Julia Gillard: Former Australian PM claims there is 'genuine concern' over Donald Trump’s mental health

Gillard has become the chair of mental health charity Beyond Blue

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has weighed in on the debate about Donald Trump’s mental health, claiming that there is "genuine concern for the president".

Speaking to ABC’s Lateline, Gillard warned about the dangers of attempting to judge a person’s mental health from the outside, but acknowledged that the President’s public behaviour, such as on Twitter, had caused commentators actual concern.

“I would worry that a charge of being mentally ill ended up being thrown around as an insult - that would worry me,” she told the programme.

“I know that some people in the US, some commentators, are not proffering that analysis by way of insult, they’re actually saying it because they are genuinely concerned. From the outside I think it is very difficult to judge someone else’s mental health.

“But I do think President Trump continues with some of the tweeting etc that we’ve seen, that this will be in the dialogue.”

Gillard has been appointed the chair of mental health charity Beyond Blue, and also spoke about her own experience of anxiety while serving as the Prime Minister.

She said that experiencing moments of anxiety is common and that she made an effort to protect her own mental health while in “the rigours of public life,” especially while being the subject of negative headlines or attacks on social media.

The status of President Trump’s mental health has been the subject of many headlines, with Washington insiders claiming that “it keeps getting worse”.

The claims were made at the time of reports that Mr Trump had revealed “highly classified” information to the Russian Foreign Minister during a meeting at the White House.

Some experts have raised concerns over the President’s behaviour, with a group at a conference at Yale University warning in April he has a “dangerous mental illness” and is not fit to lead the country.

In February, 35 mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, signed an open letter warning Mr Trump’s mental state makes him “incapable of serving safely as president”.