19 March 2019

Damaged and Disordered

Donald Trump had an epic tweetstorm over the weekend, his most effusive to date. Included in this barrage were several viciously attacking the late John McCain, a decorated military hero, prisoner of war, and United States Senator.

This inspired The Atlantic's Peter Wehner to write a precise but disturbing piece (link here) titled "A Damaged Soul and a Disordered Personality" and with the deck title of "Trump’s continuing attacks on John McCain reveal a worrisome state of mind."

This passage, in particular, is noteworthy: "It doesn’t take a person with an advanced degree in psychology to see Trump’s narcissism and lack of empathy, his vindictiveness and pathological lying, his impulsivity and callousness, his inability to be guided by norms, or his shamelessness and dehumanization of those who do not abide his wishes. His condition is getting worse, not better -- and there are now fewer people in the administration able to contain the President and act as a check on his worst impulses."

"This constellation of characteristics would be worrisome in a banker or a high-school teacher, in an aircraft machinist or a warehouse manager, in a gas-station attendant or a truck driver. To have them define the personality of an American President is downright alarming."

As has become typical, Republicans members of Congress were largely silent in response to this attack. One can only imagine how they would have reacted had President Obama tweeted like this.

Given how Trump's public meltdown this weekend was arguably his most severe to date, one can't help but wonder what triggered this -- some particularly bad news about one of the many investigations into him, his business, his administration, his family, and his associates. Time may tell. If so, hopefully that will be soon.

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