malignant narcissist, a personality disorder for which there is no treatment. Rarely will a malignant narcissist have a moment of introspection and then take steps to change their behavior. The majority leave a path of destruction throughout their lives and get worse with age.

I have personal experience with a malignant narcissist so it's easy for me to see the same in the orange rat.

They have no empathy, lie at will to benefit themselves, and when challenged will turn the tables and make themselves the victim. They will engage in smear campaigns to take anyone down who might expose them for who they really are and enjoy doing it.

When they know they've been found out, facing ridicule and abandonment, their carefully constructed persona collapses.

Everyone on the planet already knows Trump is a dangerous narcissist. He does have to be examined. It is also very clear now he suffers from severe obsession disorders. He is like a broken record, he repeats the same obsessions over and over again, day in, day out, every minute of the day.

He may also be bipolar, which is a treatable mental illness. Would explain his compulsions.