In narcissistic collapse, Trump unravels as the world and a shell-shocked nation look on…

the week from hell

The news today was devastating. Another death in Minneapolis— a murder perpetrated by the patrolling goons sent by Donald Trump to instigate a crisis. The week began with the president of the United States throwing a deranged tantrum as his NATO allies looked on and planned for a new world order. America had lost its senses and elected a madman.  Who could disagree after Trump managed to destroy all the goodwill his country had held in reserve as leader of the free world for nearly a century?  Gone.

He demanded Greenland (calling it Iceland and a piece of ice), threatening to take it by force if it wasn’t given to him. Europe stared him down as the markets at home registered their disapproval. Davos was the embodiment of Donald Trump’s disruptive turn on the world stage. 

Meanwhile, domestic issues that dogged him at home were still at play in Minneapolis. Trump was having his fascist hissy fit. It had been two weeks since an ICE agent murdered an unarmed mother of three. If Trump was looking for events to take the Epstein Files off the front page, he found them. 

During the week, Jack Smith reminded us what honor and duty look like.  His five-hour ordeal before a House committee was an opportunity for Americans who watched to compare Smith’s unembellished testimony to Republicans who provided comic relief with their recounting of lies and distractions that were easily discounted by facts and evidence.  Smith described the acts of a common criminal whose crimes were investigated by two grand juries that issued unanimous indictments. That criminal was the president who was facing plummeting poll numbers even before the events of the week. By week’s end, all Trump’s polling was underwater. 

All the bombastic threats to Greenland, NATO, and the European assemblage at the end of the day, Trump’s European romp was reduced to a photo op. Trump seated amid the dictators of the world— alone, without one of our European allies— under a banner proclaiming his newest scam, his misnomered “Board of Peace.”  Even for Republican apologizers, there could not be enough lipstick to pretty-up this pig. The week that began and ended with thousands protesting one ICE murder in the icy streets of Minneapolis sadly ended with another.

Trump took in recent polling numbers, which preceded his week from hell,  and weakly responded using his favorite distraction; he threatened to sue the pollster. Like Greenland, the New York Times/Sienna poll cannot be found liable for Trump’s decline; reality has broken through to voters who had given Trump the rope with which to hang himself:

Less than a third of voters think the country is better off than it was when President Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with a wide majority saying he has focused on the wrong issues, according to a new poll from The New York Times and Siena University.

A majority of voters disapprove of how Mr. Trump has handled top issues including the economy, immigration, the war between Russia and Ukraine and his actions in Venezuela. And significantly, a majority of Americans, 51 percent, said that Mr. Trump’s policies had made life less affordable for them.

The week, in short, may be a harbinger for the eventual collapse of the Trump regime.  

Methought I heard a voice cry “Sleep no more!
(Trump) does murder sleep…

— Macbeth, II.ii (with apologies to The Bard)

It will be interesting to observe Trump’s behavior as his political troubles escalate and he struggles to manage a world that seems to be crumbling around him. We are witnessing the effects of a narcissist in decline.  The humiliating journey to Davos may have been the most obvious sign of Trump’s decline, but it wasn’t the cause. This has been a long time coming.  While some may attribute his recent behavior to early onset of age-related dementia, it would appear that there are better diagnoses offered by Web MD’s, like myself.  

It has been well-established by many professionals who have observed Trump’s behavior over time that the president is a narcissist.  His niece has written extensively about his narcissistic behavior and how it has evolved and matured within a family dynamic that promoted it.  As Trump has aged and stressors have increased, the effort to hide his illness has begun to collapse.  He has gotten worse. His condition has morphed into what some would call a Narcissistic Collapse:

One common form of collapse is rage- explosive anger aimed at whoever or whatever is perceived to have caused the narcissistic injury. The narcissist may lash out with verbal abuse, blame-shifting, or aggressive behavior in an attempt to reassert dominance and protect their fragile ego. This is not typical anger; it is disproportionate and often infused with cruelty, entitlement, or paranoia. In some cases, the rage may be cold and calculated, meant to punish rather than simply express emotion.

— Anchor Therapy, “What Is A Narcissistic Collapse?”

Trump, stressed out by term limits and the realization that he may face a Democratic-controlled Congress, is now more dangerous.  Beyond NPD, some psychiatrists suggest a deeper, comingled disorder that includes episodes of psychosis. Trump has demonstrated deeply delusional thinking with a distinct lack of even a tinge of empathy during the week.  His delusional speech to allies in Davos belittled them and their contributions to NATO.  He denied their efforts in Afghanistan, suggesting that Nato forces hid behind the front lines as American soldiers died.  Then, at home, in a meandering explanation acknowledging the unfortunate death of Renee Nicole Good, Trump tied his suddenly softened opinion of her death to the ‘news’ that her father was a Trump supporter, and his hope that the family would remain so— a delusion that doubtless proves the point. 

A whale’s tale

In his recent column in the NYTimes, David Brooks writes about “The Coming Trump Crackup,”

We are in the middle of at least four unravelings: The unraveling of the postwar international order. The unraveling of domestic tranquillity wherever Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents bring down their jackboots. The further unraveling of the democratic order, with attacks on Fed independence and — excuse the pun — trumped-up prosecutions of political opponents. Finally, the unraveling of President Trump’s mind.

Of these four, the unraveling of Trump’s mind is the primary one, leading to all the others. Narcissists sometimes get worse with age, as their remaining inhibitions fall away. The effect is bound to be profound when the narcissist happens to be president of the United States.

— NYTimes, January 23

Brooks has always been a difficult read for me because of his political views, but he has been a consistent critic of Trump through the years.  Brooks’s perspective as a conservative commentator is useful in determining just how removed the president has become from the pre-Trump GOP base. His loyal readers have been on a similar journey with Brooks as he has slowly morphed from a Trump skeptic to a “Never Trumper.”  What caught my eye as I quickly scanned his column was his closing quote taken from a letter written by John Adams.  What most impressed me was the appropriateness of the Adams quote and the extent to which it indicates Brooks’s disaffection:

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.”

― John Adams

Brooks has identified ‘the whale’ destroying the fabric of our nation, not as some powerful, tyrannical force, but as an aging, overweight narcissist– his unraveling mind cracking up as inner demons run off with his soul.