Here is the opening paragraph from the Mayo Clinic’s article on Narcissistic Personality Disorder: “Narcissistic personality disorder — one of several types of personality disorders — is a mental condition in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that's vulnerable to the slightest criticism.”
Virtually everything Trump says and does is much easier to understand when you realize there is a genuine mental condition driving the bus. Separating immigrant children from their parents and putting them into cages … referring to Republicans who don’t agree with him as “human scum” … ignoring his generals because he's so much smarter than they are … ignoring or firing career diplomats who don’t share his world view … gutting banking regulations designed to protect the poorest among us … gutting air and water quality standards so big corporations can make more profits … sexually predatory behavior … the list goes on and on and on.
It’s not that Trump chooses not to empathize with other people, it’s that he is mentally incapable of empathy.
In spite of all evidence to the contrary … including his statement that “The Continental Army… manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over airports, it did everything it had to do,” which the average 5th grader knows is incorrect ... Trump truly believes he’s smarter than the rest of us. The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate would be wise to release their college transcripts and challenge Trump to do the same. I’m willing to make a substantial bet that Trump will never release his grades since they’ll prove he was a below average student in spite of his claims of a superior intellect. In fact, Trump has repeatedly threatened to sue any school he attended if they dare to release his grades.
Remember how Trump continued to stage what amounted to campaign rallies for months after he was elected? There’s your “deep need for excessive attention and admiration” in action.
The Mayo Clinic paper on Narcissistic Personality Disorder goes on:
Signs and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder and the severity of symptoms vary. People with the disorder can:
- Have an exaggerated sense of self-importance
- Have a sense of entitlement and require constant, excessive admiration
- Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
- Exaggerate achievements and talents
- Be preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
- Believe they are superior and can only associate with equally special people
- Monopolize conversations and belittle or look down on people they perceive as inferior
- Expect special favors and unquestioning compliance with their expectations
- Take advantage of others to get what they want
- Have an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
- Be envious of others and believe others envy them
- Behave in an arrogant or haughty manner, coming across as conceited, boastful and pretentious
- Insist on having the best of everything — for instance, the best car or office
At the same time, people with narcissistic personality disorder have trouble handling anything they perceive as criticism, and they can:
- Become impatient or angry when they don't receive special treatment
- Have significant interpersonal problems and easily feel slighted
- React with rage or contempt and try to belittle the other person to make themselves appear superior
- Have difficulty regulating emotions and behavior
- Experience major problems dealing with stress and adapting to change
- Feel depressed and moody because they fall short of perfection
- Have secret feelings of insecurity, shame, vulnerability and humiliation
As you can see, the diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder isn’t borderline, he exhibits EVERY symptom. It’s as though they wrote the article to describe Donald Trump specifically.
The next time Trump does something that seems irrational or unpresidential, just remember that he truly can’t help himself. His brain is just wired that way. When viewed from that perspective irrational becomes predictable.