Medical Experts Condemn Fox's Keith Ablow: “Shameful” And “Unfortunate That He Is Given A Platform”
Published
Medical experts contacted by the Associated Press condemned Fox News contributor Dr. Keith Ablow for his ongoing cable news psychoanalysis of President Obama, his wife, and other figures.
Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, the chairman of psychiatry at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and past president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), told the AP that “it is shameful and unfortunate that he is given a platform by Fox News or any other media organization,” adding that “he is a narcissistic self-promoter of limited and dubious expertise.”
Ford Vox, a staff psychiatrist at the Shepherd Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center in Atlanta, said that Ablow's medical analysis “is really just irresponsible and it's embarrassing for physicians in general.”
The AP notes that Ablow is not a member of the APA, which “discourages members from speculating on psychiatric characteristics of non-patients,” “having resigned in 2011 in a dispute over transgenderism.” Ablow had been criticized by the president of the APA after writing in a FoxNews.com column that Chaz Bono suffered from a “psychotic delusion” and added it was dangerous for him to appear on the reality TV show Dancing With The Stars.
In recent appearances on Fox News and radio, Ablow claimed that President Obama had the desire to make America “suffer” and would allow an outbreak of Ebola, said Obama won't “fully defend” America because “he has it in” for America, and said President Obama welcomes the presence of Ebola in the United States because his “affinities” are with Africa.
He also claimed that “something is deeply wrong with the psyche” of Ferguson, Missouri residents protesting over the shooting death of 18-year old Michael Brown, and described First Lady Michelle Obama as too fat to be credible while offering advice to children on nutrition.