I belong to a Facebook group along with a hundred other experienced psychotherapists (now 113) who are frighteningly qualified to evaluated and analyze any changes in Donald Trump. Our membership is made up of therapists such as psychoanalyst Howard Covitz, the found of the group back in September,, who posts here, and several other notables who have written about Trump’s psychopathology in mainstream publications, and one who has twice been on Lawrence O’Donnell discussing why Trump should be removed from office under the 25th Amendment.
Most of Trump’s behaviors since getting elected have, for trained mental health professionals, been predictable and consistent with the consensus professional opinions of his personality.
Frank Rich was just discussing Trump’s lack of religiosity with Joy-Ann Reid. He thinks any pretense of religion on Trump’s part is phony. In contrast there’s an article on Politico today (link below) about the chance that Trump may actually be “getting religion” late in life.
From Politico
We know that it fits with Trump’s cynical and exploitive pronouncements if he's pandering to his evangelical supporters, those who have ignored his pussy grabbing perversion. It’s certainly easy to throw the word “God” around in Tweets and speeches.
Considering all we know about Trump, it occurs to me that his supreme narcissism would argue against believing in a higher power. However, we have seen how susceptible he is to delusional thinking and even actual delusions. His reality testing is often impaired. He believes things that defy logic.
Religious people take many things on faith. Rarely are they delusional, hearing the voice of God or believing they are Christ.
I wonder if Trump may actually be starting to construct a God he can truly believe in, a non-threatening God that doesn’t challenge his own grandiosity, to rely on, to pray to, in a way on the surface similar to the way people who always have been religious do. Perhaps Trump has become overwhelmed by the grave responsibilities of office, especially facing the prospect of a war with N. Korea where millions would die. Maybe he needs God.
The quote: There are no atheists in the trenches” come to mind. Who knows????