2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumA journey into Trump's psyche
Some thoughts on Trump's psyche.
Obviously the man feeds off external adulation and affirmation. That's why he loves his rallies full of adoring fans. That's why he wants his buildings and properties to be bigger, more glaring and garish. That's why he always talks about himself in such gargantuan terms. It must be eating away at him, gnawing at him like a growing cancer, that he isn't getting anything like the adulation and affirmation that he probably believes is his due from most Americans. That's why he lashes out at protestors, SNL, the cast of Hamilton, and even the mostly servile and empty news media when they offer even a hint of negative coverage. You see he doesn't just crave external adulation and affirmation, he demands it as his due.
Now ask, given that psyche, what he is to do, internally, with the reality that he lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. How is he to psychically process that fact? Clearly, he has to run from it, he has to re-narrate it, not as a rejection, but as an affirmation and a resounding one at that. That is why he now praises the "genius" of the electoral college which he had previously scorned. And that is why he went on the road for his bizarre thank-you tour. He had a desperate and pathetic need to recreate the adoring crowds in order to reassure himself that the people, at least the people that matter, love him still, affirm him still. But then there comes the late breaking news that though he may not really be the people's choice, he was certainly Putin's choice and that Putin did everything in his power to try to install Trump into the presidency of the United States.
And finally, ask how this plays in Trump's warped psyche. Clearly it threatens to take away the last shred of his legitimacy. Trump will not suffer that threat easily. The lashing out has already begun. Now let you imagination be as unconstrained and as creative as possible in imagining what is to come. Ask yourself what we are in for over the next weeks, months, and possibly years, as the depth of Russian involvement becomes clearer and clearer, as Trump becomes more and more unhinged, as his illegitimacy becomes more and more manifest to all. It is not a pretty picture.
A Dark Drama lies ahead. Mark my words. It will make the darkest days of Watergate look like a dress rehearsal for the true meltdown of American Democracy.
MBS
(9,688 posts)and that he is unfit in every way, to hold the office of president.
kennetha
(3,666 posts)We might be saved from this nightmare.
MBS
(9,688 posts)Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)because of his mental state. The 1%ers ,have for years wanted to recreate the Gilded Age. With this Coup,they are well on their way.
MFM008
(20,000 posts)Protests.
He's going to need a diaper change.
Koch Ebola
(831 posts)It is psychology 101 that enablers of a bully or tyrant have low self-esteem. Anyone who seeks an authority figure is seeking a protector and a father figure.
You notice that Baby Boomer Conservatives are militaristic. They are hard core war mongers in speech but not in action. One commonality they have, they never served in the military. What is Trumps military record? He was in some military academy for 10 minutes. This tough talk is what psychologists call: Vicarious compensation. These next 4 years is going to be fascinating. Will Trump have a nervous breakdown before our various eyes? Just like Nixon in his last days? When he starts talking to portraits of former presidents, then we will know.
kennetha
(3,666 posts)Four months of steady opposition and he will crack.
3catwoman3
(25,456 posts)...put him over the edge a lot sooner that that, IMO. He is accustomed to being able to go wherever he wants, whenever he wants, and do whatever he wants.
The presidency is a 24/7 job, with every waking minute either scheduled or accounted for. The Secret Service no doubt knows when the president goes into the oval office bathroom, and, unless it is well sound-proofed, likely knows what bodily function is being preformed while he is in there. He can kiss his privacy goodbye, and he will hate that.
DFT (Donald Fucking Trump) is in for the proverbial rude awakening.