Therapists like me often refer to Trump using terms like malignant narcissism or sociopathic narcissism. Jennifer Senior introduces non-clinical catchphrase that resonates with me:
Preening Narcissism
Sometimes a writer manages to describe Trump in a way that manages to put his essence into the toxic bottle of a merely one paragraph. This is an example:
That news conference was, to me, the most frightening moment of the Trump presidency. His preening narcissism, his compulsive lying, his vindictiveness, his terror of germs and his terrifying inability to grasp basic science — all of it eclipsed his primary responsibilities to us as Americans, which was to provide urgent care, namely in the form of leadership.
She concludes:
This observation jibes with the conversation I had with Nicholas Christakis, author of “Blueprint” and an epidemiologist at Yale, last Friday...
“I’m in the deeply ironic position at the moment of strongly discouraging social connection, despite the fact that it’s the central focus of my book — and my life’s work,” he says. “But it’s going to take us working together in this unnatural way — one that goes so against our evolutionary past — to confront this epidemic.”
and adds:
What’s so frightening — so hideous — is that our president is least equipped to do just that. This crisis has unhelmed and unmasked him. He’s incapable of leading. When it comes to Trump, truth, decency and self-possession have been in quarantine from the start.
| After reading this I have nothing else to add. |
