I write these because I don’t think you can understand Trump unless you understand the psychopathology which drives his every utterance, tweet, and decision. I always come back to Sun Tzu from The Art of War, and indeed we are engaged in a war.
Being a racist isn’t in the definition of malignant narcissism. Neither is being unread, incurious, and prone to paranoid beliefs. Trump has become a case study of one because he is so unique among present and historical public figures.
Trump meets every criteria for the hypothetic diagnosis of malignant narcissism, the “psychological syndrome comprising an extreme mix of narcissism, antisocial behavior, aggression, and sadism. who are grandiose and always ready to raise hostility levels, the malignant narcissist undermines families and organizations in which they are involved, and dehumanizes the people with whom they associate Wikipedia “ This is in the forefront of discussion among “duty to warn” therapists and some psychologically savvy anti-Trump pundits because Trump ticks off every characteristic.
Being a bully, being a liar, delighting in promoting violence and hate, that’s all in the definition. Some specific behaviours engaged in by Trump like his gaslighting aren’t mentioned but fit right in.
Trump believes that his self-defined accomplishments, not the least his becoming president and having adoring crowds, prove his superiority. However, all they prove is that he was and is a superior con artist.
For review for the few of you who don’t already know about malignant narcissism, these are the characteristics of the malignant narcissist:
- Care quite a bit about their appearance and can come across as quite charming
- Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it, and will discount any evidence that doesn't support their belief of their own superiority
- Exaggerate their own achievements and talents, even to the point of lying
- Are often preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
- Are highly manipulative
- Tend to project their bad behavior onto others, meaning they may accuse you of the very behavior they are conducting
- Monopolize conversations and belittle or look down on people they perceive as inferior
- Aren't opposed to taking advantage of others to get what they want
- Fail to see or value the needs and feelings of others
- Have no remorse for hurting others and rarely apologize unless it will benefit them in some way
- Insist on having the best of everything and believe that they deserve this
- Aren't able to handle criticism and lash out if they feel slighted in any way
The following posits underlying personalty factors:
While garden variety narcissists are difficult to interact with, those who meet the rigorous criteria for narcissistic personalty disorder cause relationships to be toxic. But unless they also are sociopaths (now called antisocial personality) they aren’t malignant narcissists.
Trump is a malignant narcissist who also happens to be a racist.
If anybody has any doubt about this after this week they should be ashamed of themselves. Unfortunately feeling shame requires self-awareness and the ability to admit you were wrong. These admirable traits are tragically lacking among the MAGA group, GOP members of Congress, and of course members of Trump’s administration like Stephen Miller and Kellyanne Conway.