Those of you who have read any of these blogs may recall that I have had a lot to say about the mental health of our President, or more specifically the lack thereof. I described him as being quite fragile, and at risk of decompensating into psychosis with the right triggers. Unfortunately, there are signs, that prophecy may now be coming true, and we may be stuck with a crazy President for the next month or so. There is little doubt that his behavior has been even more erratic than usual, leaving the pundits to spend a great deal of time attempting to discern his strategy.

It was no surprise that he would insist the election was fraudulent for he has been telling us for months that if he lost, it would be because the election was fixed. Of course, he only complained about the states won by Biden. He has maintained a surprisingly low profile since the election and info leaked from the White House paints a picture of an angry brooding person subject to fits of rage directed at anyone who suggests it is time to concede. One of his earliest and most faithful supporters has characterized his quest to have the election overturned as “an embarrassment.” He has apparently been shocked to discover that even those federal judges whom he nominated have chosen to follow the law rather than the dictates of our dear leader. Some have even shown the temerity to chastise his attorneys for alleging fraud without evidence to support the charges.

Theories Regarding Trump’s Behavior in “Defeat”

There have been a variety of theories raised in an attempt to explain what is often seen as self-defeating behavior as he excoriates those who have been his most staunch supporters. Some see the parade of lawsuits alleging fraud as merely a fundraising ploy ($207 million dollars so far) as he sets the stage to start campaigning for the 2024 election, or as a means to finance his own propaganda machine a la Fox News, and there is the problem of the $300 Million bucks he is said to owe to a mysterious benefactor, yet his retreat from the public eye is beginning to erode the support of dyed-in-the-wool Trumpers. There are even a few frightened senators who are whispering disapproval of his conspiracy theories.

There seems to be general agreement among the more expert Trump watchers that except for his continuing fund-raising efforts, his behavior doesn’t make much sense. Many of us in the field have concluded that his mental state is precarious, and that when under stress he is at risk of decompensating into psychosis. As a matter of fact, a few thousand of us signed a letter attesting to that opinion some time ago. Although diagnostic labels in psychiatry are not precise (more about that in a subsequent blog) most agree that the diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder with Sociopathic features best describes Mr. Trump. He has spent his entire life attempting to prove to himself that he is a superior human being in order to shield himself from deep seated feelings of insecurity and inferiority, which explains his bullying, lying, bragging, self-aggrandizement, and continual need for praise. It is the latter quality which has led him to surround himself with a group of sycophants and has appeared to influence even his foreign policy decisions as other world leaders learn how to use that vulnerability. His preoccupation with protecting his fragile ego leaves no room for empathy or concern for others, and those who threaten to expose his deficiencies are subject to his rage and punishment.

The Truth Will Set You Free but The Lies Fan the Flames of the Discontented Sheep

Much has been made of Trump’s lies with the Washington Post reporting thousands (I couldn’t find the current number). EDITOR’S NOTE: This link goes to the Trump Lies Database (as of Oct. 16, the tally was over 26,000). Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, is quoted as saying that if you tell a lie often enough people will accept it as true, which a recent study covered in Scientific American tends to confirm. However, I am not aware of any research which focuses on the effect of such repetitive falsehoods on the one who delivers them, i.e. does the chronic liar come to believe his own lies if he repeats them frequently over a long period of time? This brings up an interesting philosophical point – is one who has convinced himself that his lies are true still a liar?

• 

However, in the case of one whose entire being is dominated by a need to convince himself of his superiority to other humans, truth is irrelevant for the ultimate goal is to convince himself that falsehoods are truths. When one begins with a lie the only proof that can be offered is another lie which is how conspiracy theories are born. In Trump’s case, he has been unwilling to even consider the possibility of fallibility in any aspect of his life. He always uses superlatives to describe himself or his performance, never just good but always the best as in the “best economy ever” or “the biggest crowds ever.” He took pains to insure his loss of the election would be due to fraud rather than admit that he wasn’t the greatest President since Lincoln or maybe even before. He continues to insist in spite of evidence to the contrary that the election was stolen from him and that lie has been repeated by him hundreds of times in the past month.

Could it be that he actually believes those lies he constantly mouths as do many of his followers. A recent Reuters poll concluded that 52% of Republicans believe the election was rigged while other polls show the percentage to be even higher. Thus, it seems Trump’s admonitions to his followers that they should only believe him and not the “fake news” purveyors has been effective even though there has not been a shred of evidence of significant fraud. In a recent blog (LOYAL TRUMP FANS) I quoted Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, who described the Trump organization as a cult. I thought comparison of Trump to a cult leader seemed an exaggeration until I read this article in Psychology Today by Joe Navarro, a retired FBI agent. who wrote in his article about about dangerous cult leaders:

“ Having studied at length the life, teachings, and behaviors of Jim Jones (Jonestown Guyana), David Koresh (Branch Davidians), Stewart Traill (The Church of Bible Understanding), Charles Manson, Shoko Asahara (Aum Shinrikyo), Joseph Di Mambro (The Order of the Solar Temple a.k.a. Ordre du Temple Solaire), Marshall Heff Applewhit (Heaven’s Gate), Bhagwan Rajneesh (Rajneesh Movement), and Warren Jeffs (polygamist leader), I can say that what stands out about these individuals is that they were or are all pathologically narcissistic. They all have or had an over-abundant belief that they were special, that they and they alone had the answers to problems, and that they had to be revered. They demanded perfect loyalty from followers, they overvalued themselves and devalued those around them, they were intolerant of criticism, and above all they did not like being questioned or challenged. And yet, in spite of these less than charming traits, they had no trouble attracting those who were willing to overlook these features.”

By Joe Navarro, Psychology Today, Dangerous Cult Leaders Dangerous Cult Leaders: Clues to what makes for a pathological cult leader

Sound familiar?

Cults and The Company We Keep | Hate Groups. Domestic Terrorists. White Supremacists.

If those thousands of attendees at His rallies are members of a cult, it is a large one, yet not unprecedented for many consider Scientology for example to be a cult. My experience with cults has been in treating family members of those recruited into cults. What I have read indicates there are varied reasons some are vulnerable to being recruited, and that there are a surprising number of apparently well-adjusted people who are willing to surrender their beliefs to a charismatic figure in spite of his obvious flaws.

It appears Trump is running out of legal challenges designed to steal the election for himself which begs the question as to what is next for Trump and his followers, the vast majority of whom believe whatever he says. Unfortunately; there are also many who support him out of fear for their political future. His son in law, Kushner, said in an interview that Trump had succeeded in executing “a hostile takeover” of the Republican party. Indeed, we have seen a continuous string of supports by elected officials for, or pathological tolerance of, his nefarious activities out of fear they will be primaried. Consequently; he continues to spit on The Constitution with impunity, most recently by filing suit in the Supreme court to nullify the votes of millions of people.

• 

Meanwhile more drama appears to be forming as Trump’s buddies, The Proud Boys are no longer adhering to the order to “stand back and stand by” as ordered by Trump during the Presidential debate. As a matter of fact, they have been an active presence during the current demonstrations for Trump in Washington. Their leader, a gun toting dude by the name of Enrique Tarrio, was seen visiting or maybe casing the White House, but the administration assures us that this was not at the invitation of the President, and we know we can always trust every word we hear from that source. Nevertheless, during a lull in the attempts to foment rioting Mr. Tarrio later addressed the troops and said: “We have come a long way”. Another hero to speak was recently pardoned General Mike Flynn who extoled the virtues of his benefactor for keeping him out of the slammer. All in all, it was just another day in the swamp.

There has been a great deal of speculation as to what Trump will do in order to attempt to save face or better yet to mete out punishment for those who refused to praise him. Some have suggested that his recent replacement of key personnel at the Pentagon with know nothing sycophants is a backup plan to use the military to engineer a coup d’etat since his hand-picked supreme court was disloyal to him and decided instead to follow the constitution. There was also the trial balloon arranged by Bill Barr during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations when he raised a secret militia composed mostly of federal prison guards, but that didn’t work out so well.

It has been assumed that the torch if passed would be flame first, and that Trump likely will not attend the inauguration. There are lots of possibilities as to how the swearing in could be disrupted. One rumor has it that Trump will arrange for a giant rally and use the occasion to announce his intent to run again in 2024. It seems nearly certain that he will not be able to tolerate watching Biden get all the attention. It is expected that there will be many pardons passed out which will get him noticed along with various other gimmicks designed to make governing difficult. With a little help from the Donald it may be possible for some of those wacked out militia groups to infiltrate the inaugural crowd and stir up trouble, but hopefully the COVID thing will keep crowds to a minimum.

Top Reasons for Trump Would Refuse to Cede Power

There are several reasons Trump may be more reluctant than the average guy to cede power to another:

• It is a dream job for the pathological narcissist who lives to be the center of attention.
• It presents multiple opportunities to cash in, e.g. the $175,000 a day charged to the inauguration committee for the use of Trump’s DC hotel ballroom.
• The title of President lends credence to whatever con job one wishes to pull off, which is the greatest joy for any sociopath.
• The power to make or break individuals helps to validate the self- imposed myth of infallibility.
• The office offers some protection from indictments, and rumor has it that Trump may be facing serious legal problems as a civilian. Here’s a link to the list of current law suits Trump will likely face as a civilian when the office of the President of the United States can’t protect him anymore..

Today, Biden was certified as President elect, but I was happy to hear that Trump said he would not give up on overturning the election. Yes, I was pleased because I thought as long as he is occupied with such activities, he is unlikely to engage in even crazier behaviors. Hopefully, even when hope is lost, the lure of all those donations to his “legal “funds will keep him going for a while.

However, as the end of his fun time draws nearer, I am concerned that his paranoia may progress to the point that he might do something really crazy. His support for or simply lack of commentary about the proud boy agitators’ recent activities could be seen as a go-ahead signal which could rapidly escalate into a major crisis – his parting gift to Biden. In the event that Trump does come to believe some of those conspiracy theories which he espouses, there is no limit to the crazy behaviors which could make sense to him, and even on his best days his legendary fits of rage seem to overwhelm judgement.

The 25th amendment to the constitution provides a mechanism to remove a sitting President who is disabled, but according to my reading, section 4 states the President has a right to appeal such decisions in which case Congress must be convened with 48hours to debate the issue. The most powerful man in the world can do a lot of damage in 48 hours. As a matter of fact, if he is angry with the world, he has it within his power to destroy it. But that is even too horrible for an old cynic like me to contemplate.

There is hope however as today the long awaited vaccine is being distributed at the same time a new administration is voted in to office. I am reminded of my long ago departed Father-In-Law who, although he was a registered Republican, admitted that he always voted against the incumbent because he figured the best thing you could do for the country was to “keep turning them over.”