"Yeah, but" Kim Jong-un and Putin not only are dictators, they are real men and no ladies, either one. They played him as he likes girls to do though with (figuratively, I hope) batting eyelashes and fluttering fans.
Remember, this is the head-of-state who barged past Elizabeth II on that first visit. Among the laundry list of natural phenomena he doesn’t understand are ladies-who-are-heads-of state.
Maybe the brave soul of either major and any minor American political party who runs against the Donald can get a personal, informal, and non-political endorsement from a female head of a foreign government. The endorsee should check with our laws beforehand of course before acknowledging said endorsement.
8
Another obvious lie. “Dr. Ronnie claimed Trump was 6’3. Justin Trudeau is officially 6’2. He is obviously taller than Trump. The group photos from the meetings clearly show the height difference, even with Trump’s combover/wrap or birds nest or whatever you call it.
37
Rumor has it trump plans on replacing the Statue of Liberty with one of his gaudy gold leaf cut out letter "Trump" signs.
9
out of sight (in 2 years)) out of mind my man. Don't over dramatize!
Mr. Blow sounds like China is all powerful. Their president is long term and powerful and we are puny. Their president is elected by congress (AKA, the Communist Party) ours is elected by the people. But right now, the Chinese position is on shaking ground. Hong Kong is out of control. They use to be our number one trading partner. Now they are number three. On other hand, their number one and two trading partners, both of which are causing them trouble with civil unrest and economic pressure. As other countries’ economies decline, trade with them is threatened. Apparently ye are close to a settlement with Japan and part of that is they will increase the amount of our agricultural products they buy and thereby reduce the pressures on our farming. According to reports, this trade dispute has cost them three million jobs. Add to that Taiwan who has been getting new weapons. For Mr. Blow may actually get it dine and if he does, he may be Mr. Blow's president for a second four years. Oh My!!!
2
Trump is being treated astonishingly well. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about consensual sex.
37
In one of Trump’s many interviews with the media he made a revealing statement.
He could NOT understand why no one wrote an article praising how he came up from the “hellhole of Jamaica, Queens” to become the most powerful man in the world. He whined “Why doesn’t anybody write that! Why don’t they see what a powerful (read “handsome, virile, intelligent, quick witted, wealthy top athletic) man he is!
GQ and Vanity Fair can’t even figure out why he doesn’t even have the introspection to see how horrible he dresses and presents himself! How can anyone have his wealth, buy $6,000 Brioni suits and look as bad as he does?
Wait...I’m the last person to care how a person dresses-it’s the MAN not the clothes. But it demonstrates how he is unable to truly see himself. He has asked his Weimar Republic rally acolytes “I’m handsome right?” At a debate which changed politics forever he responded to “Liddle Marco’s” comment about his small hands that he "had no trouble, believe me!” He is so terrified about his sexual prowess that he became a serial rapist...and bought beauty pageants as one buys prostitutes--“I can do anything I want, I OWN these women.”
His serial trophy wives seal the deal.
As with all autocratic personalities he has confused power with leadership and therefore he will NEVER understand why Obama is more popular...not only here, but around the world.
We REALLY, REALLY need women to begin governing in an attempt to right this ship of state!
34
This is funny. Democrats are the masters at political optics. Portraying democrat personalities not as they really are, but how the media portrays them. The left claims to care & be so inclusive to get elected, then never acts on promises. Business as usual is taking money from foreign interests and hurting the USA. Something Democrats have mastered.
Trump is real. Love him or hate him he’s real. What you see is what you get. He actually works hard trying to fulfill his promises. China wants to come to the table, and he’s making other trade deals with other countries moving forward. Countries that can replace China.
If Trump seals a deal with China it will demonstrate just how incompetent, complacent, & corrupt previous presidents from both parties have been.
64
@JOSEPH Chine holds all the cards now. They called Trump's bluff. Any deal will be on their terms, because Trump has to end this or he is toast. That is to say if China even wants a deal. They may choose to let Trump swing in the breeze until November, 2020, just to get him out of office.
322
@JOSEPH and where does Trump's money come from? And a majority of business owners are Republicans, so just who is taking money from foreign interests and shifting production out of the U.S. Not the Dems. You've bought into the narrative. A significant portion of the tax reform dollars did not go to reinvestment in the U.S. but rather as a tax free return of capital to foreign investors in the form of stock buybacks.
Perhaps your focus should be on the foxes guarding the henhouses in the form of populist Republicans.
418
@JOSEPH
I think that it is important that I understand your point of view. I have heard other Trump supporters say that they like him because he is "real". I do not understand what that means. Can you tell me what the term "real" means to you? What is its value? Why is it more important than competence or integrity? What benefit has our country gained because of Trump's "realness".
641
Since the Times Comment Review Board cannot give us comment submitters any means of direct contact with a board representative, I am forced to raise questions about the system here.
There are now 1322 comments showing. 3 or 4 of them are my replies but my main submission, filed 12 h ago has never appeared illustrating what seems to be a basic flaw in the system which is:
Replies are accepted before comment submissions and all too often a comment only appears after comments close. Since most of us probably see our comment submissions as more important than our replies, the comment review board should explain to us why the system functions as it seems to.
Here Charles Blow write about Trump's confusions telling us what anybody who listens, watches, and reads already knows.
Why tell us what we already know. Take a new approach Charles Blow. I suggest one in my comment, that perhaps never will see the light of day. Even if it does, you Charles Blow, in contrast with Carl Zimmer, for example, have never told us that you spend any time reading our comments.
Please tell us.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
8
"L'État, c'est moi" said Louis XVI, Trump ain't Louis XVI. It is a long standing narcissistic personality disorder some wealthy men develop when they hit a point that they have so much money that nothing can hurt them and then he won the election by a less than popular vote. He has morphed his ego into thinking he is the nation. It really is time for Congress to bounce the pretender back to the Trump Tower.
24
The Right believes that in order for them to win, you have to lose. They believe in win/lose solutions. Their Golden Rule is "Do unto to others before they do unto you," and since they want to lie, attack, and steal, they assume you do also, so for them, the ends always justify the means. This is why the Right commits 90% of hate crimes, and 70% of mass murders.
The Left understands that the means are the ends, and that what you do is what you become. Our Golden Rule is Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
The Left forms circles where all voices are heard, and taps the creativity of engaged humans to invent win/win solutions, so that We can all rise to our highest potential.
Pick a Side.
32
Perfectly stated.
7
I always look forward to what you write, Mr Blow, and was eager to read this column, which was right on the money as expected.
I often think of what Bill Moyer said about Trump: "Instead of a soul, Donald Trump has an open sore. Everything antagonizes him." Over and over, I see pictures of Trump and it seems so obvious. He is seething, constantly. Virtually every decision he makes is out of his bottomless hatred and jealousy of Obama, who was everything DT could never be—brilliant, graceful, funny, beloved. He is never called out in detail re his admiration of Kim Jong Un and Putin— by the press in real time— because he gives them no time to finish even the shortest challenging question, much less a detailed one. Kim kills people in public. Tortures them. Trump's"We fell in love" comment was enough to make one physically ill.
I have been a lifelong Democrat, but have never felt that a Republican president was literally devoid of normal human feelings, genuinely had no mental or emotional connection to his oath of office. It's pretty frightening.
44
A brilliant piece and edited concisely. I'm a Minister so I am expected to believe that character counts. But it is fundamental and our democratic republic requires that we develop it in each other.
12
Trump's recent flailing around: Wanting to purchase Greenland, calling off a trip because of a perceived insult, second thoughts about the China tariffs, then saying they should have been imposed earlier, nuking hurricanes.
All this flitting from subject to subject, changing his mind, making it all personal, is how he ran his business. This resulted in six major bankruptcies and a $1B loss in one tax filing.
Stable genius, indeed.
25
More than anything, Trump likes to think that he is special, that his ideas are better than anyone else’s. He can’t possibly behave like those before him. Like any malcontent, he has to behave differently. He is obsessed with rejecting past norms. He is clueless on what is good and what is bad; his only endeavor is to be different than those about whom he had complained.
His cult likes this. They feel like they have been mis-treated forever, and that even if ideas are bad, as long as they are new, they will support them.
The strange thing is that so many politicians are falling in line, unconcerned about whether his ideas are good or bad. This could have a tragic ending.
9
"Trump is trying to embody the country and to lead it astray in the way that Washington warned against."
Is that right? I suppose you believe that if only Trump hadn't encouraged animosity against the Chinese Communist government, America would be in love with:
Rampant, unabashed Chinese theft of intellectual property.
Chinese creation in disputed waters of militarized artificial islands.
The confinement in concentration camps of over one million Uighurs based on their ethnicity.
Shameless hamstringing of US companies doing business in China so that the locals always win in any business competition.
Many situations present themselves to this country where the advice in George Washington's farewell address would be absolutely the best course. This is not one of those situations.
1
Donald Trump is not America. Donald Trump is not the President. Donald Trump is damaged goods, humiliated by his parents, and further humiliated at military school. The end product is a vengeful pretty-boy sociopath stoking the fires of racist hate in order to destroy the people who reject him. I understand why the Republican base loves Trump. To a man, they too are damaged goods and vengeance is all they've got left. That the military, the clandestine services and the Department of Justice obey Trump makes no sense to me. Trump and the Republican Party have sucked all the oxygen out of Christianity, decency and the Constitution. The response from the Left feels like a Mondale/Dukakis ticket. Weak.
14
I agree with you Mr. Blow that the damage Trump is doing to the nation is not irreparable. We are resilient. But of course, if he were to win a 2nd term, the damage would be greater and time and effort to repair would be longer.
10
A grim test of your ability to predict the future: make a list of the worst things Trump could do to our world by the end of his first term. After January 20, 2021 check your list. Will his capacity to do ill exceed your lowest expectations?
2
@ Hendelman in Switzerland, Well said, except in place of the generic “Congress” I’d just say the Senate is blind. The House has a Democratic majority, though they too are of course oriented to win their side but thank heavens for that. May the Senate take a majority in the next elections!
3
Dems are not going to begin to undo the damage done by Trump unless they take the Senate in 2020. Of course they need to keep the House.
12
@John Kelly, Sooooo true!!
4
I do not think that the damage done by Trump to our democracy (I do not include here the horror of separated children, the environment, the poor, etc-- but rather our institutions and alliances-- except SCOTUS and other federal courts) will be very hard to repair. If Trump is not elected, our allies and countries that have depended on us will breathe a sigh of relief, competent persons will be put into the cabinet, many of the career civil servants will return (I hope) to work, etc.
8
In The Donald's mind, he is the country. he substitutes his own personal interests & concerns for America's. We all pay the price for it.
12
I completely agree with your assessment. Trump has always been selling his "brand" and the "brand" is Trump not the United States. I almost felt bad for him when he trotted out the failed product lines and laughable business decisions from his licensing division, Trump Steaks, Wine and Water for a press conference during a press conference during the GOP Primaries of 2016. Here he is, running for President and he sees it as an infomercial opportunity to sell, effectively, generic steaks and water...Trump Water??!? The wine makes some sense and is relatively harmless, but the steaks and water are pure vanity projects indicative of Trump's narcissism.
What if Obama trotted out Obama Steaks and Obama Water at a presidential press conference? The world would howl with laughter at the foolishness and bad business acumen on display.
19
Yesterday, DT was selling his Doral Golf Resort for G-7 meeting next year.
Violation of Emoluments Clause! Any takers!
How low can we go, before GOP wakes up?
May be it is too late to expect that to happen!
13
"L'etat, c'est moi" is his theme. Sound familiar?
13
Our prez is supposed to be the most powerful politician in the world—not the most emotionally needy one.
19
So right on, Charles.
Look for Trump to do middle class tax cuts and payroll tax cuts right before the election and get trade deals done along with new Iran deal. Easily wins in 2020. Trump again outsmarts every Democrat walking the earth. Of course that is not that hard to do.
1
McConnel will stymie any tax cut or payroll tax cut . He has gotten what he wanted and now has no use of Trump. The house will not pass one either. China and Iran will both wait it out.
14
@MelGlass - Doubtful. It takes awhile for any of those things to have an impact and the orange oaf is running out of time.
9
I have no idea why anyone would call Trump support a cult. Huge mystery.
3
Can you imagine the relief real world leaders are going to feel when President Warren answers the phone? They will have a long list waiting for her since doing anything productive under Trump was simply out of the question. He can't even grasp them let alone deal with them. There will be no such problems with Warren. She will be like a nuclear blast of fresh air.
23
It's not confusion it's belief. DJT views himself more as a King than President. Each time his violations of norms, precedent, or the law go unchecked (and supported by R's) it reinforces his belief.
8
Those among us who "knew" that Trump couldn't be elected now know that under him, our country is at risk of becoming authoritarian one degree at a time. "We'll see," won't we?
20
Still in the year 2019 no global health insurance in the USA, no global retirement plan, no paid vacation , no work benefits, but 8 times highest violent crime rate in the world with 8 times highest incarceration rate .
And some Americans would like to make Trump look like an anomaly in the US human landscape ?
A sort of psychological anomaly.
No. I am sorry. trump is very American and represents well the USA . The culture, the ignorance, the arrogance. The greed. The dishonesty. The lies. Everything.
25
The American presidency has become an elected monarchy, much like the Holy Roman Emperor. The President has been given by the US Congress so many levers of "emergency" powers including sanctions, tariffs and war (not to mention nuclear annihilation), that were originally solely the function of the legislative branch, that any occupant who happened to be unscrupulous and mentally unfit could endanger not only the nation but the rest of the world. Unfortunately, Donald Trump is that occupant. That he has enriched himself in violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause since assuming office (and recently proposed hosting the next G7 Summit at his Trump National Golf Resort in Miami proves his continued moral blindness) would suggest that normal prohibitions have become dead letters to the American monarch. Why do you think that he would willingly hand over power to someone else if he lost the election in 2020? Would Putin do that?
8
I agree with every word you write, but you left out one: Trump's personal problems will leave a national AND INTERNATIONAL scar.
Here's hoping our next President has as much appetite for undoing all the evil Trump hath wrought, as Trump has for undoing the good done by Obama (and everyone before Obama).
10
Maybe I am the only person who heard him say “ this didn’t happen under my reign .... “ generally a president refers to my term. No one reported this so telling a remark. Pour though find that tidbit as they the presidents men are looking at journalist.
4
At first party, Mar-A-Largo, Xi was "gumbatta", if, for no other reason, only because he was the President's guest. As time has gone on the 70 or so operatives of the Heritage Foundation who have been placed in the Trump administration to dictate policy have also "served" to effect a pejorative inclination towards China and Xi. It looks now as though Trump is casting about to find this uber friend, perhaps in Macron whom Trump has "known... for a long time". If this works to advantage for the U.S. in terms of modifying its policy towards Iran, so much the better; if not, then Trump may have to continue casting about for the ideal. I should find it difficult to believe that Marshal Kim Jong-Un will be the anointed one. Trump may have to revert to the Israeli leader, and then, in that event, of course, everyone loses except either one of them. The damage has, indeed, been done, but it was done long before Trump, by plutocrats, Zionists, deep state types, etc. Sooner than we think, perhaps, the U.S. is going to really need help. Isolationism is not the answer.
2
Republicans have allowed a sociopath to remain in office. That means we are all--including those enablers--hostage to his emotions, all of which are focused on personal gain. If there is treason going on, they are certainly complicit.
21
"Trump confuses the way he thinks he is treated with the well-being of the country."
Yes, and Trump also confuses the way he thinks he is treated with the well-being of his children.
If given lie-detector tests, his progeny would readily confess that they can't stand their fatuous father.
9
He started as a joke, and he has morphed into a nightmare. Only those truly ignorant or choosing to be blind could not see this. He is a total train wreck and we are along for the ride.
24
Very fine essay!!! As a retired nurse President Trump reminds me of an incompetent Doctor !!!All of his colleagues know (congress) that he is dangerous to patients but can't or will not say anything until he kills a patient or two!!! Very sadly, I think the United States is the unfortunate patient!!!
21
Great analogy from another nurse. Doctors get protected from other doctors. Nurses are the ones who see what’s happening at the bedside.
8
At this point, there is only one story, one atricle, one Op-Ed left:
Trump Is Mentally Unfit to be President.
The rest is beating a dead horse.
20
How is this not obvious to anything person. ? Couldn’t agree with you more.
1
Trump has disgraced the presidency. It's hard to imagine us moving on easily from the horrible spectacle he has shown the world. The damage done to children who have been traumatized by his hateful policies is going to be hard to fix. The innocent lives that have been taken by people inspired by his race-baiting and fear-mongering are forever lost to us. May they rest in peace.
If Trump is a sociopath, as he seems, he'll never resign. Impeach him now before it's too late and he inspires more people to kill.
9
@Stephen
Impeachment does not remove from office. Congress could probably remove DJT but it would take both houses with powerful edicts/laws to force proof of his mental illness/incapacity and, on that basis, removal from office. Maybe. Difficult to do since it is not against the law to be mentally ill. Actually the Mueller report demonstrated all that; basically ignored - it is OK to act like an idiot/lunatic if you are POTUS. The failing was allowing his election in the first place. Some things can not be fixed. No democracy has ever survived and we are learning why. The electorate decides. Plato, The Republic. 2400 years ago. We learn extremely slowly - if at all.
1
To the Chinese, a thousand years is a day. They have the patience to wait trump out. trump, on the other hand, can't get through a single day without causing upheaval and lying about everything. Do you really believe the Chinese called and said "Let's make a deal"? trump is a very sick man and we can't continue to allow him to destroy our country.
10
Trump is unconsciously acting out in response to a nagging sense of own mortality. He’s the most powerful man in the world but the mirror shows him a gasping older man whose hand gets swatted away by his younger spouse.
6
It seems to me that Trump's mental state is semi-normal.
3
I agree with 100% of what Mr. Blow writes, Mr. Trump is a thin skinned reality host running the country like it's his TV show. He's vain, narcissistic and was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and given $33 million to play with when he graduated from college and inherited the rest from his father's real estate holdings. And I fully expect Mr. Blow to keep up his entertaining and spot-on columns for the next two years -- until, hope to God, we vote the charlatan out of office.
8
Enough fascination with this strange person. Just vote him out.
7
Our constitution seems to be not as fool proof, as we believed it to be.
A tinpot dictator took over the GOP, and all the so-called leaders went in deep sleep.
Where have all those GOP believers in the Constitution disappeared?
1
He’s a man on the run who finally found a position and a House in a good zip code that suits his image of self. And it’s not Pelosi’s vision of a prison.
I’ll say it again and again; what do you think, this is all going to happen with everyone on the wrong side of human history showing up in a little black mustache so we know what’s happening?
We are already living in the Post Free World. Listen to us all. We are not living our lives. We are living the one dictated by this.
4
History has seen many autocratic leaders come and go. Authoritarian dictators come in many different forms with many different ideologies. But a common psychological pathology shared by many autocrats, especially the nationalist ones, is their belief that they are not only the infallible leaders of their nations, but that they quite literally ARE the nations they lead. Hitler exemplified this blurring of the distinction between leader and state. The defeat of Germany was, to his mind, the demise of the Fuhrer himself. As the allies closed in on Berlin, his suicide was inevitable; if Nazi Germany no longer existed, he similarly could not exist.
3
Trump's personal problems will leave a national scar? Trump's personal problems have wounded international ties and the gashes will keep festering!
5
Is there really no one with some clout and an ounce of integrity in the State Department willing to speak out.
Yes Mr Blow we know that Trump takes everything as a personal affront . However there does come a time when someone with a back bone and a moral compass needs to step in and take this man child by his small hand , and out of the room for some time out.
His behavior at the G7 is indicative of how he ran his business, he now runs the country the same way. On the fly.
3
All I want to know about trump is when he is leaving.
10
At some point when discussing a serial killer, to continue to dissect his malevolence is redundant and superfluous.
Thus it is will the malignancy on our national body, the totally unfit to govern occupant of the White House.
4
Trump doesn't confuse how he is treated with the well-being of the country. He doesn't care about the well-being of the country. It's all about how he perceives himself to be treated. While praising the intelligence of the American electorate, he secretly knows that they can be led around like bulls with nose rings - only instead of bull rings, he uses their beliefs and prejudices to lead them wherever he wants. If DJT doesn't destroy our fragile democracy, he has published the blueprint and playbook for some other demagogue to do it later. If a democracy like America's is going to exist, there will have to be a paradigm shift in human thought throughout the world. In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is important and what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for dirty tricks and destruction. These minds see the survival of a particular belief as more important than the survival of us all. When we understand this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
2
Of course, although he seems to be growing more unhinged by the day, this is the man we have known from the beginning--a malignant narcissist, a petty and vindictive juvenile delinquent who wants to be king, dictator, Putin kleptocrat or at least a mafia don. He treats every flattering word as the undying praise that feeds his bottomless ego, and every criticism or disagreement as the unforgivable assault by an "enemy of the people". He is never wrong, never less than great, always superior to anyone else, incapable of mistake or offense. His opinions and impulses are infinitely better than any fact or expertise from those who actually know what they're talking about.
It's not a laughing matter. He is much worse than a man of personal grievances and a carnival of pathologies. This warped human being is a dangerous monstrosity. He is the greatest threat to our democracy, our national security, and our planet.
7
Congrats. Mr. Blow, well written, you actually wrote a column without identity obsession, in your case black identity obsession.
Hillary made the same fatal mistake with her Neo feminism identity obsessed social engineering campaign.
This is the way democrats win elections if you want to oust the ego maniac demagogue Trump.
Follow the example of Obama who ran as an Americans and not as a black man and united America.
Call Trump out but come up with moderate progressive solutions to the issues that Trump demagogued like trade, war, Wall Street, immigration etc.
4
L'État, c'est moi
Louis XIV
April 13, 1655 Session of Parliament (Court of Justice)
The problem with that quote "The State is me" is that he never said that. But he said this on his death bed in August 1715, "Je m'en vais, mais l'État demeurera toujours." ( "I'm going away, but the State will remains.") And this time they were witnesses whom could testified that he really said those words. Those words means that even an absolute monarch like Louis XIV understood that the State was bigger than his own person.
5
@Wilbray Thiffault
And unlike the current "president" of the United States, that absolute monarch spent his entire long reign 1644-1715 building and improving the State: innovative scientific and artistic academies, modernized universities, vastly improved urban infrastructure, international relations, etc etc etc...
3
One mostly overlooked key event that goes a long way to explaining why we have Trump on the White House right now happened 8 years ago. It was the 2011 White House Correspondents dinner. To those unfamiliar with this annual event (though a shadow of its former self last year), it is a comedic roast of all things and people political and journalistic.
In 2011 Trump was in full-on 'Birtherism' mode, and was still seen by most Americans, especially the beltway punditocracy, as an ignorant wind-bag and a clown, but mostly harmless. Obama stepped to the dais at this event in 2011 and leveled some choice barbs at his political foes and critics - and himself in his usual self-deprecating way. Among his targets was Trump, and the jokes landed right on the bullseye. When the camera panned briefly to Trump during this, he was not smiling, he was not chatting, he was... visibly seething with anger.
This is a man with not a single atom of humility in his body. He must be treated with a level of adulation bordering on worship by everyone all the time.
6
That might explain why he ran. It does not however explain why he won.
6
Scary as it is for America having King trump, what on earth will happen to us should he get wise when someone tells him about Louis IV and "apres moi, le deluge!"
2
The Indian heirarchy of values and the intellect got it right. The thoughtful knowledged ethical persons, and their peers, should be at the top. The business mind is three steps below that, and one step above total lowlifes depicted in Idiocracy.
2
Mr. Blow you have cut through the malarkey and gotten to the bone. Trump is text book. In years to come the DSM series will probably have a chapter devoted to Trump syndrome and he will be immortalized not like Baron von Munchausen. Come to think of it, Trump will probably view that as a triumph.
5
it is difficult for me, as i believe must be difficult for others who despise trump, to understand how the republican party can allow this kind of stupidity and grandstanding to continue. No one in that party's power is calling out the utter lack of strategy in this administrations foreign policies. Strategy is fighting a war- trump only fights battles - which most are of his own making. his entire administration are there to prop up his ego- and his failing to have enough confidence to ever have enough compliments or praise- will ultimately lead the country to the same result he has had in business. bankruptcy - and he won't care. it's all personal for him except it's supposed to be about the country- not him.
5
I agree that Trump's attempts to undo President Obama's legacy are petty, small and beneath the office he holds. More importantly though, they are thoughtless and stupid, and seemingly done without any foresight or care for consequence. Let's face it, if you have a lot of money you can live heedlessly, and still give off the impression that you always land on your feet. Trump couples heedlessness, lack of preparation for and interest in governing, and policy stupidity with a hidebound insistence that reality is what he says it is.
2
America has been stamped with Donald Trump's personal brand. He announced just now at the G7 in Biarritz that he would hold the 2020 G7 at his private golf club, Trump Doral in Miami, Florida next year. Isn't that a fine parody of Trump's paradigm of the personal, Charles Blow?
There were many unforeseen events between June 2015 and November 2016. There will be many unforeseen events between today, August 2019 and November 2020. What are the chances of president Trump not being our president at this time next year? Slim to none, or, if his cabal and people are correct, sure as shootin'? The well-being of our country is at stake.
Trump Tweets social media sneers at his predecessors and enemies. He only wants to undo Barack Obama's legacy of his 8 years as our 44th president. President Trump has befriended America's enemies and counts on his White House yes men and women to inflate his monstrous ego like the baby balloon across the pond. Sure as God made little green apples Trump is one for the history books.
1
Like world leaders, Charles should accept that Trump is a vacuous lackey of his billionaire backers, and is in his dotage. His only value is his ability to rally a third of voters to imbecilic rants.
It is time for Charles to broaden his focus.
3
Maybe to the Republicans in charge.
1
Maybe the people that are attracted to Trump like the fact that all his thoughts are public. No hidden agenda.
His lying is so practiced, it’s instinctual. His personality is so thin. His lack of curiosity is easy to hate. His thinking out loud is refreshing. He’s a mess !
1
Mr. Bow and many columnists within the northeast get it. We, at least a large portion of the readers, get it. But this message doesn’t have to be repeated here. It has to come down to the local newspapers and radio stations of the country, outside our confort level of our subscriptions. I will pay extra for my NYT subscription if a portion of it would go to localize their work in small communities across the country. Hire local columnists to write equivalent pieces. Go to Kentucky to explain Mitch’s horrible policies. Seriously, we have to stop apologizing for liberal thinking regarding healthcare, for clean water, predatory banking, or even public education. If only Mr. Bow, and his peers will make the extra mile, we could see a path to vote out this current presidency.
5
To all you monologuists out there re. the “nasty” comment:
I read a comment (to a Times’ article) last week from a Dane who wrote that the word “absurd” and its concept is different than in Danish than in English. The Dane stated that it doesn’t infer “stupidity” or is meant to be an “insult” by those whom it’s directed to. It just means it’s not worth discussing.
Another example (there are many) of such translingual misunderstanding would be the English word “actually”.
If I said in English:
“I want you to tell me what’s actually happening downtown”
What I mean by “actually” is the suggestion that there’s several different stories being circulated about what’s happening downtown, and I want you to find the one that’s the true.
But in French it simply means “now” with no inference about “truth”.
So in effect Trump (and his confederates) felt as if they were being insulted when in fact they were not.
If only they were smarter and spoke more than one language they might’ve known better.
2
He doesn’t even understand English, even though he supposedly graduated from Wharton Real Estate program! Every comment from him is reinterpreted by his spokesperson!
4
The English meaning of the word absurd is the same as the Danish: not worth discussing, silly, a waste of time.
So if I say “your idea is absurd” —- you probably should view it as an insult. And in this case well deserved.
1
America is becoming his latest business failure.
5
What a bummer that the Danish prime minster didn't accede to Trumpty's offer to buy Greenland.
There goes at least a dozen hotel, apartment high-rise, and golf-course development opportunities.
Geez, prez, better luck with Madagascar.
3
Bret Easton Ellis wrote a roman a clef about Trump. Christian Bale played him in the movie version.
1
For someone so obsessed with being a “Mob Family”, he should be acting a lot less like Fredo. There is “business” and there is “personal.” Trump is simply a street corner wanna-be mob guy sitting on a milk crate, who has some fooled, but not the people who matter. He knows that...
1
Whether Americans at large want to acknowledge it or not, Trump is for millions of citizens kind of a mirror. A very horrid mirror. A mirror which has it's roots in 1980s American culture. A culture of vanity and greed. And it was discussed then and still is among anyone respectful of history
Reagan was essentially a spendthrift and a disaster. Get real people. Now you have a "reality television star' as opposed to B grade movie star. Whatever anyone who supports this in the long run wants there's a good chance they are not going to get.
Climate change alone will assure that what the GOP has done over the last 40 years will not stand. Which is ironic, considering they really built nothing but greed, debt, and war.
3
Umm checks and balances Mr. Blow is what you conveniently forgot to mention. The president is just one branch of government we have three. It is clear this president has thin skin but it would also appear so do so many who can’t stand him and are constantly disparaging his unique method of governing. Like Mr. Blow here in his... well I lost count the number of articles attacking him Trump suffice to say very many. And in the constant barrage of endless critiquing it’s these very people who miss the big picture the president is painting. Will they ever give him his due? I don’t think so , their skin is too thin.
1
@J Clark..... Just what is his “due” that you want to give him? Name ONE wholly trumpian accomplishment that has benefited most of America.
1
Charles Blow should study demagogues more closely. He would no doubt find that they identify the state with themselves, surround themselves with loyal toadies, profess deep feelings for country in the style of ethno-nationalism, dismantle the structures of democracy, abhor independent media, adore authoritarians like themselves, use "populism" to gain and hold power, find scapegoats that appeal to the dark side of their constituents, and engage in widespread corruption. That America is in the grips of a demagogue is the great tragedy of the century.
4
The Indian heirarchy of values and the intellect got it right. The thoughtful knowledged ethical persons, and their peers, should be at the top. The business mind with ego, materialism and crass priorities is three steps below that, and one step above total lowlifes depicted in Idiocracy.
1
To Trump the past is all about his personal wins and slights. He is mentally lazy clearly understanding little of history and caring less. The future is only about "Trump wins." He is a petty, needy little man with a big hole down in his soul. He has spent his whole life trying to fill it with money, fame, infamy, and adulation of fans.
Even having become POTUS he has continued to need 'campaign' rallies so that he can be fed with the roar of the crowd. Sadly, the filling he gets never lasts long. He is also thin skinned so the very next perceived slight or failure of someone to show adoration again empties that infernal internal hole. Once again he is empty, needy, and searching for the next hit. And, yes, every despot and tyrant around the world has his number.
7
I truly don't believe Trump is trying to lead the nation astray, but rather that he actually thinks he IS the nation. They are one and the same to him.
“She’s not talking to me. She’s talking to the United States of America."
Believe that he means what he says with this. This is not grandiosity, this is a delusional disorder.
4
The WH is normally the executive mansion of a functioning republic. Under its present occupant it resembles the royal palace of an absolute monarchy. The Chosen One bullies his courtiers into accommodating his every whim, however absurd. He even gets away with bullying almost all Republican office holders, because they fear retribution at the polls if they don't toe the line.
But the US is not an absolute monarchy, and retribution will be at the hands of those who don't fear him; the GOP will reap the whirlwind of its cowardice.
In the meantime, leaders of adversarial nations know how to one-up him, and the leaders of friendly nations know how to keep their distance. Much damage has been done, and the retribution can't come soon enough.
21:05 EDT, 8/25
2
I used to wonder how those around him could bear Mr Trump's behavior and underlying attitudes. But look at the cast of rascals, crooks, nihilists, and incompetents sitting on the American side of the table in photographs of the Trump-Johnson meeting at Biarritz. Question answered!
2
Trump has turned "loyalty" into a dirty word.
5
We all know that Trump has a very unstable mind and needs to be silenced, but these four things about the Trump presidency consume me: One- the president has so much power as to be able to destroy our Democracy. Two- our Democracy is hanging on a thread and is incredibly weak: Three- checks and balance do not work. Four- no one can stop this criminal-in-chief.
4
Nobody actually ‘likes’ DT, in the sense we say it for ordinary conversation. They might be his companion, the casual way people are in the neighborhood barroom. Or, they might be a paid employee, like his lawyers, his paramours, wives, and offspring - that status comes with heavy expectations. People may be afraid of what he might do against them, or not do for them. But, no one has feelings of affection toward him. He himself might be incapable of affection. People whose god is money and power get to be like that.
In the Shark Tank of international affairs he wants to be a player, but he’s out of his league. Putin, Kim, et al, are playing him like a violin. As it dawns on him what a buffoon they think he is, he becomes more angry, and lashes out..., always at people who could help him. It’s a lonely existence. He should have been fired long ago.
Vote Blue, No Matter Who!!
2
“He confuses the way he thinks...”
You could have stopped right there.
6
He is "we" exists only in the vast narcissistic, lonely regions of his deluded despotic-infested mind. Or in other words - the guy is nuts and "we" all suffer the consequences - even his supporters who have yet to figure it out. Time for his cabinet to stand-up as Americans and exercise their duty to evoke the 25th Amendment of our Constitution and declare him unfit to be President of the United States. America first and foremost.
2
It pains me to reflect what the office used to stand for. The citizens of this country who deserve a leader who reads, instead got someone who denigrates women, tweets his narcissistic monologue and espouses hate and lies daily. Can we all agree that tweeting is not diplomacy? Can we also agree that the President should read his briefs? The dumbing down of all that America was great for is now the norm. I just returned from Europe. We are clearly an abomination abroad. This nightmare must end.
2
It can easily end with GOP extinction.
3
Trump hates being laughed at because Trump doesn't laugh. He doesn't know how. His mind can't process humor, especially when he is dimly aware the laughs he hears are at his expense.
Self-deprecation is inconceivable to Donald Trump. So much so, he probably couldn't define the word if you asked to.
Absurdity is another concept beyond Trump's ken, particularly when the absurdity comes out of his own mouth. He is able to comprehend only in concrete terms, the same way he thinks. All that emanates from his mouth is true, is possible, and must be accepted by all who hear him. When you laugh at what he says something utterly absurd, and he doesn't think what he said is ridiculous on its face, he goes ballistic.
And back to laughing...I have said in the past that one of the written-in-stone requirements for the president should be a stint in one of the armed services. If you can't handle that --and Trump most certainly would have been drummed out as unfit to serve, even as an enlisted man-- you can't handle the job of President of the United States. Now, I must add to my wish (demand?) list, and give it even a higher priority than military service, a genuine sense of humor.
If either of the above requirements had been in place in 2016, America --and Americans-- would be much happier today.
1
"He is a bottomless pit of emotional need..."
Perfectly said. Thank you.
5
Well said as usual, but as usual, nothing new here. You've written these words or thr like in probably 5-6 op eds by now. As have many others. You'll keep doing it, until he's gone.
But all reads hollow, sorry. Not your fault.
He's still in meltdown.
Seems the Psychiatric field needs to expand the term to MEGA malignant narcisist. It's apropos, I think.
And those yes and no women and men are simply sycophants. Some deserve prison for their actions.
Thankfully, umbrella man is gonna be buried in 2020. All the signs are there now.
1
Well stated Mr. Blow. Trump lives in a dream empire of his own making, wherein he is the emperor. To use some of the terms he has used on others, he is indeed a "fake" president, "incompetent", a "dummy," "a real nut job", "a complete and total disaster". His IQ, which he said is very high, is as yet undisclosed. As his reptilian brain processes his decline in popularity in advance of the 2020 elections, he is likely to resort to what, as Bob Woodward has pointed out as Trump's fall-back instinct, fear, which may lead him to further demonize Iran, and lead us into a war, or to the brink. Then he, as "the chosen one" can save us all.
"That was silly and shortsighted. The U.S. presidency is term-limited. China’s is not."
He's already been joking about that. He is joking, right?
4
On a business trip in the “red zone”. Should I print this piece in the hotel business center and leave a few around? A recommend = yes.
4
Notice the only time he leaves the White House is to meet with
power people?
He never shakes hands with people, nor ever visits them?
Even at his rallies he’s the one in the suit. Never shakes
hands or does a meet and greet?
2
This is not about Trump being unable to differentiate between how he is treated and how America is regarded. It's about Trump's severe psychological issues - his malignant narcissism and
his delusions of grandiosity, which should have barred him from coming anywhere a nomination, never mind the presidency. Trump is not a businessman who treats government like his company. He is a sociopath who trades in petty tantrums and cruelty.
It’s all about him
It’s America Everyone Else Last /Trump First
Always has been
Always will be
Pure woe is me i am the victim
Projection is a peculiar matter isn't It?
This article is a polite way of saying - Trump is insane, but because of our laws and traditions, we have to wait him out, instead of shipping him out to the loony bin ASAP.
2
Delusional Donnie still seethes over Obama's "on-the-money" shots at him at the 2011 White House correspondents dinner. Unfortunately, Obama's smack down of the thin skinned Narcissistic has had the effect of Trump undoing anything and everything associated with our first African-American native born president. It would be enlightening to have Trump submit to a Rorschach test. It just might be enough to invoke the 25th Amendment.
1
What in the world is the NY Times and the rest of the main stream media going to write and/or talk about when Trump is gone?
It is hard to believe but for the first time in U.S. history the POTUS is is in 80-90% of the news articles and about 90% of them are personal and negative.
Trump Derangement Syndrome has permeated the media and our lives whether we are anti-Trump or pro-Trump. It is sickening and delusional.
.
5
In short, Trump is a narcissist. In everything around him he sees only a reflection of himself. His weak-minded supporters are of a similar bent. They were rounded up by the Koch brothers and Murdoch to vote for the most dysfunctional president in US history, and can be rounded up again any time unless we put a stop to minority rural-centered rule at the national level.
Trump has a severe personality disorder -- malignant narcissism. He is unfit for public office, any public office.
3
You can call trump's affliction "personal problems", or you can call it what it is, mental and emotional instability with evidence of extreme narcissism and sociopathy.
He's nuts, in other words, a highly functional yet crippled psyche welding power in a cruel and ignorant way.
The results speak for themselves.
After this weekend, anyone believing a word he says, or covers for his inconstancy and lies, are either in it due to greed, ignorance or both.
Anyone who lavishes praise on Trump is playing him. Kim is doing a whopper. There are many others. They know that to get what they want out of Trump they must be a partner to his out of control narcissism. Trump will flatten them if they step out of that role. They become an enemy of the people. The parasites clinging to Trump do not want him to go away. He hands out Medals of Freedom, jet fighters, "very good deals," and assures a small part of white America that they are as important as he is while he quietly stiffs them.
The Trump franchises all over the world are ripping his name off the side of buildings, ghosting him. erasing him from their facades. The best we can do is vote him out of office.
1
Well said. The Danish PM was correct in calling Trump absurd. Everything about him is absurd; his appearance, his dress, his whining voice, his conduct with other foreign leaders, his scowling visage at meetings with allies, his craven grovelling before our enemies, and the staggering ignorance he displays on all matters great and small without a hint of embarrassment. He has diminished our presidency, made it an international joke -- and shown us all to be fools for allowing this unfit buffoon to usurp the highest office in our land.
1
Bravo, Mr. Blow! Your insertion of George Washington’s words on nations who become slaves to profound hatred or affection of other nations was particularly insightful. You hit the nail on the proverbial head of our current president!
Yes, you're right, everything is true that you say. He's a big baby, a liar, a buffoon, a clown, a crook, a cheater, a manipulator, an egoist, immoral, ignoble, ignorant, not a reader, or a historian, or a genius, or even a good man. But guess what? He's the president and OUR people, lots of them, voted for him. Analyzing his psyche on paper is not a strategy for winning in 2020. It's just venting, and it's getting old. Writers, explain to us how to combat the damaging changes he's made to our country and its policies. Tell us what our options are, so we can get involved and help. Just a suggestion.
At this stage, I believe Trump should be viewed as a lame duck president by the global community. His days in office are numbered, and the democrats are responsible for making sure that happens on schedule.
2
"The presidency is not owned; it is occupied".
That should be placed on a banner and hung outside the White House and another one for Congress and outside the U.S. Supreme Court.
1
Americans it is time to demand that the 25th Amendment to be underway to remove the 45th POTUS from office. He is unhinged. The GOP has turned a blind eye to all of his bigotry, paranoia, mendacity, and viciousness define him. Trump is gaslighting everyone, and the odd thing is that everyone knows it and allows it to continue. Enough is enough!
1
If his past is any indication of his future, whether it be his business acumen, his morals, his petulance or his pettiness, his cruel, criminal and ignorantly irresponsible behavior has forever stained
the reputation of this country. While an abnormality, can it be returned to some sense of normalcy?
Vote.
Yes, Mr. blow understands Trump's narcissism. But we need more. We need to understand how ignorant and unqualified he is to lead the world and this nation.
Trump's meltdown in public via tweet and helicopter press gaggle shouting out insults to "fake news " news reporters who dare question his grasp on reality. After the deflating G7 meeting where he was not the star but the joke they humored to avoid his usual upstaging rant of grievances which ruins the party for everyone like the outspoken drunk uncle spewing conspiracy theories.Trump will get worse as his narcissistic personality disorder blooms in full fury attacking any critic in sight declaring emergency orders that make him dictator light. We can make it til 2020 by which time the GOP will try to pull him off the stage although it might be too late Trump has corrupted the party to be a personality cult who is unravelling before the world in front of Marine One.
What we should remember is that Trump did not just happen in a vacuum. He is the poster child for all of the worst of the GOP's traits: mendacious, ignorant, greedy, self-centered, racist, totally lacking in empathy or integrity...
Cleaning up the damage from Trump will require dealing with the party that made him possible and has embraced him. If Trump vanished tomorrow, there is nothing in the Republican Party that would keep another Trump from taking his place. The interests behind them, the media that catapults their propaganda, the think tanks and foundations that nurture them - it all must be dealt with or we will be back here again even sooner.
And it will be even worse than Trump.
1
Donald Trump both cheapens and wrecks everything he touches. He is a disaster, a human wrecking ball, a pathological, sadistic personality. And the Republican party are lapdogs, in love with all of it.
Trump might think he's the CEO of the USA, but that's not how our government works. That's not what we stand for. Apart from the fact that Trump both sickens and enrages me, and most Americans, we are not an autocracy. We do not have kings, we do not have despots, despite the fact that Trump and the Republican party would like nothing more than to create that situation. When I see Trump and Republicans I see people who are pathetically outdated, outrageously selfish, proudly ignorant, and saturated in their hatred of anything in the world not exactly like them. They are dying off. That doesn't mean they aren't dangerous. People like this would rather tear things apart than admit their time has passed.
1
We now know that what he claimed as bone spurs on his heel wee actually skull spurs digging into his brain. That, in turn, prevents him to think outside his own skull, that is the extent of his solipsistic world. The real question and tragedy are in the brains of the current Republican elected officials in Washington. They seem to be growing skull spurs too.
Everything Mr. Blow writes here is true but I don't care about all that.
If the postman doesn't deliver the mail and if a teacher doesn't teach we remove them from those jobs.
Mr. Trump is unfit and is doing a very poor job, he needs to be removed.
We have legal means to do this ... Congress do something.
5
Only by staying intimate with your personal suffering can you feel through it to its source. By putting all your attention into work, TV, sex, and reading, your suffering remains ignored, and the source remains hidden. Your life becomes structured entirely by your favorite means of sidestepping the suffering you rarely allow yourself to feel. And when you do touch the surface of your suffering, perhaps in the form of boredom, you quickly pick up a magazine or the remote control. Instead, embrace your suffering, rest with it, feel it, make love with it. Feel your suffering so deeply and thoroughly that you penetrate it, and realize its fearful foundation. Almost everything you do, you do because you are afraid to die. And yet dying is exactly what you are doing, from the moment you are born. Two hours of absorption in a good baseball telecast may distract you temporarily, but the fact remains. You were born as a sacrifice. And you can either participate in the sacrifice, dissolving in the giving of your gift, or you can resist it, which is your suffering.
By eliminating the safety net of comforts in your life, you have the opportunity to free fall in this moment between birth and death, right through the hole of your fear, into the non nihilistic openness which is the source of your gifts. This version of you has a better chance of living as a spontaneous sacrifice of love that enables yourself and others to see how insignificant Donald Trump's actions are to your life.
1
"I’m not sure that damage is irreparable. Our democracy, though fragile in many ways, has proved remarkably durable in others. But there is no doubt that the damage Trump is doing is deep and will take time and effort to undo."
"Trump’s personal problems will leave a national scar"
Nonsense.
Each President is driven by ego and how their "brand" is viewed. Just because they are able to communicate with less blunt force than our President, doesn't mean they didn't damage our nation.
To what extent are MSM maintaining a gentleman's agreement to ignore or turn a blind eye to possible use of cocaine or other mind/mood-altering drugs in White House as possible partial explanation for Our Noble Leader's irrational behaviors?
2
Trump not only believes he personally rules the US, but his narcissistic, empty psychopathic need has him believe he rules the world and all should bend to his wishes. His incompetence and unfitness puts Democracy, the US citizens and the World in danger. His psychopathology has led him to purposely disrupt, with the intention of weakening and destroying democracy. The world, the US & the media are surprised with every outburst & act of destruction, Trump imposes on US institutions, citizen unity, international trade, agreements & world alliances. He is incapable of analytical, future thinking & cultural awareness. Lack of empathy and the inability to only see the world from his personal, selfish perspective-- he is incapable of understanding the US & world problems & needs from a wholistic perspective which requires emotional, psychological, social in addition to intellectual intelligence. Trump possess & exhibits none of these abilities. He lacks the cultural awareness of our own citizens, of other nations, their lives and the ability to have partnerships and relationships which helps defines leadership. Despite all of this ineptness. there is a purposeful, intentional breaking down the US through deliberate actions, chaos intended and unintended, and outright illegal, unconstitutional acts. The long term negative effects financially and emotionally on this country and the world are enormous. It is a purposeful, & uninterrupted. Treasonous.
I agree once again with Mr. Blow's statements. However the flip side is if someone who has had a golden spoon in his mouth from day one, then he and the others who run Wall Street are all so emotionally needed that they cant help themselves but destroy the country that enabled them to become wealthy. Amazon CEO treats the people in the warehouse like servants, he had no problems with trying to destroy Sunnyside Queens because he could, Facebook has no problems selling our privacy to third parties because he can, the oil companies dont care about destroying the earth, because they can. All of these CEO's destroy the lives of people and take care health care because they can. It is an endless parade of people who care for nothing but themselves. Everyone else has to work with their egos, because we all need a pay check otherwise we all would be sleeping in the streets because society doesnt care.
all of the elite CEO's who now want people to think they care are in for a rude awakening, their statements just like Trump are hollow and insincere, today Trump will get a deal with China, tomorrow another deal and another. Anyone who believes that Trump is going to get anything done that benefits the American people, is just as delusional as he is We have seen the monster and they are the Titans of nothing but Wall Street greed.
We are a resilient country. I am confident we will survive the disaster in the White House. As such there is much learned from this awful man. Primarily it is the price paid for a transactional life, completely devoid of love for the other. If the stuff of life is ultimately interactions with other, then Trump has demonstrated the unreal to us all. There is no there there. He is emptiness defined. A void center at the heart of fame. There is no redemption. He can only move forward and consume. And this is what he has revealed in his followers. Greed. Avarice. Lies. All in the name of ceaseless consumption.
Let us put aside thoughts of Trump for a moment and turn with sympathy toward his children. Imagine having Trump as your father and your boss. Just imagine!
This was an emerging young man, bursting with lust and desire for independence, abused by a cruel, affection-less father whose answer to his son’s defiance was to send him away to an all-boy military school at age 13. “Who could forget him?” said Ann Trees, 82, who taught at Kew-Forest School, where Trump was a student through seventh grade. “He was headstrong and determined. He would sit with his arms folded with this look on his face — I use the word surly — almost daring you to say one thing or another that wouldn’t settle with him.”
And now the unrelenting con job of victimization and blame. Well, there was one incident when the victim facade was pierced by his need for the companionship and mutual respect, which a life of cold-hearted conquest provides as its closest substitute for intimacy: when he got a laughter response to his boasts at the UN. He was delighted. “Well, that’s not the reaction I expected”, he beamed. His delight meant “Oh, i guess we all play the same ruthless game and can laugh about conning the rubes, ha ha, so easily conned by their own rage about all that is owed to them. I guess I don’t have to look afraid of appearing heartless here. We are the winners, and I am among other masters”.
See the brittle invulnerable boy in his military dress with his proud dad whose money would buy off an angry but compliant son with the promise of power and domination. Intimacy and compassion, if they are ever real, are for the weak.
2
Perhaps he would go away if everyone stopped giving him the exposure that he thrives on!
2
I see Trump as a cult figure for a large part of his base. These are people who have serious gaps in their personalities that need to be filled and Trump satisfies that need. Remember Rev. Jim Jones, Jonestown in Guyana and the mass suicides? An extreme example of what a cult leader is capable of. When Trump said that he could shoot someone on 5th Ave. and he would not lose any votes, given the mentality of his followers most people agreed with him.
Desensitizing followers to the emotional hold that binds them would not be easy but the goal of reducing his favorability ratings would reverberate quickly in Congress. When the spell on the cult brigade is fragmented, the loss of votes would fall heavily on the political crowd of sycophants (elected representatives) that cover for him.
"Duty, Honor, Country" — those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.” (Gen. Douglas MacArthur's speech to the Corps of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., May 12, 1962).
It’s unfortunate that Congress is largely made up of people who place party, politics, and self above – far above – Duty, Honor and Country.
Yes, all true. We know only too well that Trump is a narcissistic sociopath. We have described and examined the problem in thousands of ways across all types of media. We have dissected and analyzed, and scrutinized and interpreted the man until we are blue in the face.
And still – we have done NOTHING to address the problem of Donald Trump. We try to muster even more outrage. We shake our heads even harder. We swear louder at the computer screen delivering Trump’s latest shocking behavior. But our representatives do nothing. No one wants to challenge him.
This is a democracy? This is America? How much longer do we simply tolerate the man? How much longer do we allow him to shake the stock market with every tweet, to destroy the environment, to pander to our lowest racist instincts, to insult our allies, to cozy up to our enemies right in front us, to sell us down the river – and to dare us to do anything about it?
In Hong Kong they take to the streets; in New Zealand they take away the guns. In America we watch pre-season NFL and gleefully get ready for college football.
How much more damage can Donald Trump do in the year and a quarter left to the election? The Democrats quiver in silence and hope that the election will be the silver bullet that will bring him down. But how much of the country will still be standing by then? The only one left standing will be Donald Trump.
2
You’ve defined the classic narcissistic personality.
Can you possibly imagine how it will explode were he to win a second term?
Paris just celebrated 75 years since it was liberated from the Nazis. The sense on the streets is that Trump is a madman who doesn’t know or understand the role of the US in maintaining the postwar alliances that underpin the global economy. If Parisian taxi drivers understand this as well as central bankers then we have an interesting situation. All of this uncertainty about the continuing dependency on the US Dollar as the market benchmark is a major economic threat.
When you start to understand that Trump‘s sociopathy is underlying major global economic uncertainty, as Mr. Blow has pointed out here, it makes it a moral imperative that the US needs to reign him in. It seems like allowing the President’s narcissistic injuries to upset a global summit by tweet storm would be enough. On the other hand, perhaps we have all become inured to these rantings and only with a true global emergency will we see the errors of our complacency.
1
@MAMom2, Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to talk about him! But we can’t, because he is the president of the US. That is the responsibility of journalism. And therein is a nasty dual tragedy. 1) that he’s the president and therefore 2) that journalists are obliged to report him, (and he knows it). What needs to happen is to always report the sling within the context his ineptitude and insanity. But I think the NYT does an excellent good job of including context.
1
Whether its strategy or a lack of self control, Trump is actually as transparent as he says. His now obvious routine is to utter cruel nonsense and then wrap himself in the flag when the negative responses are returned. "People must treat the USA with respect regardless of how I treat them." His endless ploys to stay in the news are plenty transparent, just boring.
1
“We can’t treat the United States of America the way they treated us under President Obama."
This is what it comes down to for Trump and those who voted for him: it is unfathomable that a black man was elected President of the United States, who was popular, effective, and respected.
2
Life would be so much easier if trump were just a multi-bankrupt, lying, spouse-cheating New York businessman who hired and then cheated architects, contractors, construction workers, and undocumented laborers.
Trump bows down to Putin because Putin ultimately controls the flow of Russian oligarch money that funnels through off shore lending institutions to the Trump family enterprises. Trump can't get financing stateside because he is a terrible credit risk and a reckless business person. Without the Russian source of financing his house of cards empire is up in a puff of smoke. There is absolutely no way this person should be anywhere near the Oval Office levers of power. Selling used cars.....fine; CEO of the USA.....absolutely not!
1
Yeah, maybe. But the longer we go without seriously impeaching him, the more we essentially say he is the face of the country and the way people treat him is how they view us.
Unfortunately, although we now admit that there is an impeachment inquiry going on, Jerry Nadler's theme song, "As Snails Go Whizzing By," isn't the right music for this dance.
The only thing "real" about 45 is that he will be a real big loser in 2020, an epic landslide voting out the reality TV huckster.
1
Oh Charles, SO TRUE! This empty narcissist has no awareness of reality. He was raised as a privileged snot on his father's money and lost it all running a fake scam of Trump "enterprises".
Never having had any responsibility to anyone (except perhaps, and I mean this sincerely, Putin) he sees himself as a Messiah, an absolute leader, an authoritarian tyrant. Not having any morals or compassion and being an unprecedented narcissistic sociopath doesn't help.
Our country needs, and deserves, a leader that UNITES, consoles, and LEADS - not an illiterate, empty-headed very-short-attention-span scam artist who is in it for his own profit at the expense of ALL Americans. The danger this presents is existential and the damage he has already done is catastrophic and perhaps irreversible. There will be no progress in the United States and no peace until we remove this lesion.
1
Absolutely right, Mr. Blow. Thank you.
"...not sure even that explains..." How soon we move on and attempt to fit the horrifically banal and evil represented by this narcissistic menace and republicans generally as some how "normal" and explainable. There certainly is an explanation for Putin's hold. It is called decades of money laundering through real estate transactions of the most corrupt and dangerous Russian criminal oligarchs on the planet. That we continue to thrash about in chaos when the facts are clearly in evidence is a reflection only of the sickness afflicting our great democratic experiment. That we allow the evidence to be destroyed, subverted, obstructed, with held or otherwise kept from the American people years into this nightmare reflects only the critical stage our societal sickness has reached.
"Every Need has an Ego to feed". Nesta say.
“Trumps personal problems will leave a national scar,” is one of the most hopeful statements I’ve read about Trump’s malignant presidency because it implies that there will be a country left to heal.
Congress needs to fulfill its Constitutional duty and move to impeach. So what if the equally malignant Republican Senate Majority fails to remove him? At least the process will say no one is above the law, and further expose Trump’s Republican enablers. Short of that, I urge my fellow citizens to use the only tool we have left: VOTE the scoundrels out.
2
"Trump has a deep and mysterious affection for Putin. Yes, Putin helped to get him elected, but I’m not sure even that explains the way Trump genuflects for him." No big mystery. Russia and Saudi Arabia bailed Trump out when no one else would loan him money. Indirectly yes, through intermediaries, yet Putin still holds the loans. Trump's kids even admitted where the money is coming from. If Putin decides to call the loans, Trump is toast.
1
Spot on, Mr. Blow. Trump's vacuous leadership style is evident in everything he does and says, and his emotional issues are obvious to anyone reading his daily Twitter storms. Beneath his bullying and his threats one can see a deeply disturbed individual, whose every impulse seems to revolve around his image and feelings.
Trump's need to destroy Obama's legacy by doing away with most of his initiatives seems based primarily upon his jealousy over his predecessor's popularity, which helps explain his frequent need to co-opt many of Obama's achievements as his own. What else can explain Trump taking credit, for example, for passing the Veteran's Choice program, or insisting that he, not President Obama, is responsible for America's economic expansion after the recession?
That he continues to attack Hillary Clinton years after the election seems to be predicated upon the fact that she, not he, won the popular vote. There is no need to continue his vicious attacks on Sen. Clinton; she is not running for president this time around, so why would he invoke her name in any way? It's personal. It's sad. In Trump's own parlance - it's "disgraceful".
1
"The Chinese may experience pain from the trade war, but they can afford to wait Trump out."
As leaders in the response to climate change, the Chinese understand that neither they nor anyone else can afford to wait for Trump to take his marbles (what's left of them) and retire to Mar-a-Lago (or somewhere that doesn't extradite to New York).
He doesn't understand much, granted, but I'm sure Trump has figured out that the disdain and abhorrence is directed at him personally and that pretending it is aimed instead at us is just another feeble attempt at deflection.
"He confuses the way he thinks he is treated with the well-being of the country."
No, Mr. Blow. He does not confuse his own interest with the interest of the country. There is no confusion. He simply puts his own interest ahead of the country's interest.
2
I don't think Trump "confuses" the well-being of the country with his personal sense of well-being. He simply thinks that the latter dwarfs the former in importance. The irony is that he has no sense of personal well-being; that's why he scowls all the time and is so unpleasant to so many people.
1
I respect my country, although I have problems with the way it behaves sometimes. But I have absolutely NO respect whatsoever for the current occupant of the White House. When will this nightmare end?
1
Excellent column, Mr. Blow. Thank you.
The whole world has now seen how the psyche of this man operates. I have an optimistic outlook toward the future -- insofar as international relationships are concerned -- just as long as Donald Trump is defeated in 2020.
Right now our allies and enemies are either reeling from the perfidy and folly of Donald Trump, or exploiting it for all they're worth. But I believe that if he is removed from office by vote, impeachment, or 25th amendment, the world will collectively shrug its shoulders and (probably to a lesser extent than previously) resume dealing with the United States as a serious world power.
But if Donald Trump is re-elected in 2020, don't be surprised if the world gives up on us.
A foolish madman as president? Bearable -- if it was a mistake. Mistakes happen. Re-elected? That will send a clear message that it was NOT a mistake, but the will of the American people.
And if that happens, you can say goodbye to the United States status as a most favored nation throughout much of the developed world.
1
“The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest.”
Thank you for including this quote. More broadly, it seems to warn against the spirit and agenda of our modern "culture wars" of which Trump is both a symptom and logical outcome.
The one question that comes to mind every single time I hear about Trump's latest emotional outburst or child-like tantrum is this:
Why is everyone so afraid to confront him?
Why, during a press conference, don't reporters ask a question, wait patiently as Trump prevaricates, and then say "Mr. President, you did not answer the question." And then say it again. Do not budge; do not move. State it clearly and then wait.
Or when Trump offers a response that is directly in conflict with something he said earlier, why don't they respond "Mr. President, you stated earlier xyz; that is in direct conflict with what you just stated." State it clearly and then wait.
Or when Trump out-and-out lies (as he so often does), why doesn't a reporter say "Mr. President, that is a lie. The fact is xyz." State it clearly and then wait.
Why is everyone around Trump so terribly frightened of confronting him? The very worst he can do is issue a disparaging tweet.
Someone help me understand why there appears to be such deep-seated fear of truth-telling directly to Trump's face?
2
Well said. That indeed is the $64,000 question.
1
The reason why Congressional Republicans don’t confront him is simple. For many of them their primary duty is not great legislation, not great service to their constituents, not some philosophical triumph like confirming conservative judges. No it’s much more simple.
Their aim is re-election and criticizing Trump would lead to a primary challenge. Trump has enough true supporters that it could spell doom to oppose him. It was the same with the Teaparty, as Eric Kantor found out.
As for reporters, they do point out Trump “inaccuracies” but it is merely characterized as “fake news” and ignored. Or treated with another lie!
Trump has never looked at the presidency as it is. He sees it as a prime time reality television show, where he is the producer, director, star, script writer, casting director, and everything else. This is a production with devoted fans, those supporters who really don't give a blip about his political stances and are much more attached to the show itself… It has all the elements of a hit! Constant drama, chaos, family intrigue--mysterious wife! Bizarre son! Ambitious, father seductive daughter! -- and the best part is that the star really cares about us fans! He has visited us in his gold plated jet and shook our hands! He talks and thinks like we do!The cast turnover offers incessant plot points, and when the plot starts to drag, the script creates drama, surprising twists, and best and most reliable of all, amazing, totally star-generated quips, attacks, derision, and more!There is no doubt about it folks, this is reality tv in its most malevolent form: A show that actually bends reality to its will and forces millions of people, i.e., terrified non-fan citizens, to watch.
2
Mr. Blow’s description is of the current occupant of the Oval Office is accurate. His description of Mr. Trump is that of a malignant narcissist. For those who are not sure what that means, it’s worth looking up.
And when we know the definition of Mr. Trump’s affliction, the next questions are: is this the person that we want to have running our country for the next four years? How long will we have to entertain this mistake we have made until we realize how dangerous he truly is?
And if Donald Trump is indeed suffering from this particular type of mental illness , it is highly unlikely that he will go out quietly if he’s defeated in 2020. We need to be prepared for that.
"Trump'a personal problems will leave a personal scar".
I daresay that unlike all Presidents before him, all with personal problems as all humans do, this one gives reality to what you fear in him. I share your fear as countless others of us do.
What so bothers me was almost all his personal, psychological pathology was available to anyone who could see and hear. Who are we America?
What worries me such much is how he could not only be a viable candidate ut win? I don't sleep nights over this.
1
All true, but the real problem is that Americans can’t - or won’t - see that they have elected a man who has all of the same characteristics and ambitions of the many dictators and tyrants of the 20th century. Stalin, Mussolini, Amin, Tito, Peron, Duvalier to name a few.
Men like these led their countries often into war and ruin, and always at the cost of many, many lives lost or destroyed.
To quote Mr. Trump on Putin - “He sure knows how to run his country”
American institutions created to preserve freedom and democracy are being attacked, disenfranchised and warped to gather more and more power around Mr. Trump.
many people do fear 45 but none that are his friend, none.
Trump only uses the word "nasty" when he is referring to a woman. He must have had some difficulty with his mother dominating of telling him what to do, for he seems to be spending the rest of his life showing how "grown up" and independent he is, presumably in the model of parents who mistreated him and others around him. How else to explain his utter desire not to "win" but to dominate, to make others feel small and subject to his will. This seems to be a game that has reached its zenith in the petty rivalries of New York, where ostentatious displays of wealth provide the measure of the man. (and its usually men.)
It's so sad that our country has been reduced to living in this man's mental world, when we are diverse nation of people with a heart. Perhaps the worst thing that can be said about Trump is that he has none. He is a shell of need.
2
Everyone should remember the damage inflicted by Trump's psychiatric problems on our country, has not only been enabled but promoted by the GOP and particularly Mitch McConnell. Unlike the rest of us, McConnell has the power to stop this harm and he CHOOSES not to.
6
Also a bottomless pit of financial need? I am worried that he is intentionally manipulating the market to his/his families' gain in his tweets.
3
Yes. I have the same thoughts. NYT should look in to this.
1
The two axioms of Trump:
1. If he praises himself for something it is a lie.
2. If he accuses someone else of something, it is actually true about him.
1
Trump's use of the word "nasty" seems to only be used when responding to women. Dictators are praised while women who stand up to him (or dismiss and laugh at him) are nasty. The poor boy certainly had some unresolved issues.
1
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of this is the fact that a major American political party will support such a weak and needy man for a rerun of this tragic presidency.
2
I doubt the optimism. The USA will never be the same again after Trump. His presidency is just showing up all that is rotten, which was there before he endorsed it.
1
Trump is a two-year-old child, who will have a tantrum when you take away his toy fire engine. Being born into great wealth, he had no need to grow past a child’s maturity level.
1
GWBush acted just this way about any and all proposals he made, particularly the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "You're either with us or against us was his rallying cry. "
trump has carried it to new and more frightening levels; I just wonder how we have come to this pass in America: an unqualified, unfit, grifter as head of the country. It's beyond incredible that no one stops him. The 2020 election is our only hope to remove him.
2
“deconstruction of the administrative state" by Steve Bannon is another sleight of hand by the repressive conservatives in the United States.
This is how you deconstruct our government: changing how we view our leader(s).
Steve Bannon is a product of our military.
The military is always a key ingredient to all authoritarian governments.
The internal world of a narcissist is chaos so, to calm himself, he sows chaos OUT THERE and then watches calmly. If the external chaos threatens to calm down, he will stir up more, either between the original players or some different players.
One day, a desperate narcissist will miscalculate and could start a war. Someone needs to declare Trump unfit for office.
1
For those of us in the middle, the ad hominum criticisms or agreements with Trump negate their validity. Editorials give the writer's opinion and journalism (supposedly) presents unbiased fact. Conflating the two is standard fare in today's media and is insulting to the reader. Those with sanctimonious arrogance are little more than memes.
1
@wogilvie. Mr Blow’s piece is, I believe, on the opinion page, so your criticism here is misplaced.
And to call all, or even a majority of the journalistic criticism “ad hominem” is also incorrect.
Attacks on his economic “policy” are laded with facts and figures
Attacks on his foreign “policy” are again backed with evidence.
Attacks on his race-bating ( or perhaps outright racist) are based on his policies and his own statements.
And so forth.
Old legal saying “when the facts are against you go with the law. When the law’s against you go with the facts. When the law and the facts are both against you, attack the other party”
If you can show me where Trump’s policies are correct and the facts are clearly on his side, you can claim an ad hominem attack, not otherwise.
2
"Anonymous" is not doing his/her job, or else they were fired or too afraid to come forward. Come forward, republicans, before you are forever believed to be the destroyers of our democracy.
"Everything is personal." This is a bad situation. Could it be that Mr. Trump is behaving like the field of Democratic presidential candidates? That would be very bad indeed.
Trump's base voted for him because they wanted change.
Question to Trump's base: How are his changes working for ya these days?
3
Trump just justified his refusal to meet with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Sharif saying the time had to be "appropriate."
This is the same Trump who has repeatedly rushed into the arms of Kim Jong Un, who's manipulating Trump and building a nuclear arsenal while 'romancing' Trump and playing him for a fool.
This is the same Trump who conceals what happens in his meetings with boyfriend Vladimir Putin and has frequent unmonitored phone calls with Putin, while refusing to acknowledge or safeguard our country from Putin manipulating our elections.
Trump only plays the tough guy with leaders who do not flatter and court him. Putin and Kim have mastered this. Thus far the Iranians have not chosen to 'romance' Trump, probably because Trump's impulsive withdrawal from the nuclear pact has burned them too badly. Perhaps eventually the Iranians too will use the art of flattering and manipulating Trump to get an agreement they want.
The only thing that works with Trump is praising and flattering him. Trump will never stop conflating our national security and interest with supplication to his personal emotional needs.
1
Mr. Blow, while I agree with most of your analysis, allow me to point out, he has the attention span of a hummingbird (i.e. none).
Remember the black and white photograph of a 'whites only' drinking fountain? I believe more and more it is what 'makes America great again'.
Those who continue to hope for a change in behavior deserve our pity, no?
1
And, so it goes. In a brilliant speech several years ago, Noam Chomsky stated that Trump makes himself the center of attention everyday in the US and even around the world. Does not matter how. Will come up with something else the next day, maybe even the opposite of it. The press has completely failed to diminish the phenomena. The daily outrage appears in bold letters on our best papers, and a thousand, thousand times on network and cable tvs. Ideas anyone. How about if a paper like the NYT put a box on page 3, and listed trumps attacks, tweets, and outbursts w/o responding to them. ETC Significant national news could still appear on the front page. Networks and cable stations could also make TrumpDuh secondary news. Oh well.
He is an immature, greedy, narcissist sociopath.....what could possibly go wrong.
7
That Louis XIV quote, "L'etat, c'est moi" embodies Trump's narcissistic view of the presidency. Trump's narcissistic personality has been on public display for years, but now whether it's his delusions of grandeur being enhanced by being in the White House or by his increasing dementia, its getting worse.
3
It's about time. Plainspeak about poor Donald. Thank-ypu, New York Times! And Mr. Blow. Debbie Jones
1
Let us pray:
1. That we do survive trump as a true democracy (even if only as "true" as it was before we elected -- 'sort of' -- 'his idiocy').
…. and ….
2. That the Republicans don't.
P.S. Whatever the future 'holds' for 'us,' history will likely 'find' that hitler was much worse than trump -- but his ascension to the "throne" of German politics will just as likely be found more explicable than trump's to 'ours.'
1
Why aren't we, at the very least, talking about
the 25th Amendment?
It's time we started a written account of the hand grenades this
mentally unstable person has thrown over the last two years.....
Some people like his economic policies? Have they looked at their stocks?...or their 401k's?....have they ridden over our
highways.....crossed our crumbling bridges with fingers crossed?
wondered why children are afraid of being shot in our schools?
What has he done for the now non-existent middle class that once was....a tax cut ...now rescinded ....what has he to say to farmers whose markets have permanently been moved to other countries?....etc,etc and so forth.....what could happen
if this shaky mental state is provoked into war?.......
Will we send our sons and daughters? Will the now empty
departments of government aid them in their fight?
Wake up America.......Obama made a joke and our fragile country
is paying the price......because of his sick mental state....
What makes this really dumb jerk so appealing to so many?
If it's because they see themselves in him...maybe they ARE him. We are in deep trouble in this country....and education in the USA has failed again. If the ability to evaluate and process is dead or non-existent, then so are we as a Nation.
This is said with some shame as I spent my working life trying to
raise standards of thought processing up a peg.....even
as a teacher of Art.......
5
I think we’ll forget this clown, soon enough; after all, we forgot a better man and far-better President soon enough.
Otherwise, the heck with the diagnosis. It’s far too much effort spent, identifying a cheap little weasel as a cheap little weasel. Instead, let’s discuss giving the thing the old heave-ho, and building better.
So...did you vote? You registered?
2
Everything is personal with Trump and it seems that the only way to get to him is to match his insults with some of your own.
I am really embarrassed by Trump’s latest insult to Denmark. What kind of moron would think that Greenland was for sale? And then walk away in a huff when they were planning to welcome him. I just gave 200 Kroner (just under $30) to the Danish Refugee Council (www.drc.ngo). It was a modest way to apologise to the Danes and, if enough people did it, we might laugh him out of office.
1
At best he has borderline personality disorder ... at times he seems psychotic. Either make him unfit to be president.
4
Dingbat Donald!
(You might think this is childish to call names.... but, heh, if it's good for the goose....)
So much ink wasted on this cartoonish president as he waddles around making proclamations.
Leaders in Russia, China, Iran, and many more countries must be laughing their heads off: America being "led" by an Imbecile. Not just a lower-case imbecile, but the Biggest Imbecile of All.
It's like we drove to McDonald's and asked them to super-size!
2
I can't wait for him to go home to NYC. He will be a persona non gratis there. He will have to hide in trump tower with his golden toilets and Melania.
2
You mean he’s not a Racist, Racist, Racist—today?
1
No, he’s still a racist. Trumps single track mind is just off of brown skinned people today.
1
So funny that Republicans still support him. So in the future Republicans are not for free trade. Republicans do not want to protect the environment. High deficits do not matter to the Republicans. Republicans support Neo Nazi groups. As long as the stock market is higher the Republicans will not believe in any principles. They are anti immigrant. They want gas guzzling cars.
Do nto want water protection. so where is the choice in reality. IF you still support Trump you support Putin style dictatorships,and environmental damage. Of course he hates Palestinians and their rights so the extremist orthodox are happy. He keeps suggesting to drop a nuclear bomb on Iran.So where do you stand on all these issues. There really is no choice if you still like Trump. Do not forget he won't show his past taxes.
4
This is why when someone asks me where I’m from I say “I grew up in NYC” I then say I now live in Florida only because Fannie Mae pretty much gave me a free house because of the market crash. I don’t want anyone to mistake me for a republican much less a idiot supporter.
2
Trump is mentally ill. Anybody who seriously professes not to know that is a) world class disingenuous or b) as mentally ill as Trump.
It's not rocket science, people. :-)
3
Well said Mr. Blow, and I think most smart people around the world fully agree with you.
Have you noticed how the crazy stuff that @realDonaldTrump says or tweets matters less every day, and serious people don’t even engage with him anymore?
The world is now waiting for a ballot solution to the problem.
Get ready for: #WeDumpedHim, #SorryBoutThat
1
In another life Charles Blow would have been a forensic psychologist. His articles seem to get right to the process that is Trump, to the heart of the personality disorder(s).
1
Another article trying to “figure out” trump. It ain’t that hard.
He is a hollow, shallow, stupid , entitled excuse of a human being who got elected with help from America’s enemies and an incredibly stupid sector of electorate.
Um why would trump be jealous of President Obama? Hmm no mystery there. President Obama is beloved world wide. He broke the glass ceiling and changed history by being the first black president. He’s brilliant. He’s kind. Handsome. Witty. Charming. Slim and tall. He wears normal neckties. He can play basketball and doesn’t need to ride in a golf cart at the G8 (now G7). Macron, Trudeau, Merkel all were honoured to hang with him. He didn’t need money, he married for love. He WON the popular vote twice. Everyone with half a brain has been in mourning since “you know who” took office. Sad
3
So many of us saw this coming, a resistance was formed and withered. 40% of this country is cheering for this moron against their religious beliefs and economic well-being. Fascist brainwashing has shown his ugly head - this time in America and all do is spell out our grievances, then go about our day, instead of organizing in defense of our democracy.
this is not exactly news, Charles
Mr. blow's cascade of opinion pieces that are positively complimentary about President Trump are getting tiresome. Cannot he not find a single negative thing to say about his President???
Mr. Blow has invested all of his credibility in writing glowing comments about President Trump - week in and week out.
It is time that Mr. Blow balanced his commentary.
Mr Blow has even copied President Trump in a very clever fashion - criticizing the President for calling other people names, while Mr. Blow engages in the same technique in calling the President names. Very clever.
3
@Maurice. What brilliant sarcasm!
And then the biting coup de grace!
While I recognize I am in the presence of a master wordsmith, clearly you missed a point or two in the article. The criticism is not merely about Trump’s immature name-calling . It is about his entire oeuvre and about his stunted psyche.
Confession: I too, in my lesser fashion, engaged in a soupçon of sarcasm, though not at your master level!
1
"You don’t talk to the United States that way, at least under me.”
That's right you Prime Danish person you. You don't talk to Donald Trump like he was Obama. When you talk to Donald Trump you have to use small words and a lot of pictures because Donald Trump doesn't have the time or the attent........Hey what's that? Oooooh shiney.
3
Charles, my full comment submission awaits review, but now your colleague Michelle Cottle (MC) has provided me with a much more satisfactory one-sentence version of what I tried to say:
MC: "But obsessing over this president’s inscrutable mental processes is a waste of time."
LL: Therefore, Charles Blow, take her advice and my wish - comment to appear perhaps - and move on.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
Add Boris Johnson to the list. In the end though, no one gets anything from Trump. Except a photo op that makes them look like an idiot.
As evidenced by this excellently written column and other deconstruction of the Trump modus operandi, in card game vernacular the world has now "peeped Trump's hold card." He is exposed in many of the ways Mr. Blow describes. But what can be done with this knowledge about Trump that might help fix the problems his most problematic presidency has created. That seems the larger question.
The United States deserves a better person as president. The Republicans act as if they lose Trump their political party has lost. There ARE better Republicans . . . and Democrats. We see what Trump is now. We deserve better.
3
So many pundits, so many editorials, so many pithy analyses. When is Congress doing to do its Constitutionally mandated job and remove a sad, delusional sociopath from the Oval Office?
5
Louis XIV: L’etat c’est moi.
Trump: I AM the Swamp.
Sad. And thanks GOP/NRA Party. Prepare to reap your whirlwind. 2020.
5
This is a surprise?
Really?
Democrats gave us Donald J Trump.
People like Joe Scarborough, Don Lemon, Anderson Cooper, the NYT, WaPo and others gifted this guy nearly $2 billion in free media coverage in 2016; literally making it impossible for any other candidate to break through the non-stop Trump ! Trump ! Trump ! lovefest.
Then to make things even worse...you put forward a candidate from the Democrat Party who's nearly 70 years old...white as Marshmallow Fluff...as wretched a human being as you can find...who reeks of Establishment who also...by the way..is under criminal investigation by the FBI and should be behind bars.
And you wonder why people chose Trump instead of the alternative?
At least Republicans have acknowledged we've been handed a lemon, which is why we're drinking lemonade.
Democrats are still in denial about 2016..reaching for Russia! Russia! Russia! before Recession! Recession! Recession!...followed by Racism! Racism! Racism!!
Give it a break. The guy is President of the United States. We might not like it, but when you find yourself in a bad situation...you need to avoid the instinct to rebel...and instead you need to embrace a bad situation and turn it into something good.
Trump's not an ideologue...but Democrats just cannot stomach the idea of him getting some policy wins..even though he'd give them 90% of what they want.
So tell me again..who's nuts? Who's crazy?
Dare I say? It's the Democrats.
1
@Erica Smythe
Time to change the channel from Fox News.
4
@Carla Nice try Carla. I don't watch Fox News, nor any other politically biased media outlet (other than reading the NYT and WSJ).
You guys are verifiably insane.
I used to think Trump Derangement Syndrome was just a made-up phrase.
Turns out it's real....and far too many of the NYT faithful have it.
If you don't get some help...and quickly before the 2020 election...I'm afraid the metamorphosis from TDS to Depression to Suicide will be off the charts.
I used to tell conservative friends who were similarly unhinged about Obama that the worst that can happen is 8 years of hard left...which will be followed by 8 years of hard right...which will take about 20 years for the political fulcrum to recalibrate itself to the middle of the bell curve.
Look...your team seriously overreached in 2009 with ACA and you've been paying for it ever since.
Now your major candidates are running away from ACA towards MFA...and it's quite simply an embarrassment.
You're the birth father of Trump..and you need to step up and own that responsibility...by coming back to the middle.
You won't ever hear that on Fox News..or MSNBC..or CNN...but it's the truth because it's based on real facts.
1
G7 leaders are afraid to confront trump because it might make him angry? This is no way to deal with a bully. Let him get angry. He'll just flail like an idiot and make a fool of himself. Besides they should appreciate who they are dealing with ... an un-indicted criminal with his ragtag motley crew of so-called expert and experienced advisors in tow ... dithering Pompeo, bombastic Bolton, amateur Kudlow, silver-tongued Mulvaney and corrupt Mnuchin ... a shameful pack of incompetents on full display before the G7 and the world. Totally appalling and pathetic!
8
I don’t know how this story is going to end. The reason? We’ve never had to deal with this kind of a personality sitting in the Oval Office.
What is the definition of Insanity? I guess it depends on what TV station you watch, which newspaper or newsletter you read, and most importantly, which friends or family you listen to.
In the sports arena, this happens all the time. Your so-called “Home Teams” are usually supported by you, even when deep down, you know they really aren’t that great!
This is the way I look at a Trump Supporter!
Like Hitler of the past, most of the German people supported him even when many of them knew he was a little crazy, but he was making Germany “Great Again!”
2
Trump lives in a bubble in his head.
At his news conference with Macron, Trump flattered President Xi by calling him "a brilliant man." Because this kind of stupid flatter works on him, he assumes it will work on other people.
This is why we keep getting Trump saying how strong, brilliant, genius the likes of Xi, Kim Jong Un and Putin are. He believes everyone else can be manipulated as easily as he is.
A dummy.
6
After two and a half years there are several things which are eminently clear. Trump is a con man, he is corrupt and immoral, and he is a sadistic bully, whose base voters are complete and total cult worshippers and dupes.
The depressing thought is that whatever he does his approval rating in Real Clear Politics hovers around 43%. Apparently this rating is cast in stone.
We can continue to analyze every outrageous act he commits but most importantly we as a people must commit to show up in November 2020 and remove this piece of garbage from office.
Yes Labron James Trump is a bum.
Its not just Donald Trump. The cult of personality, celebrity and "influencer" has infected every aspect of life. Journalists no longer report the news. They express opinion about it even when the opinion has no content. It's all about me; which is all about Trump because click bait pays the bills. Children today want to be youtube stars, so much so there is a you tube camp to hone influencer skills. They can make 22 million a year at 7 years old!!!!!! Make no mistake, the damage is irreparable. We will all drown and become crispy critters, because what is popular is more important that what is imminent.
1
OH my, we're just figuring this out, Mr. Blow?
He's a classic narcissist.
He has delusions of grandeur.
He is a psychopath.
He is a sociopath.
All of the above has been well-known for decades.
Now he is also incredibly dangerous. And he knows it.
2
Charles, I'm tired of reading your insightful, reasonable columns bc nothing is changing!
I am so far beyond exasperation and exhaustion and anger.
Perhaps the NYT should post a banner urging voters to get rid of this evil man and counting the days until the election....what else can we do to deal w our psycho sick president and his minions?
2
Charles,
I believe if you used the words pathological lair, extreme narcissist and irrational sociopath, his behavior would all make sense.
Psychologically speaking.
3
Trump is a firm believer in his being the center of the universe, there is nothing else but him.
A sad and sick man.
4
Well, that would be because donald is clearly insane.
3
Touche, Mr. Blow! While the rest of us look on this ----show in disbelief and a confusing lack of words to describe the man before us, you have given us a clear, concise and easily understandable window on what is going on. It works as a guidepost in the millions of words and images spent on him. It also makes imperative the need for the media to really dial tone the coverage, don't give him so much of our energy for every stupid or toxic tweet, and quit the hyperventilating and alarmism that so feeds this monster. Of course he needs to be covered, but he doesn't care if it is 80 percent negative, the more the better for him and the giant aura that is created around him. Starve the beast! (at least a little).
1
Can we stop analyzing or talking about Trump? It is all "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
1
The Revolutionary War was fought to free the American People from the oppression of the King of England. Over 200 years later Republicans have elected a man who wants to be King of the United States. The worst of it is he a Corrupt and Ignorant man. A Malignant Narcissist and Pathological Liar. In a sane Society he would be removed from office. But Congress is filled with Wealthy Cowards who only care about their bank accounts and getting re-elected.
2
His idiotic actions predictable. With the clear Supreme Narcissism he displays, along with the obvious affliction with the Dunning Kruger Effect, we have an unprecedented situation that bodes danger and humiliation for our nation. Time to return to normality. Register, contribute, do your homework, no apathy, vote. Dump Trump, Ditch Mitch, bar Barr, vote out the Tea Party zealots, flip the Senate, Increase the Democratic House Majority. Make America Great Again. Save the remnants of the Republican Party - we do indeed need a two party system. We are a Democratic Republic based on separation of powers. We are not a dictatorship - keep it that way.
2
Trump is in serious need of a psych evaluation.
2
definitely don't care for Mr. Blow's ego/angle/hypocrisy most of the time, but this one was pretty much on target.
Trump's infantile petty revenge against Obama is entirely based on the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner, when Obama poked fun at Trump over the 'birther' idiocy.
The grudge is beyond pathetic, it's harming American and global stability. Madness.
3
Our Con Man is also a bully. He is treating China the way he treated contractors he didn't want to pay. Unfortunately for the U.S., China is a strong, powerful country with intelligent leaders who can outmanuever our incompetent boob. My only satisfaction is knowing that he is financially harming the deplorable misogynists and racists who voted this stooge into office.
2
Blow and his readers have a personality disorder.
All they can do is talk about Trump.
Stockholm Syndrome is going to set in and they're all going to vote Trump.
1
Since he is in France, Donald J Trump might echo Louis XIV: L'etat c'est moi? Peut-etre?
2
Donald Trump has adopted King Louis XIV's point of view: L'Etat, c'est moi. I am the State.
1
Mr. Charles M. Blow has got it right. The finest characterization to date I have read of Donald Trump. It's all about Trump. Take the United States attorney general. William Barr works for Donald Trump not all the American people just like Michael Cohen did before he went to prison. Amazing that decent, honest patriotic Americans actually support this egotistical, megalomaniac.
1
Especially in the age of the bottomless internet, windy columnists have columns to fill, so every day they must find a new angle on our bogus POTUS, more ways to fathom the unfathomable and comprehend the incomprehensible. But explaining Trump at this juncture is futile, a fool's errand, a hopeless waste of words. All we need to know now is that he is irrational, perhaps mentally disturbed, certainly sociopathic. Enough with the vain talk, good Americans, eyes on the prize: Take back your country, November 2020.
4
Washington would weep mightily if he knew of this malignant fool in charge of our democracy.
2
Well said Mr. Blow.
What else can be said about this man child buffoon that is tearing our country apart? Really nothing.
Vote 2020 to rid America of this cancer.
2
If you treat Trump right, he will follow. That is what the Republicans in Congress do and what the G7 leaders are doing, and what the dictators like Putin and Kim have all done successfully.
The President is being treated like an insecure and stupid autocrat. Imagine that?
1
Second Blow piece in a row that didn’t have a mention of racism. Although, he did manage to include the concept of slavery. So....
1
Petty people, petty thinking.
the only way trump will leave the white house is over his dead body. just ask him.
For a mental 2yo, stuck forever in the grandiosity of a 2yo, Our Mad King Donald IS THE COUNTRY and THE WORLD. You have to learn to think like a 2yo, if you wish to understand the mind of Our Mad King Donald. Go Bernie!
Not leave "a" national scar, Mr. Blow... but has left national wounds already. One has to heal to leave a scar.
This sort of narcissistic displays-- attention-seeking, unable to tolerate attention being focused on anyone else, self-absorbed to the point of blindness, this desperate emotional need for loyalty, limited emotional range, pathological lying, delusional sense of grandiosity-- we had all of above and more in form of Hitler, Mussolini on an international grand scale till end of WW-II. There have been some real characters like Escobar since then but nothing like Trump.
I think we should thank all the Divine that Trump does not have real charisma (unfortunately, the kind Hitler had). Because if he had even a quarter of that charisma, that glamorous verve, that vocal capacity to incite the masses and also ability to induce the undying loyalty... Oy Gevalt... the entire world would be in trouble.
However, don't take a sigh of relief yet, because DT has provoked enough that Alt-Right may yet produce an articulate, well-educated, well-informed all blond-male-god-of-a-politician, with a kids/wife in tow to make us rue the day.
It is easy to demonize Trump because he does all the work for you. A more savvy individual would be a real threat.
I dread that day.
1
This infantile president is the product of the most stupidly conceited nation on the planet, utterly helpless to move past its permanent institutions of slavery.
2
This national psychotherapy is getting really tiresome. He is a lunatic. here is nothing more to be said. The country made a terrible mistake and we now are paying for it, bigly.
Just vote next year...vote. Vote...vote and let's get on with our lives. He is only going to get worse and the Republicans are imply going to enable him because they fear his stupid twittering.
Every single enabler needs to be voted out and only then can we recover from this total disaster of a president, unless, of course, some sense of responsibility rears its head and they impeach him. Dream on!!!!
1
Trumpo personifies the nincompoop, then takes offense when he receives "all due respect". Cry baby cry.... Anyone but Trump 2020.
2
Its the trumpshow: all trump, all the time
2
Like most bullies, Trump treats the vulnerable around him with cruelty and abuse while complaining how unfairly he is treated by everyone else. Pathetic.
1
Stop writing about Trump.
1
After I read a-few f these posts about President Trump, I respond: "Think of the Alternative." Oooh! :-(
1
Your presidents confusing of issues, is no news to us foreigners.
1
When you are a pathological narcissist, now devolving into megalomania, it is axiomatic that EVERYTHING is, indeed, about you. For you. Because of you.
1
Well Blow nicely done — but elementally useless.
Another in a universe of similar pieces that struggle to impose some rationality on the Trump phenomena which is in its most basic content about rampant irrationality and chaos.
2
Everything about Trump can be explained by a raging case of narcissistic personality disorder.
4
Charles Blow is 100% right about Trump's needs and weakness.
Remember Trumps reaction to Wayne Allen Root's comments:
"the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world," "the Jewish people in Israel love him like he's the King of Israel" "They love him like he is the second coming of God."
Trump eats that stuff up. It's another symptom of his unbelievably immature mental and emotional state. Just tell little Donnie that he is great and you win him.
2
Let's face it: there is a cult being operated out of the Oval Office now. Donald Trump has most of the traits of cult leaders, including now declaring himself to be the Second Coming of Christ and the "Chosen One" (stated relative to issues regarding Israel and Jews, no less). His base behaves like cult members, questioning nothing he says or does; defending in him that which they do and would viciously condemn in others, ie: lying, narcissism, behaving like a dictator, defending Putin over his own country over Putin's attack on us; his treatment of women, including two accusations of rape...the list is endless. Scary to think about how most cults have come to an end. I believe that, if Trump loses in 2020, he will send cues to his cult members to reject the election results as "rigged" (again, same people who have no problem with Russia's actual rigging of the 2016 election), take to the streets, and "burn the place down". Trump is not going to go quietly, esp. considering what is at stake for him outside the walls of impunity the WH offers him, not to mention his corrupt crony AG.
2
I am now taking wagers: if Trump is not re-elected, and therefore loses his cloak of invisibility to prosecution, will he A) refuse to leave and foment insurrection (6:1), or 2) pull an Epstein while rotting in the hoosegow awaiting trial (10:1)? My betting kiosk is on the east side of Fifth Avenue, under the big clock near Tiffany’s. Banker’s hours. Cash only.
Cudos to Charles Blow. What a perfect synopsis of Donald Trump and his presidency. These words should be incorporated into a Democratic campaign video, reminding Americans of all that's wrong with the current administration.
4
Trump himself is the best reminder, and reminds almost hourly. Perhaps he will lose in 20 because his base is still enraptured, but everyone else is exhausted.
1
"Everyone around Trump knows his weakness: he is a bottomless pit of emotional need." Congratulations! With those words, you perfectly sum up the carwreck we are living through.
5
A president who has shirts embroidered with "45" on the cuffs obviously needs constant reassurance that he is really the president of the US!!!
5
Poor Charles. Trump has turned him into a one-note columnist where every column is a version of the same.
I remember when Charles turned his keen insight to stories, people and ideas that were not usually covered.
Now? Charles is just another guy listing his latest reasons why Trump is bad. Even this Hilary Clinton voter, who used to look forward to his columns, is disappointed.
Sadly, Mr. Blow is not alone.
1
@profwilliams I think Mr. Blow article is on point. Yes Charles often calls out Trump. By putting all your attention only into Mr. Blow's articles your suffering remains ignored, and the source remains hidden. Your life becomes structured entirely by your favorite means of sidestepping the suffering you rarely allow yourself to feel. And when you do touch the surface of your suffering, perhaps in the form of boredom, you quickly pick up a magazine or the remote control. Instead, embrace your suffering, rest with it, feel it, make love with it. Feel your suffering so deeply and thoroughly that you penetrate it, and realize its fearful foundation. Almost everything you do, you do because you are afraid to die. And yet dying is exactly what you are doing, from the moment you are born. Two hours of absorption in a good baseball telecast may distract you temporarily, but the fact remains. You were born as a sacrifice. And you can either participate in the sacrifice, dissolving in the giving of your gift, or you can resist it, which is your suffering.
By eliminating the safety net of comforts in your life, you have the opportunity to free fall in this moment between birth and death, right through the hole of your fear, into the non nihilistic openness which is the source of your gifts. This version of you has a better chance of living as a spontaneous sacrifice of love that enables yourself and others to see how insignificant Donald Trump's actions are to your life.
@José Franco Your point is better directed at Mr. Blow than me (my life is full and happy, regardless of who is President). He is trapped. And lashing out at what he thinks is the cause of his pain-- Trump.
Over and over again.
But worse, he allowed Trump to highjack his once unique voice and put it with the usual chorus, making Mr. Blow no different than any other Trump hating columnist.
1
Worst president ever at the worse possible moment for the planet. It's so readily apparent he is unfit for his position. Crazy how the Republican party has become his enabler.
4
Trump spent 2 1/2 years getting even with President Obama because 4 years ago, at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, President Obama ridiculed Trump.
Of course Trump forgot about the years he spent leading the racist Birtherism movement and the fact that he FORCED President Obama to produce his birth certificate. Even then, Trump insinuated every which way he could think of, that the birth certificate was not authentic.
Trump cares nothing about America. He only cares about 2 things: money and himself.
One other possible thing he cares about: Whatever it is that Vladimir Putin is holding over his head. Trump committed treason in Helsinki because of it.
If we do not get rid of this petty, shallow, vindictive clown in 2020, America will be damaged beyond any chance of ever recovering. It's a national and international emergency!
9
Trump declares a national emergency at the drop of a hat. His sycophants slide onto the stage in news segments to confirm Trump can do what he pleases due to an obscure law passed for a particular circumstance that does not exist. That Republicans sanction this tortured logic ensures the dysfunctional, failed family business man will continue to create havoc for America and the world. Charles Blow, please continue to cast your dim view upon Trump with your withering gaze.
2
And yet when Trump spread his birther conspiracy he did not see that as an arrack on America
What incredible hypocrisy
4
Petulant, infantile, erratic, egregious, mendacious, short sighted, heartless, amoral, impulsive, vengeful, petty...take your pick, or add to the list.
We have a sick president, a malignant narcissist, a pathological liar, who calls himself a stable genius, but might be kidding. My only hope is that he will succeed in destroying the Republican party before he destroys America.
4
Hurt people hurt people, and themselves.
1
Vote blue everyone in 2020.
7
Alas, we have known this - either intuitively or factually - for a very, very long time. We also know it's destructive and not in the way your crazy drunk uncle makes a shambles out of Thanksgiving dinner. It's the world stage we're on and the world stage that the felon in the White House is intent on destroying. Let's stop him. Let's stop him now.
3
I knew that Donald Trump had an enormous ego, but I didn’t realize that he had swallowed up the entire United States into his own, warped personality cult. Please, Donald, let me out, you’re poisoning us all with a toxic brew of misogyny, xenophobia and just plain meanness.
3
As ridiculous and ignorant and offensive as he is, Trump is just a pathetic little twerp busily diminishing the presidency and our country. One way or another, eventually we will be rid of him, thank heavens.
More depressing, to me, is the fact that so many people who should know (and be!) better support and enable him, all in the name of tax cuts and judges who will theoretically keep them protected from multiculturalism and the "other." It's awful to know so many people like this still exist in the US - up until now, I always thought we were better than that.
When Trump's minions and supporters someday survey the wreckage that Trump will leave behind, I wonder if their prostituting themselves will have been worth it to them. Even more than Trump himself, history will remember them as the lowest of the low.
5
Trump is deeply disturbed. Sick. Mentally ill. Everything he does and says needs to be viewed through that lens. In return for conservative judges, deregulation and the wealthy getting lots of tax breaks, the republicans don’t care. That is the true perversion.
3
Trump is a domestic terrorist, its that plain and simple. He is hurting the majority of Americans and helping to destroy the planet. He should be dealt with appropriately .
5
Is Creedmore still operating, or was it eliminated by Reagan in his zest to cut costs?
1
I look at this fool and I think if I were another nation-state on this planet, I'd never trust the United States again. Our word and our bond is less than useless when at any minute our system allows an idiot like Trump to assume power. AND provides no way to remove him no matter how dangerous he might be.
I think you are seeing the waning days of this country. I would never trust us again after this unless it was determined the election was not legitimate and the process could be fixed.
3
The beef with China is completely ridiculous. Just because Trump spouted off in his idiotic election rallies that he'd take on China. What does Trump know about the global economy, supply chains and international trade? Here's a man who claims that China is giving us "billions and billions" of dollars because of the tariffs. And this past week he's been completely unhinged. Are the republicans watching this?
4
Nice piece by Mr. Blow, but I must confess, I am tapped out with Trump emotionally. His confuse and control methodology, deliberate or the ravings of a pre senile demented mind, have taken a toll on me. But I know I have to keep my head in the game or otherwise he wins.
1
Surely other nations of the world think, correctly, that America is being led by an arrogant buffoon. How long will it be before America can return to its normal place of respect in the world order? Maybe not in our lifetimes.
3
Exactly!
1
Trump on TV right now--Biarritz--says Presidency probably cost him $3-5 billion--geez that kind of money you'd think his learning curve would've gone up at least one inch---not well spent
3
"I'm not sure the damage is irreparable."
I sure HOPE not.
I found myself thinking (just now) about certain great empires. That took a long time to die.
A VERY long time.
Case in point is the ROMAN empire. Beset by barbarians. A long line of incompetents crouching on that throne of the Caesars--
--the last of whom retired. To a luxurious private villa. On a substantial pension. And voila!
The Western Roman Empire was no more.
But my goodness, Mr. Blow. The OTTOMAN empire. "The sick man of Europe" they called it. And the centuries rolled by. "The fabulous invalid refused to die" as someone put it once.
World War I came along.
It died.
ALL THIS TO ASK--
--our own fledgling nation. Not two hundred fifty years old. Could a swift series of body blows finish us off? Another four years of Donald J. Trump (and my stomach churns to think of it). Could THAT finish us off?
I think, Mr. Blow (and you are free to disagree) but I think by and large we have been blessed in our forty four presidents. A few were outstanding. Many merely competent. A few BARELY competent. Or incompetent.
But this lethal mixture of folly--vanity--malignity that makes up Number Forty Five.
This (I submit) we've NOT seen before. We've NEVER had anyone like Mr. Donald J. Trump. Which leads back to my original question:
How much can we take?
How much SHOULD we take.
Before. . . .before. . . .
Well sir--YOU fill in the rest--
--while I go lie down.
3
Surprisingly tame by Mr. Blow's typical heated attacks on the President. Accurate but unmemorable.
Look what else isn't in our mainstream media about Trump and the harm and chaos that slashing Medicare and Social Security will cause:
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Trump-Weighing-Slashing-Medicare-Social-Security-in-2nd-Term-20190825-0012.html
There is no end to the harm one will do to others when one has not diligently worked to calm oneself.
2
This is the result of electing a man with personality disorders.
5
"Paradigm of the Personal" Smooth, Blow, smooth.
Nailed it, Charles, except to mention that he is deteriorating mentally into a blubbering, blathering, blustering fool, way too incapable of handling the chore of remaining calm under pressure.
And that’s because deep down, he realizes, deep down, that he is a coward.
1
Dead on Mr Blow.
Sad thing is none of Trumps supporters or Senate enablers will read this column.
2
"Trump is a slave to his emotions"
That's the problem with being devoid of intellect.
2
When you put your name on everything you touch in massive gold letters, then obviously you are more than narcissistic.
Indeed, everything is a brand for you to be manipulated.
He has gone way beyond disfiguring the Emoluments clause of the Constitution (a crime that is being ignored at the moment mind you).
He continues to do so as he treats his home in Florida as an extension/replacement to the White House. He regularly jets down there on the tax payer's dime, holds court (for official government business, and then charges further the tax payer for security, while charging ''guests'' at the same time.
All of this is going on in plain sight, and furthermore, the President wants to hold the G7 conference next year at this own private house. Does anyone think this is right, or even legal ?
WE are the ones that should be taking this personally !
6
Spot on.
1
He doesn't think.
6
@Tom -- he CAN'T think.
3
Of course, this is the seriously deranged man we have known from the beginning--a malignant narcissist, a petty and vindictive juvenile delinquent who wants to be king, dictator, Putin kleptocrat or at least a mafia don. He treats every flattering word as the undying praise that feeds his bottomless ego, and every criticism or disagreement as the unforgivable assault by an "enemy of the people". He is never wrong, never less than great, always superior to anyone else, incapable of mistake or offense. His opinions and impulses are infinitely better than any fact or expertise from those who actually know what they're talking about. Thus, he reportedly said in meetings about the status of hurricanes threatening the US that we should try to "nuke them" to combat nature's destructive force.
It's not a laughing matter. He is much worse than a man of personal grievances and a carnival of pathologies. This warped human being is a dangerous monstrosity. He is the greatest threat to our democracy, our national security, and our planet.
6
Absolutely brilliant analysis Charles!
4
The president is mentally ill. A normal person is pretty much incapable of such consistent aberrant behavior.
That doesn’t mean that he isn’t responsible for his utterances, for his racism and bigotry, for his greed, for other faults. They’re repugnant. A child knows better.
I don’t understand why his republican compatriots and global leaders are so afraid to confront him for these offensive qualities. Failure to do so makes them complicit. It’s as if he puffs up and gets more powerful. Maybe ridicule and laughter would make him shrink up, pop, and blow away in the wind.
He is a threat to our world and he’s already making our democracy decay. The most expedient solution is to remove him from office via the 25th amendment or impeachment. Waiting for the 2020 election allows too much time for nefarious behavior from those who want to see him re-elected.
4
What you have laid out Charles is so easy to see and understand. I can’t get why more of his supporters have not followed Scaramucci.
I am surprised how little shame Trump has.
2
I am sick of the Trump show. I have cut way back on my "news" consumption because I don't want to hear any more about his pathetic and disgusting presidency. I will do what I can as a common citizen, without deep pockets, to make sure he is defeated in 2020. And my guess is that anybody that reads the NYTimes has heard all they need to know. So PLEASE write about something else.
Our nation, and the world, are facing some really difficult problems. Problems without easy solutions. And we have a host of Democratic candidates trying to address these problems. Let's hear some analysis of what they are saying and what the Republicans are offering as an alternative (if they have anything to offer).
A free press is supposed to educate the electorate. Do your job. Explain the important issues and analyze the different solutions being proposed. We don't need anymore analysis of Trump or his afflictions. We know what a despicable fool he is. It's time to move on.
3
And let us not forget that he is a con man - above much else.
6
Charles Blow, the observations and evaluations you make here about the man I no longer choose to name are valid, and important but I, just one of 1000s who will read and comment, suggest that it is time for you to move away from him and move on with something new, something that bears on his support for White Nationalists, neo-Nazis (WNs/NNs).
Every one of us who will submit a comment today is familiar with the behaviors and beliefs that lead him to record in a new kind of documentation the story of a president who daily does harm -Tweet no. 1 to Tweet last, maybe in the 100s of 1000s.
My suggestion for something new. Start with this simple question: What is white, anyway? Talk with your colleague, Thomas Chatterton Williams about this key phrase in the title of his 2d book, out in October.
"Unlearning race"
Examine the belief held by WNs and even Professor of Law, Amy Wax (see New Yorker interview 8/23) that there is a subset of people "seen as white" who constitute a master race even now in 2019, not the 1930s, with a higher culture than anyone else.
Talk with Professor Wax' law colleague, Dorothy Roberts, and consider writing your first essay, using DR's brilliant phrase about the concept of "race" - Race is the Fatal Invention of racists.
Write about "Unlearning Race in America"
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
1
The equating of self with nation is a faulty generalization which is one more manifestation of a thought-disordered mind, a concomitant of mental illness.
To ask the psychotic individual to stop being psychotic is futile. Delusions rarely, if ever, remit to suggestion.
The highly symptomatic performance of this "leader" needs curtailment from the community.
How much madness is to be endured by a seemingly castrated Republican Party?
2
Do you have any friends that disappoint you? One that asks you too cover for him when he's cheating on his wife? Calls you in the early hours of the morning to bail him out the third or forth time because he been busted for drunk driving? Smokes cigarettes? Cheats on his taxes? Acts like a new Yorker, voted the meanest State in the county. I can't imagine you do being around anyone less than perfect.
Do you suffer from end of world hysterics? Fears of Asteroids, Zombies, Pandemics, Volcanoes, Climate Change or Trump's Presidency are impossible to control?
Do yo use words like mentally ill, crazy, or insane to dismiss individuals you hate? Do you take any trait you don't like about someone and conflate them to immeasurable evil?
Are you sure it's really that bad? The guy is exactly a New Yorker. Have a little sympathy.
1
@JoeG writes smugly from Houston, completely ignoring the fact that this dementia-stricken, right-wing uncle is the POTUS, however illegally elected.
2
@JoeG
No, he isn't. He's a very sick man in a powerful position. No sympathy for him, his family, and his enablers.
Your country needs a sane, stable leader, not a thin-skinned, uneducated, bloviating little man-boy with daddy issues.
2
@TK
I was tired of the guy when he sharted showing up in the '80s. I didn't vote for him but no matter what you "feel" he was legally elected.
In my smug way besides saying if you looked at his record he's bad but not that bad. I'm also saying you should have a little sympathy for yourselves because you are what got him elected and you don't understand why.
"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague." Cicero
1
Trump is simply shallow, insecure, ignorant, and needy.
Essentially he has accomplished almost nothing in his life without massive help from his father.
He has the Clinton campaign to thank for where he sits because of the pathetic job they did in three states, ignoring them and taking them for granted.
He has fooled a base of people.
Individuals I had previously thought rational and decent, continue to support that unstable nut. I will never understand why.
Can't wait for 2020.
5
Spot on, Charles. The Current Occupant is the modern American incarnation of Louis XIV's famous aphorism: "L'état, c'est moi!" Everything is all about him, everything is personal. My hope is when he leaves office (by what ever means) we will quickly begin healing the damage done by his narcissistic egotism.
4
The American People will never forget that the republican party allowed this man to destroy our nation and perhaps the world. Now to save our nation the republican party must be destroyed.
3
As J K Rowling so aptly described him, trump is a tiny, tiny, tiny little man.
5
And about once a week. he stands in front of his "supporters" and repeats his racist, misogynistic, anti-earth, idiotic baloney. And they cheer wildly. He could bellow; "the sky is purple!"; and these people wouldn't even look up. They would imprison their own neighbors if Trump said to. The "alt-right" must be defeated. Register. Vote. America needs a new direction; away from the haters Trump has energized.
3
And what should we think of all the Republicans in the Senate and House who kiss up to the infantile shell of a human at 1600? This man who literally disrespects everyone, disrespects America and the constitution on which it's built -- his regime is being propped up by Republicans, the NRA, Russia and who knows what other Anti=American powers (and yes, I tag the many Republicans on the Hill, the NRA and Wayne LaPierre as Anti-American hiding behind the constitution while lining their own pockets).
2
One thing you can say about this president, he has not disappointed, he is as terrible as I thought he would be, maybe even worse.
2
Thank you once again Charles for trying to make sense of this sad, ex-reality tv show star. He tries to pretend like he knows what he's doing and the other world leaders (especially Putin) are laughing behind his back. He should just go back to the show. O right, he would be indicted...
1
I don't think Trump is confused. He equates his personal pettiness and stupid delusions with that of a greater majority as a way of trying to give them more veracity to say, 'look, this isn't just me'. He does this every time he says 'a lot of people are saying' or 'Denmark didn't just insult me, they insulted all of America' (no Donnie, it really was just you). He tries to turn himself into the spokesman for a lot of people who in fact don't share his views at all.
1
“We can’t treat the United States of America the way they treated us under President Obama.”
(Another incoherent statement. (LEH!)
Repairing the damage is possible, but may take a generation.
It could take a decade to simply identify all the damage.
Just getting this cretin out of office will not do it.
The GOP may simply float another one, even worse, and they could win.
America will need a long 'time out' on the couch perhaps. ??
2
This is because he has spent a lifetime undergoing no reckoning with reality. Now he can’t imagine that the world doesn’t bend to his will. It’s called psychosis and at his age it’s incurable. Our nation is in the hands of a hopelessly disturbed and spoiled old man bloated by wealth not of his creation and now wealth owned by foreign banks. Be consoled that the rain of the narcissistic mirror is paranoia and the paranoid personality knows no comfort. Like every billionaire I have ever met, Trump defines himself by his wealth and yet he is wholly owned by foreign banks; as such, in the billionaire club he has chump change. Life in truth is unbearable for him. That’s our consolation. And the prospect that after his idiotic term in office he and his spawn will spend their lives one step ahead or behind the jailer. Everything has been all about him since he punched his second grade teacher in the nose for ordering him to sit down and shut up. Donald, deadbeat Don, sit down and shut up, there are no more billions of your daddy’s money to lose. Now there is only mine.
2
Besides what Mr Blow mentions about "king Trump" he is overlooking his others attributes: Uneducated, barely literate, extremely vindicatif if not downright cruel, hatred of the poor "losers", xenophobic, misogynistic... more if anybody cares to add to this list.
1
Stop!!
Stop complaining
Stop analyzing
Stop observing
Stop obsessing
Stop!
Everything that can be said has been said over the last 2 years. Yes, he will go lower and yes he is massively incompetent and yes he will sue everyone when he loses.
Start!
Doing
Organizing
Writing
Learning
Teaching
Consulting
“What needs to be done to win and rassel the country away from its current state”
Vote... vote....vote!
2
As pompous and egocentric as he is, I think he knows his limits.He didn’t attend the G7 meeting concerning the environment and the crises in Brazil.
“Oh look, the Amazonians finally discovered fire, isn’t that wonderful.”
1
Trump is exploding the national debt, imploding our trade relationships, smacking down the value of our IRAs, ignoring our infrastructure needs, cannibalizing our relationships with allies and widening the gaps between the socioeconomic groups of our nation.
He kowtows to the corrupt NRA, befriends Putin, and gives not a hoot about foreign electronic warfare against our election systems.
He wastes hours a day on egocentric tv viewing and tweeting. He has decimated our embassies around the world. And he loathes science and other bona fide metrics of factual investigations.
He is completely incompetent as a President.
2
L’État c’est moi.
(It’s always personal with him.)
3
Why is our leader picking on Obama? He has always picked on him. Our leader is a racist. He is also a narcissist. He is an anti-semite and most of all he is not a stable genius. I recently met someone who went to Wharton with him. He described Donald as "dumb as a door nail". One would like to think he had become smarter since his days as a student, but he hasn't.
He is pathetic and he is dragging us down with him. Heaven help us if any of his progeny become office holders...a trump dynasty is the very last thing this country needs.
2
Thank you, Charles Blow, for your thoughtful and completely on-target column today. I could not agree more.
The country is being held hostage to a massive personality disorder and a pathetic and frightening charade of the presidency.
2
When they do intake at a mental hospital, they test for delusions and then they test for giving too much importance to your own thoughts. There are people who believe they're the son of God, but some of them can understand why everyone else doesn't see it.
Trump is one of those people who thinks that anyone who doesn't see he's the son of God must be stupid or manipulated by fake news. He gives too much importance to his own thoughts. The funny thing is, when you put those people on medication, often they still think they're the son of God, but they start to recognize that it's not obvious to everyone else.
3
The national scar will heal if we can steer ourselves to liberty and justice all, not just white folks who pretend to be conservatives, angry people who like Trump, and the elderly who fear change.
My feeling is that Trump needs a honest publicist and public relations department. The Trump brand has is withoug principle, tact, or true allies. What's he really selling? His self-importance and discord. And, that is why he'll be defeated in 2020.
This time it's not "The economy, stupid." Rather it's the "The stupid, Trump."
1
I wonder if there's mandatory OJT program employed every time some new dubious character brought to the "Chosen One" circle...
Are they send to Kremlin for total brainwashing at FSB or are they just born this way or should GMO might be considered.
"He runs the country the way he ran his business, as the curating and promotion of his personal brand."
Yes, absolutely!
Just look at his latest addition...he plans to host next year G7 at his Miami Doral Golf Course.
How is that sounds to you, if not the blatant shameless attempt to profit and prop up his own business, from G7 countries.
The fact that is so obvious makes it even more deplorable.
2
Never forget Trump (thumbs up) & Melania photographed with the El Paso orphaned baby. A creepy leery man and his dysfunctional third wife who worries more about her hair than anything else.
Witless and totally devoid of empathy.
1
Trump is a con artist, he doesn't view people as customers he views them as marks, e.g. his phony university.
3
Don't plan on Trump leaving if he loses the 2020 electioin.
2
Is there no modern day Joseph Welch among our elected representatives? Who will call out the indecency of this fake POTUS?
1
With all due respect to Charles Blow, who is an intelligent person with a lot of original interesting things to say, this op-ed did not need to be written because its conclusions are patently obvious to even the casual observer. Typically, opinion pieces provide a unique take on the facts. This essay merely states the facts as everyone already knows them.
1
Dismissing climate change and worldwide income inequality as “niche” issues is pretty clear: nothing—absolutely nothing—is of any use or importance to this sniveling little “man” unless it directly benefits him. Personal financial gain, self-service and self-worship are his only motives. If only his cult understood English, they might hear what he says.
2
Hey, whatever works.
Obama went AWOL on N. Korea and China.
Trump is taking huge gambles and if he’s successful our nation will be the better for it.
2
@Tuco
He won't be successful. China can wait. The American people can't. It's that simple.
2
65 million Americans threw the other 262 million Americans under the bus.
4
Is it possible for the esteemed author to write a piece about anything other than “Trump Bad” or “White Racists”?
Anybody notice the Republicans and Democrats voted to increase the national debt and the deficit ?
1
No one can trust a liar. Why does the whole world keep trying? Ostracize him! Hold him accountable!
Though, I have to say, Macron's trolling with the Iranian foreign secretary was a step in the right direction.
This morning Trump has already lied about China calling and wanting to get back to the negotiating table. They said they have not. I believe China.
Trump is a liar. Isn't that enough to ignore him?
2
Mr. Blow; I never thought I'd find myself agreeing with you on anything; have you had an epiphany? Or, maybe your stocks went up and you're starting to think like a Republican. Well, either way, it's progress.
1
Blow just continues to enumerate all of Trump’s long list of foibles. We are familiar with them. Why doesn’t the reporter discuss what is important to do to rid us of of this albatross hanging from our necks? And then press his point(s)?
2
The press needs to address his ludicrous statements without becoming ridiculous themselves. He has successfully thrown them off with wildly crazy statements. The press needs to have a section called "wildly crazy statements' list these here and then get back to work in pushing for real issues like the how he promotes white supremacy e.g. case in point the KKK rally last week. To be clear, do not devote headline to crazy stuff but to important, life and death issues.
1
This man is seriously ill.
6
The Great God Trump accepts no other Gods. Those who have chosen him over Jesus are proper worshippers.
God has blessed America and now it's up to us to show we deserve these blessings instead of violating the First Commandment by choosing another God (Great God Trump) for worship and adulation.
God Save America
Dumber than a rock, thicker than a brick. From "The Hill";
"President Trump has floated dropping nuclear bombs into hurricanes to stop them from hitting the United States in meetings with Homeland Security and national security officials, Axios reported Sunday."
2
We are in a danger zone.
Trade wars become hot wars.
Study 20 th century WW. 1 and 2 et al......
our leadership sides with trump psychosis of power.
And the American people have adopted extreme religiosity toward the cult of white rights and trump.
Charles just write about “the suffering “from this point forward
And our collective stupidity.
1
Charles, one thing that all of us have to remember that Trump was raised in hatred.
Fred Trump, a KKK influenced father of Donald could teach him nothing about equality of human beings only because he and many of his peers thought that Black, Hispanic or other minority Americans could not be equal to the White Americans.
So Trump's idea of bringing Kenye West and other Black Americans to the White House to show that he cares for the Black and other minority people is nothing but a hog wash.
As we've seen before with Trump's treatment of Barack Obama,our country's first Black president,Trump has proved time and again that deep inside his heart he always believed that Black and other minority Americans will never be the same as long as he remained in power.
22 lives lost in Walmart in El Paso, Texas, meant nothing to our racist president because most of the people died or injured there were of Mexican or Hispanic origin. This lack of empathy comes from a man who started his campaign implying that the Mexicans bring drugs. They kill Americans. And they're invading our country.
No wonder he has no interest in curbing the flow of illegal handguns in this country which is owned and operated by most of his all White supporters who kill mostly Black or Hispanic Americans and none of his White peers.
On the contrary Trump would've done a lot to stop the proliferations of AR-15 assault rifles if the victims of all these mass shootings were only Whites Jews and White Christians.
1
This is the irony of it all: a thoroughly laughable president hates being laughed at.
4
Why do all of you continue to talk about the self-aggrandizing single-cell mutant as if it is human or has any human qualities? It was never part of the human race and never will or can be.
2
THIS, as described by Blow, is what leads to Greg Weiner's "Shallow cynicism that everything is rigged."
It's figment of Trump's imagination that everything is rigged against HIM1.
2
Trump is in a conspiracy of treason with Russia to undermine the post WWII Western world order, his motivation is wealth for himself. He is not a stupid man, though he is not intellectually curious, his focus is on himself period. He is afraid of prison because the investigation is like a train and he cannot get off the tracks. All of his current effort is to stay free, and as that becomes less likely his behavior becomes more and more extreme. The idea of Trump being concerned with the Country, even in a demented sense, is absurd.
2
Right on point as usual. Trump is a weak bully, uninformed and uninterested in anything that doesn't serve his agenda, whatever it is at the moment. And he is dragging the whole nation, even the whole global system down with him.
1
Narcissists expect to get special treatment.
They exaggerate their own smarts, success, power, and looks.
Their complete lack of empathy leads them to take advantage of people, with no regrets.
Narcissists are be extremely jealous and ultra-sensitive.
Because they’are very thin-skinned, they angrily lash out at any criticism or push-back.
Narcissists also may lash out when they feel like they’re not getting special treatment.
Underneath all of these traits is a deep sense of insecurity.
Narcissists don’t have healthy relationships and they have loads of trouble at work or school.
Hail to the Narcissist-Whiner-Crybaby-Commander-In-Chief !!!
Sad.
Pathetic.
Disgraceful.
7
So who is going to bell the cat?
2
Trump's biggest obstacle is Trump. How can President Trump get better at things he doesn't think he's bad at while he continues to surround himself with "yes men and women"?
2
"He confuses the way he thinks he is treated with the well-being of the country."
This statement should be added to all reportage about this presidency. Hammer it in, day after day, like all Republican messages.
I don't think he'll get it, or that his steadfast followers have the ability to even understand its implications, but at least the truth will be out there.
6
Scarred, tarred and feathered is right. Blow isn’t fooling.
The damage to our feeble nation is critical..
Healing is paramount.
Be kind. Vote.
Revolt!
4
I think Mr. Blow hit the nail squarely on the head.....well said.
6
This article by Charles Blow nails it.
5
"...Trump’s personal problems will leave a national scar..." [op cit] And how can anyone not agree?
--
The writer has articulated what amounts to a laundry-list of offenses by the President against the body-politic, that most Americans can easily recognize and identify with.
***
Instead of helping us as a nation, our President seems to be intent on hurting us. It's almost incomprehensible.
And yet the voting public, including our representatives in Congress, seem to be loath to do anything about it. And that to me is even more incomprehensible.
--
President Trump should have been [Constitutionally] removed from office long before now. But the powers that be continue to allow him to soldier on, in his quest to wreck everything we've done and everything we stand for, at home and abroad. I really don't get it.
***
What is America?
Who are we? And how many of us are paying attention to what’s going on?
—
President Trump will continue to mould us in his image, until he’s permanently prohibited by Congress from doing so.
--
Does anyone care enough to act?
8
All true, Mr. Blow. All too true and appalling. What a dense overgrown child we have in the White House.
9
Although we of the congregation enjoy such expressions of intelligent informed articulate outrage, DJT still stands a good chance of winning 2020.
Why is that? What can be done, what must be done by all here to save the US from such a tragic sequel to these past three-four years?
4
I love you Charles Blow!!!!!!!!
6
Trump has Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which is a long-winded way of saying he cannot empathize. He can ape it, but he can’t sense it. Behaviors define a species as much as physical characteristics. Humans have survived and thrived because we cooperate. More than opposable thumbs, more than anything physical, cooperation is our superpower. Big brains, language, art, our very souls, all exist in order in to enhance cooperation or as an outcome of it. Empathy is required to cooperate. Cooperation is what holds off the wolves, digs the well and builds the cathedrals to whatever gods we have collectively decided worthy of worship. Cooperation allows us to make bigger mistakes stakes, but also to correct them. Cooperation, global cooperation, is the only way we can navigate through the looming bottleneck of climate catastrophe. Empathy isn’t the fuzzy wuzzy stuff of Hallmark Cards and Raffi sing-alongs. Empathy put “Homo sapiens” on the map, what made us weedy and persistent. Empathy is as important to human survival as sight or hearing. Trump is heart blind. Severed by his disorder from the rest of his species, Trump is forever anxious and frightened. His needs can never be met. His soul is a black hole trying to suck in the entire universe. His presidency is terrifying for the whole world.
6
Would that everyone inside Trump's orbit might read and heed this spot-on observation of his extreme emotional frailty.
At a time of global tensions on numerous platforms-geopolitical, climate, and economic--our country has at its helm a pathologically weak, emotionally stunted individual. His every boisterous effort ends up as a failed attempt to hide those very weaknesses.
This downward spiral will continue unabated as the complicit GOP leadership looks on. They privately muse that the emperor has no clothes...but they are too hell-bent on preserving their seats and advancing their neo-conservative cause.
At what cost, though, I ask; at what cost to the country they will be leaving to their children and grandchildren?
The history books will not be kind, neither to this president nor (and more importantly) to his enablers.
3
@Observer
The ongoing destruction of the EPA will be a living legacy of this corrupt Adminiatration. When rivers no longer run clean and clear; when national monuments are opened to destruction from mining and oil interests; when mining sludge rolls down a mountain in W. Va. and buries small communities; when wildlife habitats are sacrificed to developers in fire zones; when protective regulations are rolled back on behalf of extractive industries, and so on, the real Trump legacy will be an historical criminal enterprise.
1
The biggest question is, how did a large enough section of the population get sucked into thinking his "The Apprentice" style antics would somehow be good for them.
America is still a land of deep hatred. Hatred for the poorest 10%: "that welfare so-and-so is goofing off while I have to work" and the threat of the illegal imigrant "those so-and-so's come up and get on welfare and sponge off the rest of us".
It's an interesting problem, and one that I'm not sure this country will be able to move past, which very well may doom it, at least in its present form.
4
But there is no doubt that the damage Trump is doing is deep and will take time and effort to undo.
Trump’s personal problems will leave a national scar.
Boy, Charles, you ain't lying.
Any new president will have his or her work cut out for him or her.
This person Trump is like a bulldozer that has smashed part of our democracy to smithereens.
Much like when a property has been damaged, if the damage is done in certain areas, sometimes it is best to just tear the structure down and rebuild.
We can't do that so, we will have to patch and secure, patch and secure.
Con artists often leave these types of scars.
4
in 1907 Mark Twain said of Teddy Roosevelt: “Mr. Roosevelt is the Tom Sawyer of the political world of the twentieth century; always showing off; always hunting for a chance to show off; in his frenzied imagination the Great Republic is a vast Barnum circus with him for a clown and the whole world for audience; he would go to Halifax for half a chance to show off, and he would go to hell for a whole one.” He could have said the same thing about Trump...Our Greatest National Accident.
5
@Harley Leiber
Twain would have been acccurate regarding Trump; he was dead wrong about the man who left us with national parks and protected wildlife. Twain was a very good story teller; no one ever accused him of being an astute political observer.
Well said as usual. It has been obvious since the first day of Trumps administration that he was determined to undo anything and everything that President Obama had done for this country. In fact I’m convinced that it all dates back to the White House Correspondents Dinner where Trump was seen seething as the President made him the butt of a joke. President Obama had it right - Trump is a joke.
5
The thread that runs throughout this presidency of the damned is Barack Obama, the quintessential American statesman. When Donald Trump looks into the mirror he sees his predecessor. It might drive him mad--even more so than he is.
How often have we heard this "president" tell us that Vladimir Putin disrespected President Obama. Or that President Obama was taken advantage of? Or that President Obama...?
Donald Trump is a man without a lodestar. Truly. He has no idea what he's going to do the night before he turns in than he does when he arises. His office is defined by impulse. He's impetuous to the point of making something that he said earlier in the day (or earlier in the half hour) irrelevant. He has difficulties focusing on the present.
I'm no psychologist and haven't read the The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (now in its fifth edition) in almost 30 years but I'm certain that not much has changed in the basic surveys of the illnesses that it describes. He's certainly "histrionic" and "suspicious" and "narcissistic." How anyone with this sort of freaked-out make-up can run a business, let alone a country, is best left to the experts: Mitch McConnell and his posse in the Republican La La land of the once-respected Senate.
I think his major problem is that he can't compartmentalize; how to assign problems a priority while simultaneously thinking about how to lessen the possible damage that they can do.
He can't. He's Donald Trump.
13
Trump thought it was okay to repeat nonsense about Obama’s legitimacy to be President based upon nothing. When Obama roasted him at the Correspondent’s Dinner in 2011, Trump was humiliated. He will never get over that nor his hatred of Obama for embarrassing him in public.
1
I've had MANY new bosses. The ONE constant is that new bosses either screw up and get promoted or leave for greener pastures. China knows that Trump will be gone soon, probably in 2020, so they can wait. I hope it's sooner, Trump's erratic episodes are becoming more common so the reality is that someday soon we may see Amendment 25 do what it's supposed to do.
5
@TomJones, if only. I don’t see anyone or any government body having the courage to invoke the 25th Amendment. If anyone did, he’d already be impeached.
2
When I was a kid, my Dad would say, "You can always tell when someone has done his homework." Glaringly, Trump has never done his homework. Trump embodies that friend you had in high school who followed you around like a puppy. He needs constant adulation, and when someone barks at him, his only retort is to bark louder. Everyone in the world has witnessed how his presidency has diminished the United States. Travel anywhere in the world and citizens of other nations just laugh at the mention of Trump. Russia and China will dominate the rest of this century because what Trump has done is to reduce the United States to a corrupt swamp of the personal.
8
He’s so unhinged he’s talking about nuking hurricanes. He thinks it’s a fine idea, especially since he thought of it.
Sometimes there’s a crisis in the making and the people who can act on it don’t and then it’s too late. Is that what Congress will be saying, ‘we should have acted sooner’?
6
This person, trump, pretending to be the president has destroyed the sanity of the nation by inflaming people like himself, those with no emotional control or curiosity or potential for learning from their mistakes, to do violent acts against people who have views that might help them learn something. People have been murdered, Heather Heyer for example, by his minions while he and they laugh that more murder and mayhem are coming. I feel less safe walking around my city since this barbarian was allowed to hold this office by the actions of a multitude of negligent people in power who think of him as an opportunity to steal more from the hard-working, sane people of this country. The damage is not recoverable. Our own citizens have died because of him and no one in power has the guts to see and remove this emperor with no clothes, brains or heart, from office.
5
I agree Mr. Blow, but I wouldn't have used "obeisance" I would have used "obedience." To me, obeisance infers some respect for the subject, whereas I don't believe DJT even understands the meaning of respect, and he certainly doesn't deserve it.
6
Donald Trump has stamped America with his personal brand. He announced at the G7 in Biarritz that he would hold the 2020 G7 at his private golf resort, Trump Doral, in Miami, Florida next year. That's the paradigm of the Trump persona in America. The well-being of our country is at stake.
There were many unforeseen events between June 2015 and November 2016. There will be many unforeseen events between today, August 2019 and November 2020. What are the chances of president Trump not being our president at this time next year? Slim to none? Or, if his cabal and people are correct, sure as God made little green apples?
2
I never thought I would want Mike Pence to be president, if only for a year, but here I am, cheering on the Invisible Man.
2
I like the Washington quote. Thanks for that.
5
Very good article by Charles Blow, you are spot on defining Trump's mentality the man is an egocentric, he takes things personally and feel persecuted.
2
"The people who support him [Trump] are customers — people to be sold a vision and a dream.
To Trump, his supporters are not customers, they are crops. Spread a little fertilizer, harvest them, consume what you can and discard the rest.
To consider them customers would require Trump to recognize their humanity, something Trump is incapable of, even for his supporters.
And the rest of us? Those who prefer our presidents emotionally stable, intellectually capable, and pro democracy? Nothing but weeds.
4
I do not live in America and have not paid the great nation a visit. I am somewhat weak-minded, and with my view from abroad, just as as I see a metonymic relation between the Crown – the head of state in Britain – the British Government (to be associated with London and the UK), I see a comparable one between Trump – the current adminstration – Washington (to be associated with the great USA). The media and academics can make use of such metonyms; they might suggest them to us. If I were in America, if were to have regular dealings with Americans, I probably would not consider Trump and America interchangeable. God bless
1
Malignant, pathological narcissism has its consequences Charles. When you are mentally unstable, controlled by delusions of grandeur yet profoundly insecure, occupying the most powerful and important office in the world is a guaranteed recipe for eventual, widespread disaster. Heaven help us, here and abroad. Matters can be expected to get worse, much worse.
4
Somehow, America elected the new Huey Long, pitching a chicken in every pot, and this is what we got. Trump is a logo; a personality. He has no substance, philosophy, essence, ethics. Nothing. He is just an ego with some money. Trump cannot lead the nation because he cannot conceive of where he would want the nation to go. His only thoughts are of himself.
3
Again thank you for an insightful analysis. Trump has no sense of history, no sense that the people he calls "friends" are using him (he has called many people friends over his business life, but none were in the end), and an insatiable need to be liked and respected. Deep problems from childhood?...Because this makes no sense that our country, in his mind, is him and only him. Then again, he did say only he could fix things.. Typical autocrat at work. However, I do have faith that we can reverse this, it has happened before and people like him get found out. It may take time, but in the end if we could get here, where we are today with Trump, we can go the other way as well. So don't give up hope, and keep pushing against this tide of ignorance and stupidity in the White House.
2
We know beyond any doubt that Trump is mentally ill and morally unfit to be president. But we're deeply concerned he will be re-elected and still holds that advantage. Just what does this tell us about our fellow Americans?
3
It is hard to imagine that anyone at all will be interested in being associated with don the con the day he leaves office. His "business" is a sham, his cult of personality will turn to ashes, and the books regarding how NOT to run a country will outsell his ghost written "art" for a century.
cannot wait for him to be out and the nation allowed to heal
4
Trump just lied to world again, proclaiming he couldn't take part in the conference of G7 and invitees about climate change, because he had a private meeting with both German Chancellor Merkel and India's President Modi at that time.
Surprise, surprise, both Merkel and Modi were at the conference.
This once more proves that Trump has completely gone manic, believing the little voices in his otherwise empty head.
4
Trump has serious mental and personality disorders and anyone who observes him objectively can see them on full display. He has less regard for the welfare of the US than any president before him and in his tiny world nothing counts but what he wants.
His behavior is consistent with that of any small child who does not get their way. Maybe a very long timeout would save us from the existential threat which he represents, although I suspect that we are all doomed to living in his small, nasty world for years to come.
2
I mean, Mr Blow, we're talking about someone (and his supporters) who can't tell the difference between actual admiration and pandering - look at how they were gushing over China's reception of Trump as them paying obeisance to him, when everyone else was looking at it and going, "There's no real respect there, the Chinese are totally pandering to him so that he'll acquiesce to their every demand." Heck, some actually bent so far backwards in justifying it by saying, "At least the Chinese bothered to do something with Trump instead of Obama", which is utter rubbish; the last I heard, pandering is basically an insult.
Then again, thinking that he is the country is pretty much how every strongman or dictator functions, so no surprise there.
3
Tying to figure Trump out is a waste of energy, a fool's errand yielding nothing.
It assumes there's a there there. Nope.
4
For the first time, I hope dictators prevail over Trump, because the most important outcome needed is the end of Trump’s time in the White House.
4
The temerity of any woman, especially the female leader of a foreign government to criticise his wonderfulness. Of course Trump has to use terms like nastiness for women.
4
There is too much head shaking and soul searching regarding Trump. Stop psychoanalysing him. He is simply mad. He is a mad child at the helm of a galleon full of gunpowder, and he goes below deck with a kerosene-soaked torch to take stock.
And the gunpowder?
Newly announced China Tariffs (incl. (25 % on U.S. cars!)
Additional U.S. tariffs on China post Dec. 15th
First U.S. manufacturing decline in 10 years
China cancellation of all U.S. agro orders
E.U. already in recession
Potentially catastrophic Brexit on Oct. 31st
Hong Kong chaos
Japan-S. Korea conflict
renewed N. Korea missile tests
Middle East powder keg, including UAE troop withdrawal from Yemen that hands Yemen to the Houthis on Saudi Arabia's doorstep
Disastrous upcoming G7 conference (referred to as G7 - 1 because of Trump tantrums)
Amazon destroyed
Fed ammunition (missiles from 2008 onwards) are now peanuts with rates at historic lows.
U.S. credibility non-existent
Next will come a dollar collapse as creditors flee the debt-ridden Ponzi scheme.
Gold is up 30 % in the past year. It rose 450 % from 2000-2011 on the back of economic uncertainty. It is the only true safe haven because it cannot be irresponsibly printed.
The only possible silver lining is that the looming Great Recession II will exorcise the evil spirits in November 2020 and restore sanity to the political and financial markets.
4
The man is mentally ill. What else can I tell you? He can't control himself...medication may be required. But will he take it?
My son acts much like Trump when he's off his medication. But acts very rationally otherwise.
4
President Trump is the very embodiment of the Buddhist concept of "tanha," a thirst or desire that can never be sated. But Mr. Trump also embodies the worst of our consumer culture. All of advertising is predicated on creating needs and desires, and to do so, it plays to our basest instincts: fear, sex, anger, envy, and more. That Mr. Trump is a salesman and governs using these tactics is no coincidence.
Some people say that Mr. Trump's personal shortcomings don't matter. As long as the economy seems okay and he appoints conservative judges, that's all that matters. But Mr. Trump's failings mirror not only the darkness in his soul, but also that darkness that lies at the heart of our unchecked, unregulated consumerism. Mr. Trump's personal problems won't just leave a national scar. They reflect a national wound yet to be treated.
2
Hmmm - so basically this Republican President is just continuing his revolting, entitled 'Whiny Billionaire' shtick, having cleverly offloaded onto taxpayers a lot of his security costs and travel expenses.
And considering his greenmail record, we have no idea if he is personally profiting by shorting the markets before he twitters out his tweets.
Hoocoodanode ?
2
Great Charles. Right on. Trump also has a God complex and believes that he must rule our country like Putin and Russia. But the way to have beat him a long time ago was to keep the pressure on. He hates perceived insults and we know it. Yet the press, our allies, the networks and the Democrats keep playing his game. They feed his ego when it needs to be starved until he go's over the edge. Look at the recent G7. They all tiptoed around him for fear of retaliation. Why? Dump it on him. He can only take so much before he cracks. This pandering is killing our county and effecting us globally.
4
It is wonderful that conservatives now have an alternative to Trump. The GOP has split their party by empowering a candidate who is too immature to run a country. Their ridiculous attempts to justify Trump only make them look more obviously dishonest and manipulative.
1
HE isn't "running the U.S. like a business". He's running it the way the Russians want him to run it. Constant upheaval, hatred, lies, and mismanagement.
4
And how did Obama like it when on his last visit the Chinese refused to provide a stairway for him to exit AF One forcing him to exit from the rear of the plane? Then he was not greeted by any Chinese officials but was simply hustled off in a waiting limo. Susan Rice didn’t just let it go by but complained about how he was treated. In response she was told “You’re in our country now.” How is this not a slight to America or was it only personal? Trump later said if it was him, he would have turned the plane around rather than suffer the humiliation. When Trump landed in Beijing for the first time as President, he was given a royal welcome, and Xi was there personally. The Chinese respect him, and they also now respect our country because they realize they can no longer just roll over us and get away with it.
@Edward
What a load of nonsense. Which President took out bin Laden? Which President forged an Agreement with Iran, 10 yrs. no weaponized plutonium production, U.N. Inspectors on site. Who cares what Xi chooses to honor? The best and brightest were fleeing to L.A. and Vancouver, B.C. until Xi stopped issuing travel visas. A bit like a paper Berlin Wall. I spent 6 wks. in China with a teaching friend; I did not encounter animosity; that has now changed with Trump, the insult king. When a country with the strongest military in the world is led by a draft dodger who constantly threatens to make war against his perceived enemies, the rest of the world will fear that country; that is not the same as respecting him.
1
More than Trump's personal problems, his assumption of office will leave a national scar.
The whole world sees how the richest, mightiest and most productive economy on the planet can be co-opted by an irrational leader, bent on reversing a century of American direction and progress.
The mark of Trump will stain not only everyone in his administration and the Republican Party, but it already has tarnished the nation we all hoped was stainless.
We know our history isn't all proud, but it was better than Trump. Now it includes him, just like it includes slavery.
4
Psychopathic narcissists will do exactly what Trump does. Good article it is sad the damage he is doing, hopefully 2020 will bring change.
2
In short, Trump is demonstrably not qualified intellectually or temperamentally for the office he holds. People who voted for him voted for a false candidate who showed us during the election that he lacked personal decency and public morality. His character is not suited to any political office, and yet his party nominated him to represent their values and goals. His nomination was a disgrace.
5
Trump's need for playing the personal connection has already betrayed his effort to leverage the trade war with China in his favor. Upon explaining to the president his version of the facts about North Korea at Mart-a-Lago, Xi must have:
(1) Realized the ignorance of this most powerful man on the planet,
(2) Established in his own mind his advantage in any negotiation with the president, and
(3) Thought what a patsy of a poker player this guy would be.
2
If the MSM had actually acted like journalists reporting news, Trump would not act like the wounded animal the media has helped to make him. Never has a President from the first day of his campaign been treated like Trump by so-called journalists who became aggressive anti Trumpers. His smart wife, who is arguably the most beautiful First Lady in history and an immigrant, has been completely disrespected and neglected by the part of the media that would normally put her on many, many magazine covers. And it’s through no fault of her own—it is.because those magazine editors are childish anti Trumpers. It is no wonder Trump takes these things personally.
2
The emperor has no clothes but the Republicans are too afraid to speak up for fear he will throw them under the bus.
It’s up to us Democrat’s in 2020!
1
I think most if not all of our Allies are perhaps wondering why so many Americans supported and Voted for Trump...and why so many of us still continue to do so ! But I don't think they deal with him as a Representative of the US...or even a leader who is to be taken seriously ! They know he does not represent the majority of Americans and.. they like most of us are just biding their time until he's gone. Likely why the tariffs have not worked...China is just waiting him out!! Mexico never paid for the Wall, N Korea never Denuclearized ,the tarrifs haven't worked...we pay the increased costs. We pay the farmers subsidies,we have no better health care at lower costs. American Factories are not coming back to make products here...and even if they wanted to it would take some time to do it !! The Administration has been nonstop chaos and confusion...Mueller said if he wasn't a sitting President he would have been indicted and may yet be when he leaves office. Cohen said he was a Con etc. The stock market rises and falls with his every tweet !! Our Allies are estranged from us! Yet..there is a Fox Nation of us still in support of the Worst President in our History. Where's the MAGA ...all the Winning he promised?? Could a Trump supporter please explain what there is about this President's failed policies that they support ?? It is just shocking and unbelievable that someone so unPresidential and divisive could be elected cause so much drama and chaos and still find support !!
1
All of trump’s attributes were apparent before he was “elected”.
3
The way we analyze the Trump assumes that his ideology and actions are reviled by all of us. We constantly overlook that he is fully supported by 98% of Republicans?
Democrats like to envision Trumps universal support from Republicans as though that entire party was like a child bound and gagged in Jeffry Dahmer’s basement, praying and whimpering for someone to rescue them from a nightmare.
Meanwhile, we Democrats wring our hands, assuring ourselves that we can help Republicans see the error of their theocratic, racist, misogynistic, fascist, grifter adulation ideology. but doggone it; nothing seems to break the spell the Tump has caste upon them.
You can be assured that the Trump has all Republicans in his thrall as willing and dedicated acolytes. They in full support of him by him will drag us all into the abyss of ecological, societal and economic ruin.
This election is or last hope of beginning to end this nightmare.
Bernie Sanders is the only door out, because it’s not the Republicans who are in Dahmer’s basement it’s Democrats.
Early in my career at IBM, I would see a reassigned gentleman move to an office in our division but do nothing. Seasoned IBM employees called them “empty suits”.
I think of Donald Trump as an empty suit. The best he can do is personalize which as Charles noted is useless to the Presidency.
The worst he does/can do is destruction and he does plenty at that
There is no paradigm. There is florid mental illness and detachment from reality.
The photograph of Trump broadly smiling with his thumbs up gesture while standing next to his wife holding the surviving infant child of parents shot to death in El Paso is, without the most terrifying image, I've ever seen (https://st1.latestly.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Donald-Trump-gives-thumbs-up-as-Melania-hold-El-Paso-shooting-orphan-784x441.jpg).
Whatever your politics, even if you support some or all of Trump's policies you should be frightened by that picture, too.
It is incontrovertible evidence of Trump's profound mental illness.
As the photograph was taken by the official White House photography and distributed via Melania Trump's Instagram account, it can't be dismissed as altered or taken out of context.
We are all faced by a medical emergency.
1
To leave a "national scar" the wound must heal first. When will it heal? November 2020?
1
Trump believes the nation is under him - and that's one of the only truths to come from his mouth and his twittering thumbs. We the people are trapped under the boot heel of a morally and fiscally bankrupt man with one goal and one goal only: to build his personal wealth to surpass the fictitious wealth in his hidden tax returns.
2
In Ken Burns’ 2016 commencement address at Stanford University, he exhorted those in attendance to:
“defeat the retrograde forces that have invaded our democratic process, divided our house, to fight against, no matter your political persuasion, the dictatorial tendencies of the candidate with zero experience in the much maligned but subtle art of governance; who is against lots of things, but doesn’t seem to be for anything, offering only bombastic and contradictory promises, and terrifying Orwellian statements; a person who easily lies, creating an environment where the truth doesn’t seem to matter; who has never demonstrated any interest in anyone or anything but himself and his own enrichment; who insults veterans, threatens a free press, mocks the handicapped, denigrates women, immigrants and all Muslims; a man who took more than a day to remember to disavow a supporter who advocates white supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan; an infantile, bullying man who, depending on his mood, is willing to discard old and established alliances, treaties and long-standing relationships.”
Not enough people listened. In the next election, let’s hope people realize Burns called it 100% accurately.
1
"The U.S. presidency is term-limited."
So far.
I am more interested frankly in something beyond the personality we find occupying the seat of power. What in the US weltgeist keeps so many of our citizens, the hard working middle class in thrall to this buffoon. That will take more than one study, one book, one graduate level course. A new Middletown study of mass delusion or what?
"You don't talk to the United States that way, at least under me."
Under you? The U.S. under you? Not if I can help it. It's time to vote on exactly this question. From Congressional impeachment all the way to November, 2020.
Perfectly put Charles. America sent a spoiled 5-year old boy to the G7 and the other 6 member country heads of state are offering him candy if he'll just sit still and listen to what they have to say.
What makes this situation so untenable is that the spoiled child doesn't have a clue regarding his mental instability and actually believes he was elected to save America from itself.
That's because, in true megalomaniac fashion, the president believes he IS the country, and in fact has been busily refashioning it into a small-minded, short-sighted, touchy, uncontrollably aggressive entity much like himself.
Although accurate, I believe Trump's issues are more severe and pernicious. He is a malignant narcissist whose fragility towards perceived insults or challenges to his grandiose beliefs triggers enraged defensive reactions, dismissing fact-based challenges as false, confabulating alternative beliefs not grounded in reality and defames perceived adversaries with childish ad hominems and insulting invectives.
His woeful ignorance compensated by his incontrovertible grandiose belief systems leaves him feeling that he is the vessel of absolute truth and is unassailable. Challenging these delusional-like beliefs results in a rash, immediate rebuttal more deranged and irrational to protect the narcissistic injury.
If the USA debt is climbing then what is it being spent on; it is not going on the military; read this article that was written from an Australian point of view. When you read this article, keep in mind that the USA, supposedly, has 'superpower' status.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12260725
1
How ironic that the Electoral College -- created by the founding fathers to curtail voter ignorance -- committed one of the most ignorant acts in American history by giving the presidency to Trump.
2
Trump’s personal problems have already left a scar on our country.
1
Damaging others transfers his angst/pain. It is his drug as much as alcohol was his brothers. No real negotiations exist in his mind. Trump needs a "loser" and that drives all his decisions and delusions. Crowds reinforce this cycle. He is an addict. Unfit to govern is a given.
1
(1) How can such a man have become President of our country? (2) Why is it that we tolerte him in office and neither remove him from office or block his actions?
2
There are a great many Americans who are deeply concerned that there is an utter incompetent, mentally disturbed person pretending to be POTUS. He truly is a disaster; however, the more important problem facing the country is the fact that there are tens of millions of Americans who are OK with having an incompetent, mentally disturbed person in office. We can be thankful that Trump is incompetent and hasn't really accomplished a lot since he's been in office. Giving a big tax break to the wealthy isn't particularly surprising for a republican president, but he has failed to implement effective immigration, health care or infrastructural reforms. He is essentially winging it, and it shows.
3
A huge problem is Trump's definition of "winning". In his mind, no one can be a winner if there isn't a clear loser. Trump or for that matter, the United States cannot have a winning economy if Germany or Japan or Australia or anyone else is also doing well. He has admitted that the tariff war with China could hurt us financially, but he's sure it will hurt China much more, so that means we are winning. He has told us we will become tired of winning and our bank account balances will bear this out.
Trump is clearly a GOP puppet allowing him a carte blanche regardless how precarious the outcome, as long as they remain in power. That in it self emboldens him to viciously attack anyone who rightfully opposes him, however, asinine and unjustified it is. I suspect Russia whom he holds such affinity to, evidently acquainted with him through past dealings, recognized there is no greater punishment to US than helping him be elected, in doing so they may have known he will become a lingering ticking bomb waiting to explode.
1
President Trump's pathetically weak megalomania is a symptom of a much greater threat to a constitutional democracy ostensibly driven by the principle of "equal justice under the law." But it is an elephant of a symptom, so big that it needs to be addressed as a syndrome in its own right before addressing the underlying pathology it masks.
Consequently, Trump's behavior is dangerous.
Trump keeps acting out the same psychological conflicts that lead his father to send Donald to a military academy, the kind of place wealthy folks of European background used to send their disturbed children.
Other kids went into psychiatric treatment, or into residential treatment centers for juvenile deliquents, or jail.
Maybe this time Trump can find a way, or be helped to find a way, to leave the presidency before his fist term is up, leave and go into a proper humanistic treatment center ? If the Republicans help him do this, the Republicans will look better than they do.
And, we , America , will have defeated Putin's plant, planting Trump into the role f President.
I hope this is not countered with the voice: "And the land cried back fat chance, fat chance...." Pray for our well baing so we can remove the prey animals .
And if he is helped to and agrees to do this, he can avoid prison terms for is recent deliquent behaviors !
Simply put... twenty-five.
A horrible horrible case of malignant Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) will go a long, long way to understand the pathetic man who sleeps in the (very) White House.
According to DSM-5, individuals with NPD have most (at least five) or all of the symptoms listed below (generally without commensurate qualities or accomplishments).
Grandiosity with expectations of superior treatment by others.
Fixated on fantasies of power, success, intelligence, attractiveness, etc.
Self-perception of being unique, superior, and associated with high-status people and institutions.
Needing constant admiration from others.
Sense of entitlement to special treatment and to obedience from others.
Exploitative of others to achieve personal gain.
Unwilling to empathize with others' feelings, wishes, or needs.
Intensely jealous of others and the belief that others are equally jealous of them.
Pompous and arrogant demeanor
1
Go ahead and use mockery, it may be an effective tool to weaken Trump's grip on his base. Either this, or allow him to continue to immiserate them, which they may very well deserve - but they'll just contort logic to blame Democrats. Or immigrants. Or Muslims. Or trans people in the military. Or or or or or.
"The devil...cannot endure to be mocked." -Thomas Moore
3
So true Charles. Trump's taking everything personal is related to the other side of his disordered mind, his megalomania. he really believes he is the country and that his an all powerful being. He takes personally any thing he perceives as an attack. I hope that someone with a saner head is around when he remembers he has the nuclear button and can blow up Denmark.
The shame belongs to the political leaders on both sides of the aisle who refuse to hold him accountable as the Constitution demands they do. The same party that impeached a president over a private, consensual affair after spending seven years and $70 billion trying to get something on him with which to undo his election, and which spent three years trying to take down his wife over a legal personal email server and a terrorist attack...suddenly are not at all concerned about the welfare of the country under an actual lawless tyrant. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi is doing exactly what she said she didn't want to do: make political decisions when it comes to impeaching a dangerous, lawless, reckless, traitorous president.
3
The only thing the guy ever ran was his businesses into the ground.
4
Thank you for this column, Mr. Blow. For once you're speaking for all of us.
3
Tactically, trump’s psychopathology makes him quite predictable and simple to outmaneuver.
5
Leave a "national" scar? It goes well beyond that, the man is a menace to the entire world. Look no further than his performance this past week. Babbling, incoherent nonsense that changed on an hourly basis. Just look at the expressions on the other leader's faces as he launched into yet another rambling rant where he forgot what he was talking about in less than 30 seconds.
"We'll see." I think we've seen enough.
4
Simply put, everything that Trump thinks, says, and does reflects his severe psychopathology.
For the good of the country and the world, he needs to be removed from office, and the sooner the better.
3
Thank you Mr. Blow, this piece is brilliant and right on.
President "L'etat, c'est moi" Trump has also spoken about his never leaving office. Let us hope he was testing to see what he can get away with, rather than foreshadowing a plot that includes that other great violator of the US Constitution, Mitch McConnell.
3
While I appreciate the political framework of this editorial, there is a missed opportunity here to discuss the underlying cause of the President’s conflation of his perception on how he is treated and his worldview. This reads as a list of grievances, but does not dive into the mechanism that allows for this dynamic, which I think is more valuable than simply restating what many of us have seen time and time again: the president has trouble distinguishing himself from the presidency. While we all have the experience of our feelings shading how we view the world around us, the unbridled narcissism that inhabits this presidency is reflective of a deeper and more profound problem in this country.
This is not the first time I have seen a reluctance to dive deeply into this sort of behavior while identifying it on the top level, and I suspect it is because we all inhabit some narcissism and we all have the experience of a family member or friend who is unable to make distinctions between themselves and the world around them. Talking about the inner workings of who we are and where we stand in the world are difficult conversations, but given the place where we are a nation, it seems about time for all of us as a collective to expend more effort having conversations about the “why”, and less about the “what”. This editorial is a great introduction to this topic, and I hope Mr. Blow decides to pursue this topic in depth.
Yes, except that he could not care less about governing a great state nor leading that state in world affairs. He takes none of it seriously. He does care about how he’s treated but not how his acts affect others.
3
@Casual Observer I agree, but you are still describing a symptom, and not the underlying cause. I think we should start focusing on why the president doesn't care about how his actions affect others, instead of just describing the result.
A cult of personality is built around the personality. It behooves us as a society to discuss how his narcissism impacts the nation as a whole, and not just people who disagree with his lifestyle, personal choices, or politics.
Whether Trump's statements and actions are personal or only partly personal doesn't change the fact that they are working.
Sometimes he overreaches, such as with an overly broad travel ban, but then he gets most of he wants after paring back the policy and a second shot with SCOTUS.
He is able to move funds around for border security (maybe even the wall), albeit, thus far, not all of the funds he wants.
He lost with the repeal of the ACA, but he has been slowly killing the ACA with a thousand little cuts.
The Mueller Report did not hurt him.
He has fired everyone who disagreed with him, even those who he appointed, and continues to disparage them, all with impunity, because, well, he cannot be harmed legally by that.
He did not give up one penny of profits from his business, other than a paltry amount of "net profits" from foreigners staying at the hotel in DC.
He wages war against undocumented workers, but employed them for years.
He snaps his fingers and CEOs of the largest US companies run to the White House to meet with him.
His tariffs have caused havoc for farmers, but most of them, at least the larger ones, are being heavily subsidized to make up for that, above the normal historical subsidies.
The stock market, for all of its ups and downs, is not "down" during his presidency.
His "base" loves him.
So, in his world, that is a lot of "winning."
Mr. Blow you have identified Trump's primary failing as a leader. When you are placed in a leadership position you are required to adopt the principle that this is a business or government I am running, nothing in that management regime is personal. As soon as you allow personal feelings to enter a managerial decision, you place the company in jeopardy. Now I will admit, that at times, this managerial stance will appear ruthless or uncaring, but, the reality of leading is the ability to put personal emotion aside and make a decision based on the facts at hand. I should add, this inability to place emotion aside is making Trump look more and more childish by the day and why his pronouncements have made incoherency the norm of his Presidency.
314
All of the presidents’ personality traits were well known before the election. The media, by referring to him as unconventional instead of the lying malignant narcissist that he was/is, is partly responsible for this mess. I did the math. He was given billions of dollars in free branding/advertising/“news.”
9
A cornerstone of Fascism is that the supreme leader is entitled to any amount of wealth and power, and can use any means to that end. Trump is far more than a jerk who demands love and loyalty. Democratic leaders of traditional American allies are of no use to Trump. And Putin? He bailed Trump out of billions of dollars in debt with laundered Russian money. Trump’s relationship with Putin is symbiotic. Putin needs to destroy the Western Alliance in order to maximize his wealth and power. Trump is more than happy to be Putin’s wrecking ball as long as the Russian money keeps flowing. The real mystery is why the Republican Party has chosen to help to dismantle our Democracy.
6
I am very tired of reading and hearing about trump and his personal disorders, At this point all the world and 60% of America know who and what he is. I felt sad for the guy at the G7 because I know all the world was laughing at him. What we should be talking about non stop is the 40% of America that would follow him off of a cliff and the GOP that has followed him off a cliff. They need an intervention, they need rehab, they need something!!!
6
Whoever succeeds Trump will go about undoing everything Trump has done, much like Trump has done with Obama's accomplishments. Only these aren't accomplishments, but diminishments that need to be undone.
2020 can't come soon enough. I've always told my kids, "Don't wish your life away," but in this case I'm willing to fast forward to November, 2020.
3
Yes, your are absolutly right : Trump’s personal problems will leave a huge national scar.
6
there's a big alt right movement growing globally. Canada is seeing political billboards cropping up demanding No Mass Immigration. Trump's rot is spreading like metastasizing cancer.
5
Louis XIV of France is reputed so have said "L'etat, c'est moi." Trump behaves as though he evaluates himself similarly.
One of the noble ladies in Louis' court at Versailles is reputes to have said this about him (or words this effect); "It is not necessary to have a great sceptre in order to wield great power."
So the similarities abound! Louis was also known to be egotistical and thin skinned, at least when he was young.
1
One way to save the nation is to separate Opinion and News. Make it illegal to have both on a single station.
Fox, Cnn want to have Opinion then let them set a special channel just for that.
My Fox Friends believe everything FOX says. They believe 100% of FOX is factual News. They do not separate Opinion.
Interestingly my CNN friends know it's Opinion but they watch as if it condones their hatred of all things Republican.
Television News/Opinion stations are now more like the tabloids at the Supermarket check out. If they said Aliens had abducted their children they would be believed as truth.\
We need new laws regarding broadcast not just social media.
2
Donald Trump's behavior would embarrass a 12-year-old. His petulance, pettiness and juvenile behavior insults the American people, the Presidency and U.S. diplomacy. The fact that he still has the support of most of the Republicans in Congress is an embarrassment not merely to the GOP, but to the American people overall.
2020 can't come soon enough.
5
T's "persona", however, is a mask behind which is "Rage Unending".
Trump's "Rage and Self" are fused as One.
2
"He has a particular obsession with Obama, ..."
I trace that to the Correspondents' Dinner when Obama made a joke at tRump's expense. He has made it his primary goal to obliterate anything that Obama did or has his name on it ("ObamaCare" is the first example). DJT is such a petty individual that his entire "governance" is dictated by his perceived slights.
4
"Trump’s personal problems will leave a national scar."
Personal problems and diagnosable personality disorders are not the same thing.
1
The world, according to Trump, is all about Trump. You are either 'for Trump', or you are an enemy. Trump believes that same concept holds now that he is president. You are either 'for Trump', or you are against the United States.
"L'etat c'est moi" was perhaps somewhat truthful when allegedly uttered by Louis XIV, but Trump is not an absolute monarch. Trump only wishes he was. Trump does not have "absolute power" to do *anything*, and that he believes he does is a sure sign of his mental unfitness for the office he occupies (but cannot perform).
With Trump, it is all personal. Well, here's one more personal thing, Trump: You are incompetent, and should resign with the money you've already stolen, and move somewhere far, far away, where you will be welcomed. Perhaps Russia, or North Korea...
2
Trump is all this, and less. I do think that he thinks he has all the answers and is never wrong; and that his first impulse if threatened is to destroy whomever questions him. He has ended up with a White House entourage who stroke his ego, and lie willingly on his behalf. And who seem not to notice that none of his rants and ramblings makes sense.
His ongoing deep hatred of Obama? I think it's his acute envy of Obama's grace, ease in connecting to people on a personal level, and of the real affection people have for him and Michelle. And it is seasoned with an inability to concede that a black man could have succeeded without buying his way in.
He must find it difficult: he managed to snag the Presidency -- but he is still steeped in infantile rage because it didn't bring the universal applause he needs. It's like he made a deal with the devil, and the devil is demanding payback.
The man with no sense of humor:
3
The only way for the US to regain the respect of our allies is to have a Democratic candidate beat Trump by a mile!
No green or independent Party candidate this time around. Too much is riding on proving that Trump was just an aberration and getting him the heck out of there.
5
The Greenland episode is classic Trump: throw out a crazy initial offer and see what happens. But international politics is not pure business. Greenland was never up for sale by Denmark. Trump's behavior makes him look wholly irrational and by extension makes the American voting public look like a population of fools.
Trump displays isolationism with "America First." Other countries should take this seriously. In fact, they should quarantine the United States. They should do so until America can figure out how to elect a sane president and a stable cast of supporting legislators in Congress.
Indeed Trump has a penchant for calling those he dislikes "nasty," but that term is reserved for women in power, such as HRC and the prime minister of Denmark. Trump befriends ruthless dictators in countries like North Korea, Russia and Saudi Arabia -- leaders who actively torture and kill their people -- without referring to them in this way.
Trump is also already backtracking on China. He will not let the economy crumble before the election: after all, it's his only real "selling point."
Trump maintains a particular disdain for Obama because he is black and Trump is an overt racist, as demonstrated by violations of the Fair Housing Act in the 1970s to the Central Park Five to birtherism to Charlottesville to the Squad.
The election next year is bound to be a close one. Do what you can to see that Trump does not win a second term.
538
@Blue Moon: The rest of the world recognise that Trump is not American. While they may be disgusted with Trump and know his is a liar, they still call America their friend. Haven't yu, in friendship, criticize something a friend did that you felt was beneath your friend?
11
@Blue Moon - Trump's early adoption of birtherism is just one example of his longstanding, adversarial relationship with visible minorities. But when Obama eviscerated him at a WHCA dinner, Trump's tissue-thin ego was laid bare on the global stage. He's never recovered, and I suspect he actively seeks opportunities to exact revenge; no matter how petty and without consideration of the consequences on anyone but himself.
55
@Jeff I think Americans will vote next year based mainly on the domestic economy, but we'll see. After the election, countries can pass judgement as to just how friendly (or self-centered) America really is.
8
Bottomless neediness is Mr. Trump.
Bullying people who are as weak as he.
They fold, More from fear than anger.
We will survive Trump, but will our democracy?
So many norms broken. So much hate.
1
When Trump ordered American businesses to think about pulling out of China, did that include himself and the making of his products?
I haven't heard anyone mention this.
4
That trump puts his personal needs above the country’s is both obvious and damaging. That almost every Republican in congress does the same is equally obvious and even more devastating. Trump’s term will end, hopefully soon. Most congressional Republicans will remain for many years to come.
5
I don't get why he cannot just be impeached for continuously lying about how tariffs work.
He is a madman.
13
Trump is a severely emotionally disturbed human being. But so what? The greater problem facing the nation is that an entire national party (Republican, for the clueless) has decided to enable this madman.
How can it be that there is not one person of integrity among Republican elected officials? How can it be that persons appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by Mitch McConnell and his henchman can see themselves as ideologues rather than as jurists? How can the Republican Party enthusiastically support the denial of climate change? The damage done to the entire planet, not just to the USA, is irreparable. Can you spell Amazon rainforest?
8
My belief was that this man, who seemed so foolish and egotistical, was actually using those unattractive traits as a device to somehow accomplish good things for America. It’s become evident that he’ll accomplish little that is good, much that it bad, and those traits are not bargaining devices...they are who he is.
3
"Trump is a slave to his emotions ...".
Of course every president had to manage his emotions; where Trump's predecessors mostly had some minimal self awareness, his own self awareness is pathologically awry and presents a grave and continuous danger to us all. This is obvious to all, particularly those privy to events not yet made public.
Do our Republican patriots believe by looking away they will emerge from this national nightmare politically unscathed? Dream on. The 25th, please.
2
Trump is a slave to his emotions, indeed! And we are paying dearly. C.S. Lewis wrote that the sin of pride is "the utmost evil because it is essentially competitive." Lewis explains:
Pride is competitive by its very nature. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next person. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others.
If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking, there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest; the pleasure of knowing that the rest have less than you do; the pleasure of knowing that the rest are inferior to you in some way."
So, Trump belittles all the previous living presidents. He belittles Democratic legislators and candidates. He belittles European countries and his own appointees. Every one is less smart - he has an exceptional brain - and less competent and less capable (he doesn't need a press rep - he is better). The sin of pride is the utmost evil affecting far too many in our world - from humans to animals to plants. Our world is suffering.
2
CRIPPLED
I had a friend of several years who displayed the same behavior, so I knew what Trump was from the start.
The ability to contradict yourself literally one second later, without shame.
The capacity to lie to those whom you know will know you are lying, without embarrassment.
The constant changing of mind, because there is no conviction inside but the desperate need for approval.
The inability to finish a thought, because there is no real thought.
The repetitive phrases, as if trying to pound reality into agreement.
The strange shifting between delusional thinking and streetsmart thinking.
The grabbing behavior, regardless of whether this grab contradicts that grab.
The argument in a circular room, where no contradiction can be backed into a corner.
The cartoonish display of bully behavior to those you have power over just to puff up the ego, and the sadistic pleasure of parading it to others.
The need to make everyone complicit in your lies by daring them to call you out on them, thus fostering corruption in all who say nothing.
The cowardice when challenged, producing wobbly backtracking and compensating bullying elsewhere.
This is malignant narcissism from an unformed psyche that never matured past the need for constant approval.
Which is to say it is still two-years-old.
The real problem is why forty percent of the country cannot see it.
Which is to say that we don’t just have an emotionally crippled president, but an emotionally crippled country.
7
As far as Trump is concerned, l'état, c'est lui. Certainly the decisions he has made to date appear to benefit Trump personally and the nation incidentally.
I wonder how much of his interest in Greenland is on behalf of the United States and how much on behalf of Trump? After all, he can rename it Trumpland and move Mar-a-Lago there when Florida becomes submerged and uninhabitable (thanks in part to his policies) and Greenland — I mean Trumpland — becomes a tropical destination.
1
Charles Blow's analysis of Trump's behavior nails it. Trump is doing things the only way he knows how to do them. And as we age we often fall back into familiar behaviors because they are ingrained, whether appropriate or not. A statesman or historian will have a way to look at diplomacy. A fast-talking real-estate dealer and scam artist won't.
3
Donald Trump is the president the founding fathers were concerned about. But our democracy functions and Trump's power has been reduced by the midterm elections. Our next president should remember what Gerald Ford said after Nixon resigned. - My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over ----
3
Very will written article. The leader of our nation is suppose to be a unifier, someone when things get tough we can lean on to make things better or at least seem better. We are fortunate we have not gone to war, since that is the time when people are frightened, unsure of the future and need someone who can put them at ease knowing their president is putting the welfare of all its citizens first and foremost when making difficult decisions. Sadly the decisions being made are made with impulse, thinking of only himself or a small majority. Hoping in 2020 the people of this nation come to realize we need to elect someone who looks after all of us, not just some of us.
2
Mr Trump's behavior displays unmistakable symptoms of possible major cognitive impairment. Symptoms include "sudden changes in behavior including aggression, impaired moral judgment, memory loss, ... declining intelligence, inability to understand/interpret social cues ..." His family and friends should consider a neurological evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment.
6
Denmark did not just say 'no.' They committed lese majesty, so far as the stable genius is concerned.
3
Thanks, Charles Blow. I think you are the finest writer on the staff of the New York Times. Every column of yours lays things out clearly, articulately, and masterfully. You may be sometimes saying things that many of us already know are true, but you shine a light on them in a way that makes them stand out and provoke thought. (And no, I’m not trying to flatter you. You don’t have the same need for that as the subject of this essay.)
7
Like it or not Trump does represent the U.S. He may have been elected by a minority of voters as a result of our peculiar institution of the Electoral College, but those who supported him, and the vast majority still do, are more than happy with his behavior because he is just like them. So, even if he does not represent the majority of Americans he represents the ones who put him in office and may still do so.
This is spot on — thank you for articulating so clearly what many many many of us thought we were seeing in him. May we please be spared another four years of his madness.
9
The morning after the 2016 presidential election, I had a feeling that I’d only experienced once before. I felt exactly the same way as I did on 9/11. The past few years seem an eternity and have been exhausting. This administration’s incompetence and anti-American behavior are daily degradations of what most Americans hold dear. Unless the corruption of the political class can be placed on a path of correction our national nightmare will continue.
23
I have always been an admirer of patriotism unblemished by partisanship. I can only imagine the relief you felt when Trump was cleared from the charge of Russian collusion. Think how much greater your pain would have been if our President had actually been guilty.
The Mueller report pointedly did not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice. It said it could not draw a conclusion based on the evidence it had. That’s not the same thing, but Barr’s misleading summary seems to have convinced you and many others that Trump was cleared.
9
@edward: umm... he was cleared on the basis that his intent could not be proven, and his minions were too incompetent. Yes, that was very reassuring.
2
Is there a problem with Trump's mental health? Can a President be impeached for not playing with a full deck? What does this man have to do before the American people come to realize he can do harm to this country that may persist for years to come?
14
Everything you say is true. But he’s still President. And will be as long as Congress allows.
3
Says a lot about America in general
1
@Roy Blanchard
Not. My. President.
Another fine analysis of Trump. So how do we get rid of him?
What can we offer his base that he isn't offering? Health care, maybe? Addressing climate change? Going after the companies that hire illegal immigrants instead of blaming the people who do the work? How about offering a better way to resolve trade conflicts with China than driving up the cost of goods in America? Health care alone ought to be enough, but the Democrats are still all over the place on what to do about it. Stop dithering!
8
How durable is American democracy?
The average lifetime of a democratic society, from ancient Greece and Rome up to now, is about 400 years. America is barely half way there, and we've lost a lot of ground over just the past 2 1/2 years. Trump, with Mitch McConnell's full support, and a lapdog Republican legislative delegation, are doing their level best to take us back to plantation era times.
If Trump is re-elected, it will be fait accompli.
11
The presidency of the United States has become a movie star feel good charade. The qualities that people want are movie star, showman type qualities that are not unlike Trump. The US has people glued to their TV's and their reality shows. Education has been disparaged for a long time. This is a feel- good culture that is based on money and goods purchased in TV ads. Women must be glamorous and men must carry guns. The US badly needs a serious setback that makes people think twice about what is really important in life. Money, glamour, goods, greed, showmanship and the like will never make the cut for qualities that can seriously govern the country. Never.
6
The people I know in Texas and Alabama who voted for him are still for him. They watch Fox only and strongly believe the man in the White House is misunderstood. They would agree and support if he proposes that term limits be done away with so that he can finish the fine job he has started. Attention must be paid.
13
Keep in mind that like any deeply insecure bully, he withdraws and capitulates when presented with too much actual pushback. The latest example is the single phone call it took from the NRA head honcho to derail whatever pitiful gun control proposal he might have offered.
This too is a pattern that can also be exploited, just as his desperate need for flattery has already been exploited by some unlikely manipulators.
The problem has been that there has been much more enabling and genuflecting from the sycophants in congress, who have wanted and gotten what they needed from him in order to show their funders that their investments do pay off. They have therefore gone to extreme lengths to cater to his delusions of grandeur.
The display of such abject cravenness in public has not been enough to prevent such sorry spectacles. This is surely due to the fear of well funded deranged primary challengers. The fact that all this has reeked of really sick pathology in high places has not yet created a do or die situation where standing up and not caving in is essential.
It is possible this melodrama with China, along with issues like biofuels mandate exceptions, will be the straw that breaks the pitiful weak backs of Senate trumpican enablers like graham, cornyn, or moscow mitch. Or it may not.
It depends upon how serious is this invoking of national security to order business out of China. That seems a step too much even for the likes of these people.
2
Charles, as usual you are spot on. Except you write that Trump is someone "who desperately wants friends....." No, Trump desperately wants subservient minions, adoring fans who will kow tow and praise him as the "chosen one."
He is also desperately lonely and, much like Charles Kane in Trump's favorite movie, is living in a white Xanadu of his own making.
9
Can we just vote out Mr. Delusional from the Oval Office and restore some sanity to Congress? The damage done by this administration and the GOP supporting it will take decades to reverse. I'm just sad these villains won't be punished commensurate to their crimes.
6
Don’t forget the GDP number’s that he touting, it’s called cooking the book where I come from kind of like Enron’s and Bernie Madoff.
3
The damage Trump is doing to our country and our citizens is so massive it probably can't be quantified, at least not for several years. He's negatively impacted the physical and mental health of millions of us, and we'll never get back the trauma we've suffered these past three years. His reign of terror will likely do more damage to our country than all the wars we've ever fought - combined. And he's still not done...
4
Well, I never thought I’d be able to say this, but I totally agree with Mr. Blow on this.
Very insightful and dead on.
Trump makes Berlusconi look like George Washington when it comes to running a country for the sake of satisfying one’s ego.
3
Thank you Mr Blow for this excellent piece, all of which unfortunately is right on the mark . It is not alas only the Russians and China and of course his Bro Kim that are playing Trump, it is our allies also .
Take the recent G7 did President Macron really want to single Trump out for a one on one lunch , with the then obligatory photo op. I think not . Macron however did know that he could appease the man child by doing so, give him that little bit of extra attention, making him feel special.
It is beyond absurd that the leader of the Free World expects to be treated like this 'to be molly coddled' it is a national embarrassment.The President of the United States is seen internationally as a big baby . This is something that should be of concern to say someone in the State Department , like Mr Pompeo 'but never mind'.
In terms of Trumps disdain for his predecessors that is just another layer of his feeling of being inadequate , he knows he can never match up. As for Obama being singled out, well that's easy, that is just a manifestation of Trumps racism, that he is never shy about showcasing for his adoring 35 per centers .
7
"He has a particular obsession with Obama, and has set about to undo everything Obama had done."
The question begs to be asked: WHY? It can't be just a race issue, can it? Does he think it plays to his base? As little as I think of the man (Trump), I have to think even he wouldn't be so obtuse as to attack Obama for no other reason than race.
@Terry M
Obtuse is Trump’s middle name.
And yes, like his base, Trump is an obtuse racist.
1
@Terry M, jealousy. He know he is not, and will never be, as intelligent, decent, kind and genuinely loved by most of the world as President Obama.
1
@Terry M
Trump's obsession with the former President has to do with the love and respect given Obama. Trump appears to believe that if he belittles and attacks the previous eight yrs under Obama, his Administration will rank higher in history. Given his constant bragging and demanding that his followers show up at rallies, he does not look confident or strong; he looks weak and uninspired.
1
“She’s not talking to me. She’s talking to the United States of America. You don’t talk to the United States that way, at least under me.”
“No, actually, she was talking to him.”
It would be nice to feel that Denmark’s prime minister was speaking only to “him,” as Charles says, and not to Americans in general, when she called his “demand” to buy Greenland “absurd,” however I’m afraid she had to be including the 40% of Americans who continue to support “him” and say they will vote for him in 2020. Absurd indeed.
1
"No, actually, she was talking to him." Yes, the Danish PM was talking to him, but she was also talking to the United States of America. Unfortunately, Donald Trump speaks for the United States of America and three years of Trump has tarnished the reputation of the United States in the world. Leaders of other nations are increasingly ignoring the views of the United States as they are getting tired of the endless stream of insults and half-baked ideas from this president.
1
Fine writing here Mr. Blow, and your observations regarding
the entanglement of Trump's character inadequacies with the demands of his office are as perceptive as usual.
You no doubt are almost sick unto death of the never-ending disgrace that Trump is inflicting upon us here.
"Trump's personal problems will leave a national scar."
Yes, but I would have joined the ranks of the genuflecting if it would have made any difference for my family.
Last week, my sister-in-law, a grandmother of 62 years died.
She was just one of thousands that are suffering and dying every day in Venezuela due to the total disaster that this beautiful country has become under Maduro's rule.
Venezuela was already dysfunctional , but now, with all of the sanctions Trump has placed upon it- almost an embargo- it is a broken country, a tragic disaster.
Food is so expensive, a wage-earner works all week just to feed the family, if he can. Each day electricity comes and goes and with it public water supplies as well.
Real health-care has become triage, without many critical drugs, inadequate equipment, operative training and fatal delays in diagnosis.
Maduro doesn't care.
For him, hanging on to power is everything.
The people of Venezuela are the real victims of this international fight for power.
Her name was Luz Maria, and her light shines no more.
2
I am deeply in sympathy with your poor sister -in-law, and indeed with every suffering Venezuelan. The terrible plight of your country has been generally well covered in our press. But I also believe that, although no one loathes trump and his policies more than I, and though I’m sure he’s made a terrible situation even worse, the policies of Maduro are certainly sufficient to create the tragedy of Venezuela today.
@Bill Clarke
thanks, and yes Maduro has been horrible for his own people. And combine that with the almost total financial embargo of most of the sanctions, and you arrive at where we are now. But there must be a better way.
trump has no friends and he’s destroying what friendships our nation has built. I do hope this mess is reparable- but if he wins in 2020 I fear we have crossed the line for both our national soul and global warming dangers. Please vote.
4
Trump would be deeply offended to know that he isn't the real problem, but that he's merely a dupe. Mitch McConnell and those who dare not defy him, along with top tier wealthy both domestic and abroad, have been using Trump as their vehicle to remain (or become in Russia's case) as powerful as possible.
Those who vote for Trump with the expectation that he has the capacity to either keep a promise or be interested in their well-being have been taken advantage of, too. But in their case, they'll be left with an ill planet, insurmountable debt, broken health care and a basket of broken dreams.
4
Beat analysis of the situation. The puppet does not know he is a puppet and they want to keep it that way, However the puppet has been pulling more of the strings of late and the result may be even worse, if possible.
In many ways, President Trump is pitiful. His lack of impulse control evidences his need to feel powerful, to feel important, to feel in control. This is in opposition to someone who knows him/herself to be capable, able to not corner oneself into either-or situations. He’s someone who is terribly disconnected to anyone he considers as “other”. Perhaps we will learn a lesson from this presidency and elect someone whose world extends beyond his family and whoever is bowing to his present-moment bravado.
3
Trump cowers behind doctor's notes, the flag, and even a podium. Have you ever seen the video of when Trump thought a protester was near and Trump literally cowered behind the podium?
2
@Callie, yes I remember that. I also remember him publicly insulting the officer at the Parkland school shooting incident and at the same time saying that he would have run in there himself even if not carrying a gun.
Yeah, right. He just loves to lie and he loves to humiliate people and kick them when they're down. What a guy!
It's a clear mark of a tyrant that works at getting people to worship him instead of the country. Trump's entire P.R. effort is aimed towards that end. It's one of the most dangerous aspects of his Presidency. Anyone who has even a passing understanding of what the Founders intended - that all men are created equal; that there will be no king or royalty; that everyone is equal under the law - can see that Trump stands against all of that, and therefore he is truly the traitor of our time.
Americans have a choice: do we hold to the principles that made us the greatest nation on earth, or do we become just another tin pot republic? This election is just that simple.
4
Please take a deep breath and stop bashing the President, just for a short while. I agree he is not doing a good job and he will be voted out in 2020. Until then, please leave him alone.
Im glad you agree trump is not doing a good job, but I’m curious why you think an opinion columnist should not criticize the president.
3
This is a democracy, free speech allows us to express our opinions, especially of our disgraceful president.
3
@Julia, only if he stops embarrassing us and destroying our foundations and standing in the world. He is a menace who would do even worse to attract the attention he craves.
2
As childish, thin skinned, illogical, empty, emotionally needy and irrational as Trump is, I cannot help but identify him with the Twilight Zone episode involving the young boy who has incredible powers and the town tries in vain to appease him but to no avail. one by one he is angered by one or another towns person and makes the person disappear. With Trump, the person is fired, or wants to spend more time with his family, or is so corrupt as to be forced out of a position. Why hasn't Trump been forced out of his position? He is worse than any of his cabinet, security advisors, etc., who have been forced to resign.
This "emperor" has had no clothes for almost three years. Think. Any other POTUS would have been impeached and hounded out of office by now, especially if a democrat was acting in this manner (which they wouldn't). It needs to stop. Now. Immediately. He needs to be removed from the office before he does any more lasting damage to the United States. We cannot wait until 2020, the man is imploding presently.
3
Many assume that Trump's ultimate undoing will be due to his massive ego. But there is no way you ascend to a position (political distinction notwithstanding) of "the most powerful person in the world" without a pretty healthy ego. No, his undoing is due to his equally massive inferiority complex. He's a scared frightened little boy... with nuclear launch codes.
4
It was interesting to me that Tom Cotton tried to diffuse the mistake Trump made with regard Greenland by saying it was his idea. Why Senator Cotton would do this is a mystery to me.
3
Trump is Head of State in the American system. It can be considered unpatriotic or insulting to the nation to be critical of him. More modern constitutional democracies have both a head of government and representative of the state. I may say what I will, good or ill, of the Prime Minister, a mere politician, but defer to the Queen and Governor General of Canada. The latter function to forestall royalism in the former or their wives.
@fpjohn
It has never been considered unpatriotic to criticize the President. The President has never been the 'nation', as in 'the State c'est moi'. We have never been a monarchy; our legislators have never been members of a nobility; our President has never been seen as 'royal'. Read a basic book on government describing what a democratic Republic is; that is what the United States is.
1
Thank goodness George Washington owned slaves who were able to care for his estate as he focused on more important ideas like leading an army and serving as the first Mr. President. Mr. Trump has much bigger and more progressive ideas than George Washington. For Trump, slavery is about those rotting in jail, addicted to drugs, unemployed, suffering from diseases which should be cured, falsely accused, and generally with less opportunity to share in the joys of the modern world. Modern slavery has nothing to do with race because the evil Mr. Trump fights so hard to eradicate, has the potential to affect people of all backgrounds.
Mr. Blow, like George Washington, fails to understand the centrality of intellectual property (government approved monopolies) in modern commerce and international power struggles. Mr. Blow fails to go beyond flamboyant character to understand that personality is just a part of the spin needed to achieve policy. Mr. Nice Guy doesn’t cut it – especially where it is the U.S. that largely defines what is intellectual property and hands out monopoly rights to favored businesses, brands and original works.
Why should China, Russia, North Korea, and other developing countries not simply take all they can to help their citizens? It is not stealing if their country refuses to voluntarily sign international treaties that embody U.S. law. Mr. Trump helps the U.S. by making trade offers that are hard to refuse. Be stupid by getting in his way at your own risk.
1
@Eugene Patrick Devany
When I was a kid in the 1950s, there was a comic book called “Bizarro World” where everything was opposite of the real world: “beauty” was ugly, day was night, ignorance was “intelligence” and “truth” was a lie.
Your world view would fit that world perfectly.
1
@BillyBopNYC
Bizarro World has been replaced by "The Green New Deal" and Mr. Blow's anti-Trump rants.
1
In my view at least 60%of the American people are now suffering from pTsd, president Trump stress disorder. Every day a new gaffe, lie or misguided, short-sighted or greed driven policy initiative, more name calling, more personal attacks. At least he is consistent. Excellent insight as always from Mr. Blow. I personally am fatigued of endless debates about our president's motives. Are they strategic, personal, petty, pathological, clueless, some combination? I ask the devil's advocate question, what does it matter? He is a seventy-something man who is not going to change. The more important discussion should be about limiting any further damage and doing all we can to get a suitable human elected in 2020. The farewell address by G. Washington that Mr. Blow references in the column is a good and cautionary (though in dense 18th century prose) read. It's all there. George Washington was very aware of the heavy responsibility and honor that has been bestowed upon him being made the first president. He exhibits humility by acknowledging that he most likely made mistakes. He warns against excessive national debt, warns against pitting different factions of the American people against each other, warns against letting animosity and favoritism lead foreign policy and emphasizes the importance of keeping checks and balances in place but letting each branch of gov't operate independently. If I had to guess I would say the current office holder has not read this.
4
The G7 meeting has underlined Trump's incompetence, vanity and desperation for attention. We face a worldwide crisis. The scope is vast, because America is the world's lone superpower.
Trump maintains an approval rating of just above 40%. This minority of American voters care about judicial appointments, xenophobia and racism. Thanks to their votes, the world gets saddled with a muddled narcissist as leader of that superpower. The tiptoeing around Trump by other G7 leaders would be hysterical if it wasn't so dire.
I believe it is all but impossible for Americans to grasp just how out of place Trump is at these gatherings. He has next to no understanding of most issues, the importance of those issues to other countries, the historical context of close relationships among countries or a strategic approach to move priorities forward. The other leaders know that, and his need to dominate the news cycle with absurdities and foolish spectacle. They treat him like a child and make every effort to not induce a tantrum. In Donald Trump's world, that's what passes for respect.
So thanks, Trump base. Your fear of immigrants, people of color and women's rights has the power to threaten the world order that has avoided catastrophic large scale conflict since the end of World War 2.
4
The only way to begin the healing is for Trump and his GOP lackeys to lose badly in 2020, 2022, and 2024. Defeat is the best teacher. Nothing else works with politicians. Trump and his captive party have to learn, the hard way, that Americans don’t support them and their cruel and unpopular agenda.
3
Trump's narcissism dominates his entire personality. All he can see is himself. He is completely unable to serve the national interest because he is not aware of anything other than himself. I had a friend, who is also a strong Trumpist, tell me straight-up that he judges people exclusively by how they treat him. That is Trump in a nutshell, and sadly, many of his supporters. They decide scientific questions like global warming by evaluating their own experience: Doesn't seem hot to me, climate change is a farce. Do we need more trees? I see plenty of trees. Is Kim a great leader or a dangerous autocrat? He writes me nice letters and tells me I'm great - He's fine. Trump's rise has revealed that we have a serious mental health issue in this country.
3
Remember when George W. Bush said "you are with me or against me"; it was more of a metaphor. What we have now is a president who can turn on a dime; make enemies friends and make friends enemies. In his world, his ego must be served.
Psychiatrists should chime in on the article; hopefully some do. But, what we have is a person who probably was bullied, at both home and school. A person who always had to prove himself to his parents, teachers, etc. a person who feels good when things go right; and cannot accept if something goes wrong. And, he cannot tolerate any form of criticism. And, because he was bullied, his only way he knows how to deal with people is to be a bully.
The problem with all of this is that instead of being an employee ina small company, this person is the President of the United States. A position which carriers great responsibility. But, what we have is a person who get vindictive, to the point of being spiteful. For example, undo everything President Obama accomplished.
Mr. Blow, you lay out a case for why the 25th Amendment should be invoked. Our president is one tirade away from doing damage which may take years to undo. He is a danger to himself and others. Psychiatrists may actually agree with this assessment.
3
What is needed is more people like the prime minister of Greenland.... people who respond to Trump in clear, short answers that he can understand. "Absurd!" isn't standard diplomat-talk.... but it's perfect for Trump.
5
What is the inscription on W. C. Fields grave? On the whole I’d rather be in Greenland? No?
2
@vermontague Let me reconsider. Is Henry Kissinger still around? Let's send him to Denmark to negotiate with the prime minister.... Offer her some FANTASTIC amount of money.... if she'll take Trump, too. And we can allow all the inhabitants of Greenland citizenship here, if they want.... but Trump has to stay in Greenland.
2
In spite of Trump's bravado, he knows that he has not been, is not now, and can never be the POTUS that Obama was, or that Hillary Clinton might have been. That is why, in his mind, they must be destroyed and forgotten so that his own dull star can shine by comparison that much more brightly.
1
You are absolutely right about Trump's obsession with Obama, and I feel quite certain that it stems from the "roast" of DT at the Annual Correspondents Press Dinner back in 2011. Trump doesn't forget being made fun of and always seeks revenge for anyone who does so. Undoing everything that Obama accomplished probably became Trump's primary goal once he had secured the Republican nomination. I doubt that he ever even considered the consequences of his actions other than getting revenge on Obama. Trump is probably the greatest narcissist of all time.
3
Trump needs to be "the corpse at every funeral, and the bride at every wedding," (Alice Roosevelt).
And if he can't be one of those, he will be the poison at the reception.
He has proven himself to be an actual national security risk. If we can't get rid of someone this fundamentally flawed, our checks and balance system has failed.
5
When the leader of a country measures every decision that he makes by his own personal needs and wants, that is called monarchy.
Trump demands personal loyalty from public servants like a king. Government by person loyalty is called "fealty," a feature of feudalism. Trump even called Democrats "treasonous' for not clapping for his speech, and calls the FBI "treasonous" for investigating Russian interference in his election. Counter Intelligence is their job, not assuaging Trump's ego.
Public Servants swear to uphold the Constitution, which was ratified by WE the People. They are supposed to be loyal to us, not the president.
Trump calls for political violence against U.S. citizens, as if king. The Constitution was supposed to replace political violence on the whim of a monarch with the the Will of the People, through laws written by Congress, and the president is supposed to faithfully carry out those laws, not ignore and undermine them, and claim that he can do whatever he wants, because it was a campaign promise.
Trump claims that he can interpret the 14th Amendment (unconstitutional) to take away Citizenship from U.S. Citizens (unconstitutional) without due process (unconstitutional).
Immigrants are an excuse. It's not about the wall. It's about using emergency powers to cancel elections and suspend the Constitution.
The Party of Trump is attacking the Constitution to steal Our Republic.
The Right still wants a King, and Trump aims to be their King.
WAKE UP!
3
You may be right in this one. But situations when individuals identify themselves with institutions is very common in hierarchical organizations run by elites. If you think for a moment that Hillary Clinton does not see her personal defeat as disastrous for America, think again. Liberal elites, including you and your own paper, also see their demise as bad for America, n'est-ce pas? The reason? Elites have to dominate and exclude. They have to be egocentric. Like all egocentrics, they think that they are know-it-all and the world will end without them. This attitude is very common in children and adolescents. Unfortunately, many people never outgrow it.
1
What you say is true, but this defect can be overcome by greatness.
An apt and incisive analysis. It also crystallized something for me--the very real danger of the crew of unelected people who surround this weak ego-fuelled man and can easily claim power to push their own agendas by manipulating him and pandering to his bruised ego. We essentially have no president.
3
This was a tough article to read--but also the best summary of the danger of the Trump presidency. The personal way he sees friends, foes and issues--and how this dictates his policies, is much more dangerous than the fact he bullies people or publicly insults both friends and foes. It is hard to imagine a better example of this than his stated interest in buying Greenland--he was ultimately made aware if how ridiculous and uninformed was this purpose. He responded in a very predictable way. Trumps explosions are often explained that the president is a counter puncher. This claim reminds me of a boxing coach I once had who said, "counter punchers are those who can't come up with their own strategy for winning.
2
Trump is like everyone's worst date.
He shows up at the restaurant and demands the best table, the one next to the window where others are already sitting, and doesn't care if they have to be hurried along through their dinner so that he gets what he wants.
The conversation at dinner is all about him, and he name drops constantly. He never once asks where you're from or where you went to school.
He exaggerates about everything: his grades in school, his business, the number of friends in high places he has, and how many homes he owns, or is on the verge of buying.
Throughout dinner he orders the most expensive items on the menu, mistreats the waitress, and asks to speak to the manager.
When the bill finally arrives, he's forgotten his wallet. When you tell him you'll wait while he goes home to get it, he's perturbed at you for not having enough money or for even suggesting what he should do.
He storms out of the restaurant leaving you to pay the check or explain to the management what's happened.
They tell you not to worry because this happens every time this guy comes in. They'll take care of it.
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