Tag: President Narcissist

  • Trump notices that times have changed

    Trump and priorities is a hot topic today, because on the one hand a mass shooting in Odessa, Texas plus a hurricane getting stronger as it approaches, and on the other hand a woman who said something critical about him. The underlying thought is that a normal person in Trump’s job would focus on the first hand rather than the second.

    Kyle Griffin:

    It seems noteworthy that the president was tweeting about Debra Messing and The Apprentice this morning, hours after a mass shooting in West Texas and while a hurricane that’s threatening parts of the south was continuing to strengthen.

    Donald Trump:

    I have not forgotten that when it was announced that I was going to do The Apprentice, and when it then became a big hit, helping NBC’s failed lineup greatly, @DebraMessing came up to me at an Upfront & profusely thanked me, even calling me “Sir.” How times have changed!

    Well no shit times have changed, “sir.” Then you were just a loudmouth on tv; now you’re the president of the US.

    There’s an interesting thing about this change in the times that Trump doesn’t seem to have noticed: the expectations are different. Very different, and in more than one area. Not much is expected of blowhards on tv except that they blow hard in a way that many millions of people want to watch. I’m not a fan of blowhards, myself, even if I share their politics, and I don’t really get the taste, but lots of people love them. But being president is a different kind of job and position, and it requires a different set of skills. Trump has none of the skills required for that job; not one. He can’t even look the part for the cameras, let alone actually perform it.

    So, yeah, no shit people who tolerated him when he was just a corrupt racist vulgar tv shouter are not willing to tolerate him now that he’s in a position to destroy everything. What an idiotic Gotcha it is to rage that someone who flattered him when he was a mere joke is critical of him now that he’s Godzilla.

    Plus the whole priorities issue. Mass shootings, growing hurricanes, and all Donny Two-Scoops cares about is his own precious bloated self.

    What a spectacle.

  • There were at least 10 billion people there

    Meanwhile Trump is still frantically rubbing his narcissism in full public view.

    President Trump on Saturday called for a Washington Post reporter to be fired over a misleading tweet about the size of the crowd at a rally for the president on Friday in Pensacola, Fla.

    The reporter, Dave Weigel, posted a picture of an arena with many empty seats. He deleted the tweet after learning that the venue had not yet filled up.

    On Saturday night, the president posted a screenshot of Mr. Weigel’s tweet and other photos that showed a crowded arena. “Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo!” he wrote.

    But it was a tweet – not an article in the Post, a tweet.

    The president of the US, whining on Twitter about one guy posting one tweet. The president of the US, targeting one guy on Twitter for mass harassment. What will he do next, start throwing toddlers into federal prison for sucking their thumbs?

    Trump demanded an apology and got it.

    Trump responded by saying he should be fired.

    Fired from his job for a personal tweet.

    I guess before long it will be a capital crime to say Trump’s audience was very very very very small?

    Mr. Trump’s outburst on Saturday was not the first time he had expressed anger at the news media for its coverage of attendance at his rallies and other events.

    After taking office in January, he accused journalists of deliberately understating the size of the crowd at his inauguration and said that up to 1.5 million people were in attendance, a claim that photographs disproved. Analyses of news footage showed that fewer people attended Mr. Trump’s inauguration than President Barack Obama’s in 2009.

    Don’t ever say Trump has a tiny audience.

    Image result for nuremberg rally

  • Kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss

    Now people are laughing at Trump for holding a Kiss the Ring or Perhaps the Ass ceremony at his first “Cabinet Meeting” today.

    Donald Trump opened a cabinet meeting Monday by bragging about the “record-setting pace” of his legislation, which is his fantasy as opposed to fact. Then things got weird, as Trump invited members to introduce themselves. They knew what to do.

    Watch the full 11-minute video

    Tell him he’s awesome. Did I guess right?

    The cabinet responded with appalling enthusiasm, viz: “we thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that you’ve given us to serve your agenda”; “great honor to serve you”; “my hat’s off to you”; “privilege of my life”; “thank you, great honor”.

    Oh god oh god oh god it’s so embarrassing.

    Chuck Schumer added his bit.

    Smirnoff added its.

  • Prince Vanity

    Oh christ. Donnie has given himself a new cover photo on Twitter. It betrays what a vain self-absorbed idiot he is.

    Capture

    As if the whole point of being president is flying around in the big blue plane to work up crowds of people.

    Every day we learn afresh what a child he is.

  • How to be human

    Compare:

    H/t Holms

    Updating to add: from another angle:

    Image may contain: 1 person, standing and outdoor

  • The dignity of the office

    The morning Donnie.

    It’s disgusting that he thinks he gets to say anything at any time about “fake news” when he’s been such a dishonest and determined promoter of actual fake news himself. I know I just said that yesterday, but attention to Donnie from Queens requires a lot of repetition. Birther fake news, the Central Park 5 fake news, “Crooked Hillary” fake news, those jobs at Carrier fake news, to name just a few.

    Also – it is beyond inappropriate for a president-elect to try to suppress legitimate news organizations. We have a free press. He wasn’t elected dictator. He’s acting like a fascist.

    Good god – he shares a random tweet because it flatters him and has little sun emojis in it?

    Again – he gave up his ability to make credible accusations about made up, phony facts many years ago, by pushing so many made up, phony facts himself.

    Buy LLBean because they like me Donnie. That’s dignified.

    See above.

  • On the road again

    He’s really doing it. He really is doing more rallies, even though the election is over – because that’s where he gets the instant gratification of people cheering him right in his face. It’s all he wants, along with the many many opportunities to boost his profits.

    Donald Trump will once more feel the love that unexpectedly propelled him to victory over Hillary Clinton three weeks ago with a so-called ‘Thank You Tour’ of public appearances starting with a giant rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday night.

    While there is so far no published tour schedule, the director of Mr Trump’s advance planning team, George Gigicos, has said that that the president-elect will be traveling “obviously to the states that we won and the swing states we flipped over”.

    This…isn’t a thing. This isn’t something presidents do right after they are elected. They have too much other stuff to do, for one thing, and it’s probably a tad too obviously self-gratifying for people with an ounce of adult awareness. It takes a case of narcissism as severe as Trump’s to think this is an ok and reasonable thing for a president-elect to do.

    While some will see it as Mr Trump looking to indulge in a victory lap around the country, Mr Gigicos insisted that it was about giving thanks to those voters who helped him on his way to his Electoral College victory on 8 November, against the expectations of nearly all the main polling organisations and of the Clinton campaign as well.

    Yeah that doesn’t change anything, because “giving thanks” isn’t part of the routine. It’s like when the local public radio station thanks me for listening – I don’t do it as a favor, I do it when and because there’s something I want to hear. But even the local public radio station doesn’t set up rallies to thank the listeners.

    Certainly it is an unusual project. Mr Trump already has a full plate completing his choices for his cabinet and other top positions in Washington and keeping his transition from descending into chaos, as it has already threatened to in recent days, not least the tug of war that has erupted over his courtship of Mitt Romney as a possible Secretary of State.

    And learning the basics of the job, and indeed learning the basics of American history and world affairs. Oh he has a lot he could usefully be doing.

    And even if Mr Trump believes he can spare the time to return to the hustings even though the election is over, it is unclear who would be paying the costs of renting spaces as large as the US Bank Arena and covering all the other associated costs of major rallies.

    I’m sure he’ll just send us the bill.

  • There is no getting better

    N Ziehl on coping with an apparent narcissist in the White House.

    I want to talk a little about narcissistic personality disorder. I’ve unfortunately had a great deal of experience with it, and I’m feeling badly for those of you who are trying to grapple with it for the first time because of our president-elect, who almost certainly suffers from it or a similar disorder. If I am correct, it has some very particular implications for the office. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

    1) It’s not curable and it’s barely treatable. He is who he is. There is no getting better, or learning, or adapting. He’s not going to “rise to the occasion” for more than maybe a couple hours. So just put that out of your mind.

    I should probably pay attention to that. I’ve never expected him to rise to the occasion, but I suppose I have been thinking he might realize what a fucking fool he is if everyone told him so. I should just put that out of my mind.

    2) He will say whatever feels most comfortable or good to him at any given time. He will lie a lot, and say totally different things to different people. Stop being surprised by this. While it’s important to pretend “good faith” and remind him of promises, as Bernie Sanders and others are doing, that’s for his supporters, so they can see the inconsistency as it comes. He won’t care. So if you’re trying to reconcile or analyze his words, don’t. It’s 100% not worth your time. Only pay attention to and address his actions.

    Well I’m not doing it because he will care but because others care. We have to keep track – for the prosecution if nothing else. Plus it’s a kind of coping mechanism itself. Decline and fall sort of thing.

    4) Entitlement is a key aspect of the disorder. As we are already seeing, he will likely not observe traditional boundaries of the office. He has already stated that rules don’t apply to him. This particular attribute has huge implications for the presidency and it will be important for everyone who can to hold him to the same standards as previous presidents.

    So that’s another reason we should keep track.

    5) We should expect that he only cares about himself and those he views as extensions of himself, like his children. (People with NPD often can’t understand others as fully human or distinct.) He desires accumulation of wealth and power because it fills a hole. (Melania is probably an acquired item, not an extension.) He will have no qualms at all about stealing everything he can from the country, and he’ll be happy to help others do so, if they make him feel good. He won’t view it as stealing but rather as something he’s entitled to do. This is likely the only thing he will intentionally accomplish.

    I have suspected as much. Good to have it spelled out.

  • Oversight

    There’s a thing called the Goldwater Rule which applies to members of the American Psychiatric Association; it says they can’t diagnose someone they haven’t personally evaluated.

    The Goldwater Rule is published as an annotation in the Principles of Medical Ethics with Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry. I encourage you all to read the full text of the rule below, and keep it in mind during this election cycle, and other events of similarly intense public interest.

    The “Goldwater Rule:”

    On occasion psychiatrists are asked for an opinion about an individual who is in the light of public attention or who has disclosed information about himself/herself through public media. In such circumstances, a psychiatrist may share with the public his or her expertise about psychiatric issues in general. However, it is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement.”

    Principles of Medical Ethics with Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry

    You know, people who go into the military get evaluated first. They get screened. Some candidates are rejected. But candidates for president are not evaluated or screened in any such way. There is no procedure for blocking a candidate who is just plain unfit for the job.

    Trump should have been screened out long ago. There’s a terrible mismatch between what the president has the ability to do – like starting wars and deploying nuclear weapons – and the total lack of a system for insuring that the president is not a raging narcissist.

  • Aren’t all politicians?

    The Washington Post asked in late July Is Trump a textbook narcissist?

    For the four days of the Republican convention, the word “narcissism” was never more in vogue, but what does the word actually mean? More importantly, what would it mean for America if one of the nominees for president of the United States is a narcissist? Aren’t all politicians?

    The way Trump is? No, certainly not.

    Arguably they can’t be, because politics doesn’t work that way. Trump’s election is an anomaly. People who put their own ego ahead of everything else are going to put people off, and their political careers won’t get off the ground. Trump is an “outsider,” which means he didn’t do any political work to get to this point. He’s always been at the top of his own ladder, giving orders, so he’s never had to learn to get along with people, so he’s never been forced to stop putting himself first.

    A simple narcissist is someone who is self-absorbed, says Peter Freed, a psychiatrist at the Personality Studies Institute in New York City. On the other hand, people with narcissistic personality disorder are so self-absorbed that they are indifferent, even oblivious, to how they appear to others.

    That’s our boy, wouldn’t you say?

    Pathological narcissism is not, strictly speaking, a mental illness. Rather, it is classified as a personality disorder, afflicting someone whose behavior and beliefs lie far outside the norm. Unlike many mental illnesses, the origins of personality disorders are generally considered more familial and environmental than genetic.

    Freed thinks narcissism is the “great, undiagnosed character pa­thol­ogy of the modern age,” even though few in psychiatry want to even use the word narcissism, he says, because of its pejorative connotation. The American public “is hampered by a lack of education about a syndrome that is real” and causes “real suffering.”

    Ultimately, he said, regarding highly successful people, narcissism works — until it doesn’t. Usually those who suffer most are not the narcissists, Freed says, but those around them, the people who have to cope with the “mood swings, walking on egg shells, the demand to be sycophantic.”

    “Right now Trump is not having a hard time” he said. “The hard time will come if he loses.”

    Or, it turns out, if he wins but many people continue to say he’s a terrible human being.

  • More Twitter lies from Trump

    Trump has lit up social media again.

    In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.

    I offered him my quick thought on the subject:

    What if we add the millions of people whose votes were suppressed in defiance of the Voting Rights Act? You lying bastard.

    Ezra Klein points out that he can’t keep track of his own arguments.

    Trump has lost the thread of his own argument. The point of Trump’s tweets was to dismiss those questioning the legitimacy of the vote.

    Yes but that’s true only if you regard his tweets as an argument. I consider them blurts, instead; it saves a lot of time.

    This perhaps goes without saying, but it’s unnerving that the president-elect can’t restrain himself from making a bad situation worse on Twitter, or even hold himself to the logic of the argument he intended to make and the outcome he wanted to achieve.

    Yes. Yes it is. It’s very unnerving that he is that stupid, and undisciplined, and narcissistic, and impulsive. It’s shocking that someone like that can get elected to such a powerful office. I’m unnerved by it multiple times every day. It’s hard to say enough about how terrible it is.

    This tweet is an example of Trump’s most dangerous quality: his tendency to mobilize against a threatening, sometimes imaginary Other whenever he himself is under siege.

    Most dangerous and possibly most disgusting. His constant lashing out is a revolting thing to see in a head of state.

    This tweet is an example of one of Trump’s other dangerous qualities: his tendency to believe what he wants to believe about the world, facts be damned.

    To believe it and to try to force it on everyone else. Another bad quality in a head of state.

    It has been weeks since Donald Trump won the presidential election, and here is what we can say: he is still just himself. He is governing like he promised. He is appointing the loyalists, lackeys, and extremists he surrounded himself with during the campaign. He is tweeting the same strange, crazed missives, pursuing the same odd and counterproductive vendettas. His conflicts of interest have proven, if anything, worse than expected, and he has shown no shame, restraint, or interest in addressing them.

    He will always be just himself. That’s painfully clear. Nothing can shift him.

  • Donnie’s pal “Honest Abe”

  • A surprisingly sharp rebuke from Mr. Trump

    What happened at last night’s performance of “Hamilton.”

    With Vice President-elect Mike Pence attending the show, the cast used the opportunity to make a statement emphasizing the need for the new administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump, a Republican, to work on behalf of all Americans.

    It was a deeply felt and altogether rare appeal from the stage of a Broadway show — and it drew a surprisingly sharp rebuke from Mr. Trump on Saturday morning. The president-elect tweeted that the “Hamilton” cast had “harassed” Mr. Pence by making the statement and had been “very rude.”

    “Apologize!” Mr. Trump wrote at the end of one of two tweets on the matter.

    “Surprisingly” sharp? Hardly. “Surprisingly” compared to what one would expect of an adult, reasonable, civic-minded president-elect, but not “surprisingly” at all from the belligerent sadistic narcissistic bully that is Trump. Trump considers his own rudeness the very best rudeness, and rudeness directed at him or his an offense against the universe.

    As the play ended, the actor who played Aaron Burr, Brandon Victor Dixon, acknowledged that Mr. Pence was in the audience, thanked him for attending and added, “We hope you will hear us out.”

    “We, sir — we — are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” he said. “We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”

    The audience applauded and cheered. Pence was already in the hall but stopped to listen.

    The statement that Mr. Dixon read was written by the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, its director, Thomas Kail, and the lead producer, Jeffrey Seller, with input from cast members, Mr. Seller said.

    “We had to ask ourselves, how do we cope with this?” Mr. Seller said. “Our cast could barely go on stage the day after the election. The election was painful and crushing to all of us here. We all struggled with what was the appropriate and respectful and proper response. We are honored that Mr. Pence attended the show, and we had to use this opportunity to express our feelings.”

    Mr. Seller said that there was some discussion about whether it was appropriate to inject a political statement into the night, and that those involved decided to wait until the end of the performance. He said no cast members had skipped the performance to protest Mr. Pence’s appearance.

    In normal circumstances I think I would probably consider it inappropriate, if only because we don’t want political speeches from all sides at the end of every play…but probably more because it would look like self-righteous preening, as things like that so often do. But these circumstances? Not normal.

  • Going down the list

    First item on Joshua Foust’s list:

    From that NBC News piece:

    Trump’s transition website is now equipped with the official “.gov” federal web address.

    And while the “Meet The President Elect” section is typically dedicated to outlining an official’s vision and background, there is one particular emphasis in his resume.

    More than one-quarter of Trump’s bio refers to his business properties around the world.

    The focus on Trump’s individual private properties, from which he draws his income, is a break from the political norms of a candidate transitioning into the White House.

    Barack Obama, for example, had a similar bio page during his transition as president elect that outlined his career achievements and charitable work. Nowhere did Obama mention his books, which were best-sellers and the driving source of his wealth while he served in the White House.

    In other words, you don’t use your official government website to market your wares. Not cool. Not classy. Not what the whole thing is for. Not ok. Not according to the norms. Not normal.

    Second item in Foust’s list:

    That’s from The Hill last April:

    In a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Post published Saturday, Trump said he would want high-level federal employees to sign nondisclosure agreements.

    “When people are chosen by a man to go into government at high levels, and then they leave government and they write a book about a man and say a lot of things that were really guarded and personal, I don’t like that,” Trump said.

    “A man” of course is code for “Me Donald Trump.” It doesn’t apply to other, ordinary men. It’s only about Him, Donald Trump.

    That Post interview:

    Trump also said that the United States has lost its standing in the world and that he would make people “respect our country. I want them to respect our leader.” Asked how he would do so, Trump cited an “aura of personality.”

    He wants to make people respect him. “The country” is a proxy for him, but he can’t keep up the disguise long. “I want them to respect Me, our leader.”

    Plus he thinks he has a respect-worthy “aura of personality.”

    None of that is normal.

     

    More to follow.