Journalists need to talk more about Donald Trump's mental health, urges conservative pundit Andrew Sullivan

The media should be seriously discussing Donald Trump’s mental health, a conservative commentator has claimed.

Andrew Sullivan added his voice to a growing number of mental health professionals and Senators - of both parties - who have expressed concerns over Mr Trump’s psychological state.

Mr Trump campaigned as an outsider candidate who would shake up the Washington system, but his actions since becoming President have unnerved many.

Over the weekend, he reportedly led the response to a North Korean missile test from the Mar-a-Lago dining room, despite the presence of numerous guests present at the sensitive event.

Mr Sullivan told CNN: “To have such an unstable figure, incapable of accepting reality, at the centre of the world, is an extremely dangerous thing.”

He added: "I know we're not supposed to bring this up — but it is staring us brutally in the face."

Mr Sullivan, who recently penned an article entitled ‘The Madness of King Donald’ in New York Magazine, justified his comments by citing the President’s incorrect claims of “thousands” of illegal voters and inaccurate crime statistics.

He added: “We have to respond by saying 'Excuse me, Mr President, with all due respect, you keep telling us things that are not true. Can you please stop this?

“And if you can't stop it, if you simply keep asserting the world is one way when it really isn't, because everybody else can see it, then we have a serious problem at the very heart of our government."

Republican colleagues of Donald Trump have also expressed concern about his mental health, a Democratic senator told AP.

Minnesota senator Al Franken said there is concern among "a few" Republicans "that we all have this suspicion" that "he lies a lot".

He added: "He says things that aren't true. That's the same as lying, I guess."

Mr Franken cited Mr Trump's groundless claim that he would have won the popular vote in the presidential race if not for 3 million to 5 million immigrants in the country illegally voting for his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump is also said to have told some senators in a private meeting at the White House that he and former Republican senator Kelly Ayotte would have won in New Hampshire if it had not been for voters bussed in from out of state.

Mr Franken said: "You know, that is not the norm for a president of the United States, or, actually, for a human being."

Earlier this month, it was announced Democratic congressman Ted Lieu is planning to introduce legislation to appoint a mandatory White House psychiatrist.