MO Lawmaker Calls For Mental Health Check After Trump PR Tweets

ST. LOUIS, MO — Democratic state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal has introduced a resolution in the state senate urging Congress to require presidential candidates to release their tax returns and submit to mental health screenings. Filed during today's special legislative session, the resolution says tax returns may reveal conflicts of interest, and that the president, like others who may be authorized to use deadly force, should be required to undergo professional evaluation before being allowed to mobilize the armed forces or being handed the nuclear launch codes.

Read Senate Resolution No. 15 below:

"Americans living with mental illness must have access to the care they need, including those serving in our highest office," the senator from University City wrote on Twitter Thursday afternoon, adding that her resolution is a response to recent Tweets from the president calling into question the official death count from Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico a year ago this month. The president blamed the official death toll, which now exceeds 3,000, on "the Democrats" in a series of Tweets this morning.

"My uncle Tony died [in Puerto Rico]," Chappelle-Nadal said, calling the administration's response "genocide," and saying she fears other family members may be next.

"America lost citizens and I lost family in the deadly hurricane that struck Puerto Rico less than one year ago," she continued. "This morning, the President lied about those deaths. Mr. President — my uncle's death is not a fiction; it is one of nearly 3,000 heartbreaking examples of a reality you refuse to acknowledge.

"That's why, to ensure that our nation is led by people who can comprehend reality, I have filed a Senate Resolution requiring presidential candidates to undergo a mental health screening."

"Anyone who denies the death of my family member needs mental health services before more Americans die," Chappelle-Nadal added on Twitter.

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Last year, Chappelle-Nadal was censured by the Republican-led Senate for a Facebook remark in which she said she hoped President Trump was assassinated. She apologized for the comment, which she said was intended to be private, and told the Post-Dispatch the remark was due to frustration when the president defended "both sides" after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that left a counter protester dead.

Chappelle-Nadal also introduced a resolution urging U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill to support reparations for the Black community.

Read Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1 below:

Chappelle-Nadal, who will be term-limited out of her state Senate seat, is running for a seat in Missouri's 86th House District, currently held by state Rep. Joe Adams. The Post-Dispatch reports the Democrat recently signed a conciliation agreement with the Federal Election Commission and was fined $15,000 for accepting some campaign contributions that exceeded the federal limit. She told the paper it was an "honest mistake."

Photo: State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, center, leads the St. Louis Women's March in January. (J. Ryne Danielson/Patch)