I recently read Joe Conaston’s book “The Longest Con”–a deep dive into political corruption. It was an admittedly partisan dive, focused on Republican officeholders–I’m not naive enough to believe that Democrats are all saintly do-gooders. But Conaston’s reporting did “bring the receipts” as the saying goes; the last quarter or so of the book was a comprehensive list of resources.
When he got to Donald J. Trump, the sleaze went off the scale. From simple laziness and inattention to the job (Trump spent one out of every three days of his presidency on visits to his resorts, hotels and golf courses), to his direction of millions of public dollars to his own businesses (he arguably violated the Constitution by encouraging foreign governments seeking favors from the U.S. to stay at his hotels and resorts), Conaston concluded that Trump kept his business enterprises solvent with taxpayer dollars.
It was a portrait of the grifter as President.
None of those observations would surprise those of us who follow politics closely. But a recent column in the Washington Post focused on an element of Trump’s tenure that did surprise me, although it was obvious once Matt Bai, the author of the article, pointed it out: unlike virtually every other President, Trump didn’t show signs of aging while in office.
Watch any video of Biden four years ago, and you’ll have the odd sensation of having turned back the clock by a decade at least. It was the visual effects of Biden’s aging, rather than evidence of any cognitive decline, that doomed his candidacy from the moment he appeared on the debate stage in June.
Why does the presidency have this effect? It’s not the late nights and endless flights (although they probably doesn’t help). It’s the physical burden of awesome responsibility. Every decision seems to involve bad options and worse; some cost livelihoods, others, actual lives. Add to this the toll it all takes on a family (in Biden’s case, the very public prosecution of his only surviving son), and you can see why a normal person isn’t built to withstand it.
But this is where Trump is truly not normal. I’m trying not to be cruel here, but it’s not exactly breaking new ground to say that he seems to lack for something innately human: the basic capacity to internalize other people’s pain. As president, Trump never betrayed remorse or apologized, never seemed to take personally the 800,000 Americans who died of covid-19 on his watch. Tragedy breeds in him only defiance. Trump’s motto might be: “Don’t worry, be angry.”
At another point in the essay, Bai points to a behavior that reinforces Conaston’s perspective on what really matters to this very twisted man:
When Trump and his children talk about the sacrifices their family made to serve the public, they aren’t talking about his anguished nights spent roaming the halls of the White House. They’re talking about money.
The point is that empathy and self-doubt — the feeling that we’re failing to meet the critical needs of others — are the things that really take a toll on us. Whereas clinical callousness may well be a fountain of youth — from which Trump has been guzzling his entire life.
This analysis goes a long way toward explaining why people thought of Biden as much older than Trump, despite the fact that, at 78, Trump is less than 4 years younger, and is now the oldest person ever to run for President. Anger and hostility can manifest as energy. Not caring about others–certainly not the people he was elected to serve–protected Trump against the dramatic aging we almost always see in Presidents after they’ve served a term.
What anger and extreme entitlement/narcissism cannot mask, however, is increasing senility– loss of even the minimal control Trump was once able to muster. After Biden’s withdrawal and the surge in support for Harris, an increasing number of articles have asked whether Trump is “losing it.” (That assumes he ever had “it,” but I quibble.)
Today in New Jersey, Trump tricked reporters into covering a “press conference” that turned out to be a lengthy speech to his supporters at his golf course. Low-energy Trump read from a thick binder that included a string of outrageous lies, including the ridiculous claim that more than 100% of new jobs created in the U.S. are going to migrants….
“He lacks self-control. He lacks discipline,” Republican donor Eric Levine told the New York Times. He’s focused on a “very strange victimhood and grievance,” said Republican strategist Liam Donovan.
Yet millions of Americans will vote for this deteriorating con man–presumably, because he gives them permission to be as hateful as he is.
It is amazing that anyone with enough brain power to dress and feed themselves could look at Trump and conclude that THIS idiot is what the US and the world needs. Just amazing and scary
Watching “All In With Chris Hayes” and Ari Velshi sitting in for “Alex Wagner Tonight” I reached a conclusion I have long suspected. Mitch McConnell is Satan himself and Trump and MAGA are his minions. McConnell refused to perform the required duties and responsibilities of his Oath of Office as Senator long before Trump became a threat to democracy. He is still running the show behind that curtain of stepping down from his leadership position to better hide his activities formatting Project 2025 as ghost writer. All finger-pointing is aimed at Trump with McConnell well protected behind his lower position in the Senate and no longer attracting attention. He presents much more to fear from his position on the sidelines and is avoiding any possibility of blame when this nation collapses after November 5th.
The DNC outcome and the strong Harris/Walz ballot requires full down ballot democratic election wins at state levels if we are to save America for Americans…which, according to their rights under the Constitution they want to destroy, includes McConnell, Trump, MAGAs, White Nationalists and the Freedom Caucus. Project 2025 is protected under their freedom of speech.
“Yet millions of Americans will vote for this deteriorating con man–presumably, because he gives them permission to be as hateful as he is.” Their hate is also protected under democracy, Rule of Law and the Constitution of the United States of America…unless and until they unleash that “bloodbath” predicted by Trump if he loses this election…AGAIN.
Ever since Mitch McConnell single handedly prevented President Obama from choosing a Supreme Court Justice, it has been clear that he cares nothing for the rule of law beyond how he can twist it to his own benefit. Why so many people have failed to recognize that is mystifying. Also mystifying is why Lindsey Graham and all the other Republican congressmen are willing to hand their own power over to Trump. Why do they, who have held the reins of power, cower from and grovel to him? Why do they condemn him immediately after each of his egregious acts and then turn moral somersaults to excuse those same acts and continue to support him? What do they think their futures will look like under a dictatorship? Are they so ignorant of the history of men like Hitler and Stalin and Idi Amin that they fail to see the peril to themselves?
It is a shame that carrying out all of the nonsense, grifting, corruption, and actual felonies don’t age someone bereft of human characteristics such as empathy, caring, a deep sense of responsibility, or a scintilla of decency. Watching Bill Clinton speak at the DNC, where he reminded us that he is younger than trump, showed a man aging much more visibly than that other former president, presumably the result of 8 years in the WH (including his own bad actions). Then we saw Obama, white haired but still going strong, whose 8 years in the WH definitely had an aging effect. trump isn’t normal by any stretch of imagination, and his childish and entirely inappropriate narcissistic behavior, along with a ridiculous yellow hair obsession, keep him looking young.
Remember that most of tfg’s supporters never see him at his worst. Down here in sunny southwest Florida, even the local stations never show his diminished capacity. They only say he had a rally ,pick out a line or two from before he goes off the rails and voila, it’s a candidate!
We all know that FAUX NEWS never carries any news that might be bad for him. They even carry on with their views, when the evidence of their errors are on screen, as we saw with the guy who was proclaiming the death of the stock market, when the scrawl showed the Dow hitting the 40k milestone.
A narcisstic sociopath have the following characteristics and much more that fit Trump perfectly, and his children and wife as well:
– Arrogant or haughty attitudes and behaviors
– A lack of empathy and/or an unwillingness to recognize the needs of others
– A propensity for envy (or a belief that other people are envious of them)
– A sense of entitlement
– Exploitative behavior
They tend to be highly manipulative, abusive, and power-hungry. They also lack empathy and constantly seek love, adoration, and attention from others.
https://www.mentalhealth.com/library/signs-of-narcissistic-sociopath
Now, while the above may fit Trump perfectly, sociopathy tends to fit most politicians in Washington and beyond. Those who aren’t sociopaths tend to age very quickly and resort to alcohol or other substance abuse. Why?
Lying is bad for the conscience, and these guys are lying constantly, and if you are constantly going against your conscience, guess what happens to your insides.
If you’re a sociopath, you have an advantage over other politicians. Lying is as natural as telling the truth.
Max Blumenthal from GrayZone went to the DNC and asked politicians and Wolf Blitzer if AIPAC money was a negative influence on politics in Washington. A quick YES is the obvious answer, but not a single politician or Wolf Blitzer would even acknowledge the question. They all stared blankly and looked right through Max as if he wasn’t standing beside them with a microphone in his hand. It was eery to watch!
Maybe they are lizard people… LOL
Thanks for posting the list of symptoms for sociopathy, Todd. But keep going down the list until it fills in the blanks for psychopathy. Much of Trump’s “youth” comes out of a bottle or box of pills. He’s ALWAYS been a fraud. It’s how he was raised and abetted; he knows nothing else. So, his madness is partly induced and partly genetic.
In any case, the hold he has on those who lap his B.S. up is striking. These pathetically vacant people WANT to be like Trump. But if they grifted, lied and cheated like he does, they’d be in jail already. They are him and he is them. In sum, though, this reflects the cloying sickness in our society. I’m sure every nation has their own brand of sickness, but Trump has exposed our grievance elements that are truly sad, disgusting and frightening.
Regarding the bloodbath … It’s already starting. Fortunately, the loonies are being swept up by law enforcement as they expose their threats to others across state lines. Poll workers and election officials should be given bullet-proof vests for election day and after.
i would look at how china locked its people mind. (Hong Kong anyone)all the wall street and corp whoevers see how dominating the people has become a cash crop for those, $elected to lead. looking back on stalin and hitlers moves.this is just a modern day mind game to make someone submit via their own opinion of whos right and wrong, with little knowlege and generational upbringing,with a maga phone to the world.some turd named jesse wright on a right wing propaganda media, his show, im right. can get more in your face than that. but its tied with hate and fear mongering. id say those who hock their wares thru ads on any show that promotes hate, should have the protesters of the gaza stand, make the stand against our own home brewed hate mongers,here at home..
Vern:
I grew up across the river from con man. the whole rat race then and still is was kicking anyone for pleasure. its easy when your buddies show ya how its done.
no feeling,no remorse.
I think if we ever saw him without all of the artificial enhancements, the makeup, the faux tan, the dyed and moused hair, the shoe lifts, the “uniform” of dark coat, white shirt and red tie to keep the eyes away from the body mass, we would see the aging that he is so desperate to hide. It is as superficial as he has always been. It would not be due to the weight of responsible service but the natural processes of an aging human. He can run but he cannot hide.
His brain, however, has not been enhanced but shrinks and dies slowly but surely. He cannot stop it nor control it. He must be so frightened. The evidence of his mental decline is so obvious that even he must see it happening.
Amid all the chaos of the impeachments, orchestrated by McConnell, it has just dawned on me that if the trial had succeeded, Pence would have been the President. I wonder how McConnell and the rest of his GOP Senators viewed that possibility. We saw how easily Pence was manipulated by the religious right when he was governor of Indiana. Did they fear that their political power would be undermined by the Christian Nationalists like Pence? Frightening to contemplate but perhaps true to some degree.
When the autocratic politicians in places like TX, FL, GA and even IN continue to undermine confidence in the voting process, either by legislation or intimidation, legal or otherwise, it may be that all of our efforts to turn out the vote will be for naught. tRump’s declarations of victory before the fact, his insistence that the outcome will be for Harris only if the election is stolen by the illegal candidate, the illegal voters, the illegal voting system, the illegal judicial system, the illegal fill-in-the-blank, reveals his own operations. He is not campaigning now because he needs to money for legal fees or bribery and to keep his own loans from being called by the oligarchs that fund him. IMO, he has no intention of ever conceding a loss. His very life depends on it. In true narcissistic fashion, that is all he cares about.
I’m still amazed at the positive press DonOLD gets. Today NPR ran a story that “Trump has agreed to debate terms”. The actual story was that Trump announced via X, that he has agreed to debate terms but nobody else (Harris or ABC) said they agreed to his terms, so in effect, there is no agreement.
The guy is deranged, but knows exactly now to shout “Look at me” and make sure everyone knows he is the center of attention.
There are always evil people who want to run the world according to their desires — Hitler, Genghis Khan, Joe McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, etc. — and they gather people around them that want to be a part of their machinations.
Focus on the good ones (not perfect) — Kamala, Tim, Joe, Barak, Justin Jones, Fannie Lou Hamer, King, etc. and do what you can to resist the evil. It’s all any of us can do.
Say “The Serenity Prayer.”
Well, I just read good news to counter this b.s. about 45 (gawd, will we ever stop reporting on him????) for this election. Follow the voter registrations in states where the polls don’t really show what’s going on. There has been a massive voter registration drive since Harris was named the nominee. There has been a 50% surge in registration of black women all over the country. Hispanic women have surged to register by 150%! When we fight, we win.
No problemo, Vern!
Your comment about Trump’s hold on others while still others talk about MAGA as a “cult” is right on target and fits his mental illness.
According to research on cult leaders, “Many cult leaders ”are malignant narcissists — those who have sociopathy and simply do not care about the pain they inflict, the damage they cause, and the lives they derail in order to get their very powerful ego needs met.”
#BOOM
MAGA “acts” like a cult with Trump as the cult leader, because they are cult members and Trump is their chosen leader. He does have control over them, which has allowed him to take over the GOP, fire the leadership, and replace them with his own family and other cult members.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cult-leaders-personality-traits-common_l_65c17191e4b0dbc806adcdba
Experts predict that if Trump wins the election, he will fire 25-50,000 federal employees and replace them with those vetted by Vought and Project 2025 to be completely loyal to Trump. Diplomats will be fired and replaced with Trump loyalists etc., etc.
Trump goes narcissistic sociopath one better, being a Malignant Narcissist. So, not caring, not feeling any burden of responsibility, and so on, are part of the sickness. Let us also recognize that as president one is always in the spotlight, and that is exactly what he thrives on…and grifting.
A lot of the MAGA people are hurting and confused, particularly the poorer, more religious ones. (After all, how does it make sense they are having trouble when God should be taking care of them?) Who do they blame? How do they fix it? Their bigotries lead to their answers. It’s “others” and any who may help or support those “others.”
But what makes them feel better? They feel better when they think we “elites”–which all Dems are, obviously–are hurting, too. One of the things they love about Trump is that he triggers us. It’s not so much about Trump giving them permission to be hateful, they’re on a path to be hateful anyway; they love him because of his effect on _us_. The more outrageous he is, and the more we react, the better it is for them. It’s a drug, and they are addicts.
George Conway said he consulted with a psychologist who advised that Trump is a textbook sociopath, according to the DSM-5–defined as: “In simple terms, a sociopath can be defined as someone who consistently disregards the rights and well-being of others. They may manipulate or exploit people for personal gain without feeling any guilt or remorse. The DSM-5 uses the term “Antisocial Personality Disorder” (ASPD) to describe individuals who display these traits.”
Perhaps the biggest and undeniable example of this is the fact that he sat idly by, for over 3 hours, basking in the glory of his supporters attacking the Capitol, smashing windows and doors, battering police officers, urinating and defecating in the Capitol building, defacing John Lewis’s memorial, stealing items, and hunting for Pence, intent on killing him. It wasn’t until it was clear that the Secret Service could not convince Pence to leave the Capitol until he finished the job he came to do, that he called them off, telling them he “loved” them. His family and staff members were begging him to stop the violence. In the melee, Ashli Babbit was shot to death. Five Capitol Police officers died as a result of their injuries. One other lost an eye. Many suffered traumatic injuries. Trump has never acknowledged any responsibility for any of the people who died, especially Ms. Babbitt, who died believing the Big Lie that Trump continues to double down on. He calls those who have been arrested, charged, pleaded guilty and/or convicted “patriots” that he plans to pardon.
My question is this: just HOW can anyone even consider voting for such a person? It isn’t just the insurrection, it’s the lousy job he did playing president, the damage he did to our public health by lying about the seriousness of COVID, his praise of Putin, advocacy to try to get Russia re-admitted to the G-7 after it was kicked out as a sanction, his disabuse of servicemembers, calling them “suckers and losers”, and his lack of any tangible legislative achievements, other than tax breaks that mostly benefitted the wealthy. Then, there’s the tariffs and Project 2025.
As a friend put it earlier today; “Anybody who votes for Trump or MAGA is either rich, bigoted, or stupid!” And some are all three!!