Narcissism Plus
George Conway points out that Trump is now busy failing to deal with not one but two crises.
Lacking in humanity, Trump has had no idea how to handle either one. He has responded to the police-brutality protests only by making matters worse. Faced with circumstances warranting calls for calm and restraint, he answered with almost sadistic invitations for more violence, fulminating about “THUGS” and extrajudicially “shooting” looters, issuing threats about “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons,” and celebrating “Domination” and “Overwhelming force.”
I’m not sure what that “almost” is doing in front of “sadistic,” unless it’s just the usual “must be careful in major mainstream newspaper” type of qualm. Maybe an editor inserted it. Trump’s sadism is of course all too obvious and complete.
Tweeting about “LAW AND ORDER!” and “Anarchists,” and ignoring the distinction between peaceful, aggrieved citizens and the relatively few lawbreakers among them, Trump castigated governors in a phone call as “weak,” effectively upbraiding them for not spraying more fuel on the fire. And then, after he was wounded by mockery about having been hustled to a White House bunker as protests mounted, his administration used chemicals and projectile munitions to disperse peaceful demonstrators so that this morally deficient, scripturally ignorant payer-off-of-porn-stars could awkwardly pose with a borrowed Bible as a stalwart defender of public order and Christian values in front of a Lafayette Square church.
And almost nothing pulling in the other direction – just a couple of perfunctory mentions that someone must have persuaded him to make.
And with the virus? A complete failure.
And all without appreciation by the president of the human toll exacted not only by the virus itself, but also from his own inattentiveness to it. On Memorial Day weekend, as the death count approached 100,000, he indulged himself with two days of golf. When asked during a March virus briefing a simple question that any humane politician could have knocked out of the park — “What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now and are scared?” — he responded not to the American people, but with an angry attack on the journalist: “I’d say that you’re a terrible reporter, that’s what I’d say.”
It’s his off the charts narcissism, but there’s more to it.
However difficult they can be, even extreme narcissists can have consciences. They don’t necessarily cast aside behavioral standards or laws, or lie ceaselessly with reckless abandon. Trump’s behavior is conscienceless, showing utter disregard for the safety of others, consistent irresponsibility, callousness, cynicism and disrespect of other human beings. Contempt for truth and honesty, and for norms, rules and laws. A complete inability to feel remorse, or guilt.
That’s why I can’t shut up about him, I think. The spectacle of all that, in a president, all laid out in public – I can’t not keep recording it. The depth of his shallowness, to put it paradoxically but I think truly, just can’t be not noticed.
Makes perfect sense to me. He’s a black hole of shallowness, such a huge amount packed into a (relatively) small area.
Likewise paradoxical: The profundity of his inanity.
I don’t think he is ignoring the distinction. I think he sees no distinction. To him, peaceful protestors are law breakers (at least if they are black). If they are protesting against something Trump sees as important, necessary, or good (like police officers killing people for quotidian arrests), then they are lawbreakers. If they are protesting against Trump, they are terrorists, traitors, and treasonous.
I have relatives that automatically put any legal, peaceful protest into the category of violent crime. The Women’s March? Violent crime against the government. Protesting the G8 (now G7)? Violent crime against the government. Anti-war protests? Violent crime against the government. It doesn’t matter. If no looting happens, fi the protestors are not looting or hurting people, if they stand on the street corners with six people waving signs, they are violent lawbreakers.
Now, a bunch of heavily armed white guys marching against a Democratic (female) governor? Hanging a Democratic governor in effigy? They are justifiably angry men who have been denied their rights. Nothing to see here, folks, just honest expressions of First and Second Amendment rights.
In short, if you are on the “wrong” side, or the “wrong” color, or the “wrong” sex, you have no First Amendment rights (and certainly no right to carry a gun, because your Second Amendment rights are suspended if some white guy might get scared of you)l
Now I see that an alleged KKK leader ran a car through a group of protesters in VA. I wonder how much of this is due to Trump and those of his ilk promoting “we must dominate” messages. Sick bastards. I guess the attack dogs, tear gas, and rubber bullets weren’t enough, now we need attempted vehicular homicide? He sure brings out the worst in people doesn’t he.
Yeah, twiliter, it’s like he gives them permission to be the worst person they could dream of being.
‘Profound’ is a word that comes to mind; with regard his ignorance, that is. He also has the mentality of a perpetually indulged toddler inclined to revel in the misfortunes of others. I cannot recall him ever laughing with people; only at them. Though I will say this for him: he is incapable of condescension. People who do that without having much up top themselves, nor insight into themselves nor empathy for others tend not to engender respect.
But the respect for President Pussygrabber out there is huuuuuuge. Just ask him.
It has been frequently pointed out that he never seems to laugh. Sneer, yes, but laugh, no.
Trump’s encyclopedic ignorance?
A low-cost business opportunity right here for some enterprising type. Publish a Little Golden book or equivalent entitled ‘The Wit and Wisdom of Donald Trump’, with every page completely blank, but with heavily gold-painted covers. Should sell well to his numerous less-than-literate supporters, who could proudly display it to their friends without opening it or even taking it off the shelf. Meanwhile his opponents could fill it up with whatever they pleased.
Straight to the top of the best-seller lists, for sure; and slow to come down. (I will pass the rights to the successful applicant for a very modest commission, considering the money to be made.)