Other than pointing out that he needs help

That said, talking in the abstract since he’s denying he was ever diagnosed,

I don’t think think we can/could discount mental illness as part of this puzzle.
I also don’t think that it’s a defense, in that it somehow mitigates what he’s saying/doing

I think he can be mentally ill and still be an asshole
Some of this shit does comes across like manic episodes
That doesn’t mean that the beliefs he espouses come *from* those episodes
Being bipolar doesn’t make someone a racist, after all

But it the presentation of those thoughts *can* be due to a manic episode

It could be less that this is calculated, and more that he doesn’t give a fuck about the potential consequences- which could be a symptom until itself.

I think there’s a lot of nuance to the potential mental illness aspect that gets overlooked.

But I don’t see anyone propping it up as an actual defense. Not saying there aren’t, just that I’m not seeing it brought up in that context.

Speaking for myself, I think I’ve said a lot to try to convey those nuances, and not as a defense.

Hope that made some sense