We are in Phase 2 of Trumps autocratic takeover. Trump doesn't care that voters are upset. He believes he has a mandate to do whatever he wants. That is hard for even other narcissists to comprehend, but in fact the electorate gave Trump the presidency and he doesn't need them any more or ever again. He doesn't need to honor any of his promises because that was just to get elected. This guy is moving fast hoping to finish his coup before we catch up and catch on.
Protests may give him the excuse to impose martial law. The craven republican congress are scared sycophants in his pocket, thrilled to see a republican on top. Trump is using them like he uses everyone who has something he wants. The democrats are exhausted and disheartened.
Psychiatrists are bereft — they had no forum from which to warn the nation of how dangerous Trump will be. Read up on malignant narcissism — good (not great) actors, no empathy at all, greedy as can be, think they are perfect, constantly lying and manipulating, frighteningly vengeful for even the slightest slight, want to be worshipped.. He thinks he got around every barrier, and he did — DOJ failed us, republicans in congress fear him and want to keep their jobs.(please sir), democrats did not counter his flood of lies effectively, Harris didn’t have time or name recognition (but gamely tried. when she could peek up her head into the media dominated by Trump). He is wiping his feet on the Constitution, knowing 380 million people are now helpless to stop his power grab.
The voters were fooled by his act, failed to discern his BS and unwittingly gave him permission to destroy democracy and impoverish the middle class. Trump now relies only on the republican dominated congress to rubber stamp his initiatives and SCOTUS to head off any opposition, and they will. Trump will betray them just as he is now betraying the middle class of both parties. It’s becoming more obvious every day, and it may already be too late to stop his coup. He plans to be in complete control of a country more like Russia than the USA, which will be history. He intends to dishonor the sacrifices of millions, and he won't care one bit.
In defense of the witless individuals who let the fox into the hen house, they have never seen a malignant narcissist in full bloom. Narcs can act like normal humans, they can even be charming (and switch to threatening in a flash). but they do not think or feel in a human way. His heart is so cold it would curdle your blood, if you knew. Likewise, if you knew what he thinks of Americans, you would die. He is not stupid enough to tell anyone that. But he is stupid - an IQ of 90 (the average IQ in the US is 98), a poor student, no good at business (3 bankruptcies, 10+ failed businesses). Good thing he inherited half a $billion, and stole another half $billion from his own family. He has succeeded at grifting because even the smart and educated people he despises are so damn naive and gullible. He is laughing at all of us.
But wait, there is more. Trump is a hot mess, with several serious personality disorders, and any single one is a train wreck. These "inflexible personality traits impair his thoughts, feelings, and behaviors." Trump has kept his health records from us, just like his tax records, daring us to try and make him, which we didn't and now regret. But psychiatrists and psychologists are trained in detection and have diagnosed him from his many public appearances and interviews.
- Megalomania obsession with the exercise of power, especially in the domination of others. Trump suffers from megalomania. Rather, the people around him suffer from his megalomania.
- Antisocial personality disorder. selfish, impulsive, and irresponsible, lacking regard for the rights of others.
- Borderline personality disorder - emotional dysregulation, difficulty regulating emotions.
- Narcissistic personality disorder - inflated sense of self-importance, acts selfishly to gain success.
They can't be cured. Curiously, they all act the same way. any shrink worth his salt can tell you why. People around them invariably suffer, some horribly, and the narcissist does not care at all. We have seen this in Trump before we elected him. People thought he was kidding, he wasn't. Now he is the most powerful man in the world, with the best military, with nukes, he thinks he has a mandate to do whatever he wants and SCOTUS gave him immunity from any crime he commits (so he will commit crimes, guaranteed). Trump can be expected to use all the tools available to achieve his selfish aims, and the last election gave him everything.
Trump has no friends because he betrays everyone in the end. He left Giuliani to the wolves, he let Cohen serve time for lying on his behalf, he withdrew security from top dogs in his first administration, despite credible threats, etc. By now, people are inured to crazy and to evil. Trump did that.
The voters never saw 1000 psychiatrists quietly imploding when he won the nomination through domination instead of the debates we expected; some even warned us. Trump is ruthless, relentless and completely insincere. To him, people are resources for money and power to use and discard, and otherwise worthless. He will not return the loyalty of anyone helping him; the billionaires he once envied are also in danger, though not this year.
Even Musk will be betrayed eventually, though now he is creating chaos as a useful distraction and diversion, a lightning rod, a sacrifice, a test, and a dare. But when the voters who bought the con finally grab pitchforks, get past the 101st Airborne and surround the White House (not likely), Trump will gladly serve up his sycophants on a platter to save his own ass. Alas, I fear our collective goose will be well done by the time we gather and muster the courage required. Even now, half of America is standing, mouth open, blinking furiously, drooling a bit, saying "What just happened?" People - it is better to see the shitstorm coming and act than to watch it pass by and simply count the casualties. Sooner or later, the shitstorm will return for you and wring you out. We will never overcome our shame at allowing this election to be stolen, but it could get far worse if we continue to sit on our fat asses and watch in dull amazement.
Trump's plans to Make America Great Again are all impractical, short-sighted, costly, mean-spirited, and inflationary, guaranteed to Make America Grovel Again, and Trump knows that. But they provide enough confusion and distress to distract us from his real goals. Not long ago we were one proud nation, leading the world in many ways. He divided us again and again, fired us up, won, betrayed and left us milling around rudderless and essentially leaderless. Frankly, anyone with a conscience or good intentions is outclassed now, because Trump is willing to fight dirtier. America is in steep decline and Trump is the madman at the wheel, gloating as the darkness closes in.
Surprisingly, Trump's continual overreach and wanton destruction may well unite the country. Many of the differences between blue and red were planted and pumped up to render us impotent. When we all recognize he is taking away the infrastructure that supported our wealth and well-being of everyone - rich and poor, every color, men and women - he despises us all. Don't feel bad, deep down, narcissists despise themselves most of all. He is 78, in poor health - mentally, morally and physically. I hope we wake up soon, he plans to consolidate his power and suppress all dissent within two years.
