A Young Man Dies. Trump Makes It a Joke.
Why does the President despise people with mental illness so much?
Last Saturday (11 October 2026), a young man with mental illness, William Chapman, died in horrific circumstances at Yorkshire Wildlife Park here in the UK. His family were left to face an unimaginable loss. The President of the United States shared footage of the attack and then circulated an AI-generated version in which he, Trump, became the star.
We find it difficult to imagine a more grotesque response from someone entrusted with public office. Donald Trump had the opportunity to show the most elementary compassion. Instead, he helped turn a fatal ordeal into a social media spectacle: for what? His amusement, political capital?
Two days after the tragic events, Trump reposted a video of William Chapman being attacked by a tiger at a wildlife park. Although the clip did not show the moment of his death, Trump added the caption: “Don’t ever mess with nature! President DJT.” He subsequently shared the aforementioned AI-generated video showing himself playing and wrestling with a tiger, re-enacting a pointing gesture seen in the original footage.
We ask our readers to take a step back for a moment and consider not only the pain and suffering William’s family will have incurred from this message, but to also acknowledge the staggering display of inappropriate and callous behaviour displayed by an elected official. Someone else’s terrible suffering becomes the backdrop to a fantasy about Trump’s own prowess. A real, vulnerable and troubled young man loses his life; Trump wants to play the hero.
William’s family have described his longstanding mental illness and said that the circulation of offensive material was causing them severe distress. His medical history should never have been necessary to make the case for treating him with dignity. Regardless of whatever information Trump would have known about William, his unfortunate death from this fatal attack deserved far better than becoming material for presidential entertainment.
William had a life before he became a video. He had people who loved him. They must now live with his absence, and with the knowledge that strangers have watched and shared footage of his suffering. The president’s decision to amplify it, using his already enormous platform, throws fuel on the fire that is this sensationalised media.
There is a particular ugliness in the imbalance of power. William cannot answer back. His family should never have to defend his humanity while grieving. Trump, meanwhile, can move on to his next post and victim of his abuse. The people whose tragedy is in the public domain have no such escape.
This incident cannot be overlooked. Trump’s history makes it impossible to regard this as an isolated collapse of judgment and absence of morality, as well as a clear manifestation of contempt toward people with a mental illness.
In December 2014, Trump called Rosie O’Donnell (US comedian & actress) “a mentally sick woman”, adding a string of other insults in numerous tweets. O’Donnell had spoken publicly about depression and treatment years earlier. We cannot know whether this particular history has informed his choice of words now; however, we can see that he has consistently paralleled mental illness with stupidity and personal failure. This tactic to stigmatise mental illness, has become a frequent tool in his arsenal designed to undermine others and push an egocentric agenda.
That association deserves scrutiny. When mental illness becomes an insult, the people caught in its reach extend far beyond the intended target. Anyone living with depression can hear the implication: this is something that makes you contemptible.
Again, in August 2019, after the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings, Trump said: “Mental illness and hatred pull the trigger, not the gun.” He also referred to “mentally ill monsters”. The American Psychological Association challenged the routine attribution of mass shootings to mental illness as “unfounded and stigmatising”.
His language and rhetoric encouraged an association between psychiatric illness and monstrous violence. People who need care become a category to fear, and the distinction between an individual’s actions and the millions of people who share a diagnosis disappears into a phrase designed to sound forceful.
Next came his response to the killings of the film director, Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, in December 2025, by their son. Trump invoked “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME”, describing how Rob Steiner had a supposedly incurable affliction and referring to Reiner’s supposed “obvious paranoia”. Without evidence and in a manner in-keeping with his narcissism, Trump linked these deaths to anger supposedly generated by Reiner’s hostility towards him.
Trump’s tenacity to monopolise these unfortunate events leaves the victims trivialised and censured in the public eye. Even violent deaths can not evade his ire and are made to revolve around his agenda. And again, mental illness is used to supply the humiliation. The resemblance to this week’s posts is deeply disturbing: other people’s tragedy, repurposed for a performance in which Trump occupies centre stage.
These episodes do differ in their implementation. Some involve a person who had disclosed mental illness; others involve psychiatric language (schoolyard insults from a generation ago) deployed against critics, or sweeping claims about violence. Together, they show a repeated willingness to use the language of illness to degrade people. William’s death now raises another appalling question about how readily human vulnerability can become entertainment on his Truth Social account.
For a mental health publication such as ITM, this matters profoundly. We ask people to speak about experiences they may find frightening or shameful. We encourage them to seek treatment and to trust that disclosing distress will bring understanding. That work becomes harder when a powerful public figure repeatedly associates illness with humiliation.
Many of us need not imagine the difficulty in deciding whether to tell a colleague that you are struggling. Whether to explain a psychiatric admission to a friend. Whether to acknowledge that you need help. Whether others’ perceptions of you will change. Public language that makes illness a source of contempt heightens these fears and creates greater burden on our community.
Mental health organisations have warned that stigmatising rhetoric can interfere with access to treatment. We should take that warning seriously. Respect is part of the environment in which someone decides whether it is safe to speak. Leaders help shape that environment through what they say and what they invite others to laugh at.
Trump’s defenders may call it humour, provocation, or simply his way of communicating. None of those descriptions excuse this conduct. A joke can be cruel. Provocation can be degrading. And a familiar pattern can remain disgusting every time it happens.
A world leader has exceptional reach and resources. They can obtain advice about what they share. They can consider their audience and who will be affected by their language. They can exercise restraint. These are some of the modest expectations we hold for the adults we work with, socialise with, and live with, let alone for the elected official in one of the most powerful offices in the world.
Cruelty is something we can identify in public behaviour. A breathtaking failure of compassion is something we cannot ignore. Political allegiance should have no bearing on whether we can recognise the indecency of turning a fatal attack into an opportunity for self-promotion.
William Chapman’s family deserved the space to grieve. They deserved consideration from those with the power to spread the footage further. They deserved more from the President of the United States, who helped turn their son’s ordeal into a global spectacle.
We say this plainly — the President’s behaviour is appalling. Another human being’s suffering is not your entertainment.
Resources:
If you are struggling and in need of support, the charity Samaritans offers 24-hour emotional support in full confidence and operates in both the UK and US:
Samaritans UK: You can call them for free on 116 123.
Samaritans US: You can call or text for free on 988.
