During the primary season most of the diaries on Daily Kos focused on the Democratic primary with animated debate between those who supported Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. I wrote a diary about that race which got 783 comments, the most I’ve ever had in over 200 diaries.
I decided to out myself as a psychotherapist and write about what I saw as Trump’s psychopathology even though I never thought he’d be the nominee. I ended up writing more than 20 diaries about his mental condition.
In my first I focused in one one seemingly meaningless slip of the tongue, now long forgotten. This was when Trump referred to 9-11 and 7-11 at a March 18th rally before the NY state primary.
Here’s what I wrote (with a few updates):
The more I observed the way Trump seemed to talk like he’s on amphetamines the more I became convinced that there’s something wrong with the way his brain functions. I’m not talking about all the traits he has of clinical narcissistic personality disorder. I am referring to cognitive functioning. That’s just what this country needs, a narcissist with a broken brain.
Does his obsession with illegal immigration come from having Mexican jumping beans in his brain? That’s how he talks. When faced with a microphone he has to fill empty moments with talking points.
Under the least bit of pressure he demonstrates that his has what therapists like me call a looseness of associations or derailment, i.e. shifting from one topic to another in ways that are obliquely related or completely unrelated. This is often a symptom of serious mental disorders.
Coming out of his voting place this morning, when reporters asked how it felt to be voting for himself, he couldn’t even answer that simple question with a reflective feeling-centered response. He said, apparently referring to himself, that “it’s a great honor for New York.” He had to throw in “my whole reason for doing this is to make America great again.”
That is something that gets therapists to wondering about both a person’s cognitive functioning and their ability to be introspective. If someone isn’t introspective I doubt they have much interest in understanding how other people feel.
One of the prominent characteristics of a narcissist is lack of empathy:
Simply put, narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of ultraconfidence lies a fragile self-esteem that's vulnerable to the slightest criticism. (Mayo Clinic)
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a disorder that is characterized by a long-standing pattern of grandiosity (either in fantasy or actual behavior), an overwhelming need for admiration, and usually a complete lack of empathy toward others. People with this disorder often believe they are of primary importance in everybody’s life or to anyone they meet. While this pattern of behavior may be appropriate for a king in 16th Century England, it is generally considered inappropriate for most ordinary people today. ( Psych Central )
Of course a narcissist can be a hedonist. There is evidence that Trump fits the definition of a hedonist. A hedonist lives for pleasure. Trump’s life style is hedonistic. The ostentatious trappings of wealth combine with the enormous pleasure he takes in amassing money.
Not to be too syrupy, but what, you may ask this therapist, is my definition of a healthy balance in life? I agree with just about every psychologist and philosopher that a life well-lived is based on love, faith (for some), expressing creativity, making a contribution and doing for others. On the later, nobody has ever suggested Trump is an altruist!
Trump is a New Yorker. He’s speaking in New York, and instead of 9/11, he just referred to that tragic iconic event, an event that changed our world as much as Pearl Harbor, and now is simply known by the date it occurred on as 9/11.
“I was down there and I watched our police and our firemen, down on 7-11, down at the World Trade Center, right after it came down,” Trump said. “And I saw the greatest people I’ve ever seen in action. I saw the bravest people I’ve ever seen, including the construction workers, including every person down there,” he continued.
“That’s what New York values are about.” Watch video here: www.huffingtonpost.com/… also on The Hill and CNN
Added — let’s not forget what he said. "I watched in Jersey City, N.J., where thousands and thousands of people were cheering" as the World Trade Center collapsed. — Donald Trump on Saturday, November 21st, 2015 in comments during a speech
7-11 is a convenience store, although it isn’t clear that this would be the first thing Trump thinks of when he hears these numbers. I doubt he’s ever been in one. Seven and 11 are also the winning first throws in the dice game of craps. This is why novice players sometimes say “seven come 11” before they throw the dice.
One could say that because Trump made a fortune on gambling, and that these numbers are always near the forefront of his consciousness.
This isn’t merely a misspeak, it is a Freudian slip. This tells us far more about Trump and shouldn’t be written off. It has convinced me that he really does want to be president for one reason, and it’s not to make America great again as he says.
It’s so he can be the most powerful person in the world.
Then this happened on May 4th
Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee following a decisive victory in the Indiana primary and the decision by Ted Cruz to drop out of the race.
Though Trump has not formally secured the 1,237 delegates he needs to win the nomination -- and likely won't until June -- there is no serious opposition left to block his path.
His victory amounts to a stunning takeover of the Republican Party by a candidate with no political experience. Along the way, he eviscerated the GOP's most accomplished presidential field in a generation and captured the Zeitgeist of a party in which grass roots voters harbor deep ill will toward establishment elites. www.cnn.com/...
Tuesday, Dec 13, 2016 · 5:36:23 PM +00:00 · HalBrown
These are the comments for the original diary:
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Just like when W said things like “I know how hard it is to put food on your family.”
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Jeez, this diary is nonsense. So many words over a slip of the tongue! I have nothing but contempt for Trump, but anyone who spews tens of thousands of words a day is bound to cross a couple of brain synapses once in awhile and say “goy” instead of “gay,” or “trend” instead of “mend” or...”7/11” instead of “9/11.”
First, Freud wrote a lot more than 1,000 words about such slips in his seminal “The Psychopathology of Everyday Life.”
If you say goy instead of gay I suggest that may be significant, but not of a brain disorder. Goy tends be neutral, but can be a disparaging word Jews use to refer to gentiles.
Goy and gay both refer to people.
I would look for other indications that he has shown prejudice before making a judgment.
Basically, slips of the tongue are normal. Just about everyone makes them. Psychoanalytically oriented therapists take them seriously because they often open a door to the unconscious.
9/11 is an iconic date, not a corner convenience store or lucky numbers in craps.
I don’t see a deep meaning in Trump saying 7/11. That’s why I suggest it may be an indication that something is amiss in his cognition.
Trend and mend have entirely different meanings, and I can’t imagine using one for the other.
That’s funny.
Does his obsession with illegal immigration come from having Mexican jumping beans in his brain?
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When faced with a microphone he has to fill empty moments with talking points.
I love the idea that a person running for President of the United States, who faced with a microphone will speak empty talking points, is taken as evidence of brain disfunction.
Put a microphone in front of a political candidate; political candidate spouts talking points. His brain is working just fine in knowing this.
Resorting to talking points is not the same as having loose associations. When being asked a question Trump is in control and take take a few seconds to formulate a coherent response. Most people use the word “well” or “hmmm” or even “thank you for asking that” which gives them the split second or more needed to come up with a response appropriate to the query. He frequently doesn’t even pause, and instead says the first thing that comes into his mind.
Trump isn’t my patient, but I had 40 years doing evaluation and diagnosis and am not just speaking out of ignorance.
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Wow. Pretty weird slip of the tongue, I’d say.
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In Pittsburgh recently, Trump said "How's Joe Paterno? We going to bring that back? Right? How about that whole deal?"
Joe Paterno, head football coach at Penn State, has been deceased for four years. Prior to that, he had to resign in disgrace for his role in covering up for his child-raping defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
Furthermore, Penn State is a rival of the Pitt Panthers. A highly-skilled politician might have mentioned Johnny Majors, Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Hugh Green… anyone but Joe Paterno.
Trump won’t be elected POTUS; he will start a right-wing cable TV channel to rival Fox News. You heard it here first.
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In the last 24 hours, while in Buffalo, NY, he credited Bills coach Rex Ryan with leading the NY Jets to two victories in the AFC championship game. Real number: zero.
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One might say that Trump is not a football guy… yet he was a pro football team owner [New Jersey Generals of the USFL]. The USFL is yet another Trump-tainted institution that failed.
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In 2001, Jerry Sandusky wrote an autobiography called — and I am not making this up — Touched.
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But he has good words!
(Maybe he’s just talking at his supporters’ level.)
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If I hear “great” one more time ….! lol