Those of us who voted for Trump are coming out of the Trump bubble in droves. Two weeks into his second term, a majority of Americans oppose Trump's policies. The evils of government Trump spoke of at his rallies were mostly lies until Trump himself made them true. Trump has created the "swamp" he promised to clean up.
The old America, which was fueled at its core by love and empathy, is being replaced by a heart of hate and cruelty. This contrast was not clear until the 2024 election. Trump is everything that we were warned about. He thinks of himself as a Caesar, ruling all by decree, serving only his petty greed and vindictiveness. He has made a career out of violating assumptions and expectations, crossing the line, ignoring norms, destroying or moving boundaries to define a new normality and a new morality. He is capable of outrageous extremes because he is not sane. Psychologists know, and thousands of them warned us about Trump.
Trump is a malignant narcissist - the most severe form of the narcissistic personality disorder. They are evil, but more predictable than "normals". Narcissists all use the same toolset to achieve their selfish ends. Narcissists are solely transactional, skilled at lying, vindictive and shockingly unempathetic to the point of extreme cruelty. Without any restraint from their environment, there is nothing they would not do. This personality disorder in the most powerful person on earth means a great many people will needlessly suffer to satisfy his immense vindictive ego. Look it up:
"Malignant narcissism is a severe form of narcissistic personality disorder characterized by a combination of narcissistic, antisocial, and paranoid traits. Symptoms may include:
Narcissistic Traits: Grandiosity and sense of entitlement, Lack of empathy and remorse, Exploitative and manipulative behavior, and Need for admiration and attention.
Antisocial Traits: Aggression and violence, Impulsivity and recklessness, Dishonesty and deceit, and Disregard for laws and social norms.
Paranoid Traits: Suspiciousness and distrust, Persecution complex, Hypersensitivity to criticism, and fear of being manipulated or betrayed.
Other Symptoms: Lack of conscience and guilt, Callousness and indifference to others, Cruelty and sadism, Difficulty maintaining relationships, and Chronic boredom and dissatisfaction." [Google]
I don't blame people for believing his lies; he has charisma and a lifetime of experience in deceiving others. Narcissists are remarkably charming at the beginning of a relationship. He was aided by a biased, deceitful and craven media, and donors with essentially unlimited funds.
In preparation for Trump or someone like him, decades-long campaigns were waged to sow distrust and dissatisfaction with government. Trump himself fostered a movement of unbelievers by attacking truth as "fake." He entered politics with the absurd lie that Obama was not a US citizen - an early conspiracy theory -long debunked but still believed by the most stubbornly ignorant. As in every coup, truth was the first victim. Since then he has openly revised history - e.g., the crowds at his inauguration, the weather, the margins of victory and his own accomplishments, e.g., taking credit for successful Obama policies.
Trump self-consciously created his own persona and guards it jealously, with ferocity . Everything narcissists say is framed or reframed to show the narcissist in the best light, with no respect for truth. They will go to any length to protect their sensitive ego, far beyond the boundaries of an honest person. Their lack of empathy enables incredible gratuitous cruelty. For example, if a narcissistic spouse abuses a normal spouse, their story may well switch the roles, describing the victim as abuser, adding insult to injury.
Narcissists are good at deflecting criticism. MAGA followed the soviet style. For example, every immoral or illegal action the democrats were accused of were planned or already committed by republicans. All of Trump's character defects were "projected" onto his opponents. Narcissists are expert at blame-shifting and the 3 Ds - deny, dismiss, and devalue. The only resolution is escaping their influence or removing them from influence.
Inevitably, Narcissists move from a positive honeymoon period to demeaning, deprecating, diminishing, disparaging and even vilifying their victims. We knew this from his belittling of competition for the republican presidential nomination, defeating better qualified candidates with a child's strategy. children often get their way too.
Trump is ready to cut ties with the voters who elected him, because he no longer needs them. Their concerns are not his concerns. Whatever he promised was to get elected and now forgotten. He plans to downgrade or eliminate Social Security, Medicare and any social "safety nets," negatively impacting tens of millions. The 2024 election was essentially stolen because he lied constantly and never told the truth.
He is faithless in all respects, but also a megalomaniac - he expects unwavering fealty from his followers. As long as he thinks it is working he will maintain the lie that his actions are for the American people. Almost everything he does and will do are to enrich himself (and the billionaire class) and amass power (more than any previous president, the power of a dictator). He became a multi-billionaire in his first term, and now aims at being a trillionaire on the backs of the working class.
Trump has sycophants but no friends. He has turned against many of his lieutenants from his first term. He remembers every perceived slight and exacts revenge on anyone who dares to disagree. For example, he removed security from former key allies Michael Pompeo, John Bolton and a dozen more, despite credible threats . Inevitably, characteristically, narcissists betray those they first charmed into their bubble.
Trump is already in his negative phase. He enlists congress in his schemes with threats of backing a primary challenger. He doesn't care that congress will take a drubbing in the mid-terms because of his policies. He expects to not need them by then, and they will be disbanded soon enough. Trump will escape justice again and again. Under Trump we are seeing a rapid and open move toward both oligarchy and authoritarianism in our country. The middle-class, national security, rule of law and our Constitution have been undermined by MAGA. Like it or not, our chief executive is certifiably insane and unfit for office.
Malignant Narcissists cannot be cured, largely because their lies and manipulations are effective on the unsuspecting (almost everyone). Hiding their intentions and "acting as if" is all they know. Their entire life is an act. Deceit comes naturally to them. Until he is removed from office, Trump will continue dismantling our government as fast as possible and impoverishing the middle-class. He will never know shame, apologize or fix what he has broken. I can't imagine the country I know and love surviving 4 years of this.