Trump’s mentality cannot be summed up a harmless “vainglory.” The correct word is “psychopathy.” Sociopaths/Psychopaths are not the guys chasing teen girls in horror movies. It’s a diagnosis - available from external knowledge of a person’s life history - via Dr. Robert Hare’s famous Psychopath Test.
Historically, psychopaths’ recklessness and lack of empathy combine with power to murder millions.
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Why try to study his "moods" as if he were an intellectually interesting person ?
He's non compos mentis. It's a waste of time studying how his mind works because it's always the same old same old.
It gets really,really tedious putting up with a spoiled ,whining,unstable child.
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Trump's moods reveal his lies and spin. When he's saying how un-worried he is about Mueller but lashing out in private, that's a good sign that he's actually terrified of Mueller. Keep the mood updates coming please!!
It seems as if our big, strong, tough, manly president is, how shall we put it, hormonal. Sad!
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Wait. Have folks forgotten Nixon ??
I am old enough to remember all of Watergate and plus some more.
They told us that our country is being held steady only because Kissinger was really in charge. Mr Nixon was supposed to drink a little or is it a lot more and often found on his knees - wailing.
All from "folks close to president Nixon."
This obsession with this POTUS is more the folks read more of their own moods on him. I think what folks should pay attention to is - is he delivering what he promised - and so far so good.
I could careless about his mood swings - heck, even "folks close to president Clinton" told all kinds of stories during his Watergate days - mind you of his own making.
It's a great parlour game for folks inside the beltway - that's about it. Leave the Swampland - smell flowers in our beautiful country - there is much more to America than one man - even if he happens to be a POTUS.
Quit obsessing over him and some trivial gestures or lack thereof - the Republic has survived just fine - now almost 2 years later.
And I dare say we will survive another 6 years.
Others are declaring their indifference, but I'll admit it: I always read the "Trump's deteriorating mood" stories.
Why? About 25% is fear: we are at the mercy of a petulant, vindictive man who has almost no impulse control. The other 75% is because, truth be told, I get gratification from thinking that he is miserable. It might be petty of me, but he has inflicted so much pain on so many people that it feels like cosmic justice that he might be feeling some emotional pain himself––for which he alone is to blame.
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Donald Trump exhibits a level of petulance and vacuity that I would previously have not believed to be possible in a functioning adult. Pathetic might begin to describe it.
The fact that he currently occupies the office of U.S. president makes his moods newsworthy, I suppose. That doesn't change the fact that I am beyond nauseous at hearing about them.
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Seems we all agree Trump's moods aren't terribly complex, just unpredictable, which is scary. I think it would be much more interesting to hear from smart, articulate Trump supporters.
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@Momma S
We'd all like to hear from smart, articulate Trump supporters.
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“‘But why?” indeed. As many people care about Trump’s mood as Trump cares about people. Zero.
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We keep trying to impose rationality upon Trump. He is not rational, and the sooner we agree that his pathological need for attention is his defining characteristic, the better off we will all be. Analyzing his mood is pointless. It emanates in ebb and flow from the intersection of circumstances he can’t control and his own tremendous dysfunction.
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I've noticed that Trump's public statements from Argentina have been accompanied by the audible 'sniffling' that was also a hallmark of many of his campaign appearances in 2016.
I strongly suspect that the 'sniffling' may be a side effect of something he may be being given to keep him more focused and coherent at times like these.
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As long as the nuclear codes have been changed without Trump's awareness, i don't care about his mood changes. Emotionally he is a forever child, a bad tempered child who never grew up.
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A Narcissistic Personality-disordered person will have exquisite, terminal contempt even for a psychotherapist who doesn't buy in to his unique specialness and perfection -- will even forget the clinician's face and name immediately upon quitting the therapy. How can anyone expect Trump to feel anything nicer -- or other -- than hate and revulsion for all of his failed need-meeters?
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Considering that we're constantly being force-fed Donald Trump's outer self ad nauseam and thus risking multiple brain aneurysms, the mere thought of also getting a glimpse into his inner self is simply too much to bear.
Any enterprising journalists, Mr. Leibovich included, who might someday uncover this sure-to-be-ghastly sight are kindly asked to refrain from oversharing and keep it to themselves.
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@Dotconnector
What inner self does Trump have ?
Zero self-awareness!
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The World has to endure a sulking- sullen 72 year old infantile man who, unfortunately has the capacity to hold us all as a captive audience. Not because we wish to be but because we have to be.
President of the United States is a position that holds tremendous sway globally. Having one who's "moods" drive his actions- is terrifying. The current occupant is wretched; we all experience the fallout daily:
No, we do not need a story about it. We're living it- *In Living Color*.
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"How knowable Donald Trump’s inner self actually is..." Very easy answer - there is nothing to know as there is nothing there to evaluate - vacuous, empty. A simple, transparent, not terribly bright shill. Question resolved.
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The only reason we care about his "inner self" is because, on a whim, in a funk, or in fit of pique he just might impulsively do something that would affect us all, like, oh say, starting a war. It's not a dumb thing to track the moods of malignant narcissists who are in charge of big things, like our country....
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Trump reminds me of the Freddy Bartholemew character in “Captains Courageous,” before his learning and growing up transformation. That said, someone should have shoved Trump off a deck into the drink long ago, it may have saved the country a lot of trouble.
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By dragging every object in the universe into orbit around his ego, Trump thinks he's a star.
A neutron star most likely: small and extremely dense.
"Maybe a better question for these stories to ask is how knowable Donald Trump’s inner self actually is, or even whether it is worth knowing —"
Pitiably, his inner self is a dark vacuum inhabited by a crying toddler grasping for its father's hand. It's not worth knowing at all, if it's even accessible.
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You’re so right. His mood IS described a lot, with similar phrasing. I did not realize this until you pointed it out.
I hate to admit I do REALLY like reading out White House freakouts.
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“Not figured out Donald Trump”, Mr. Lewandowski? It really isn’t very difficult, Cory; he’s a pathetic, lying, narcissistic, egomaniacal, third-rate host of a ridiculous reality TV show and first-class grifter. I care not what his daily moods are. I care only about the time when Mr. Trump can be referred to in the past tense. And that can’t happen soon enough for me!
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The "Trump mood" beat is as useful as the "Trump supporter" beat. Both are worthless. It's time the Times stopped both and concentrated on the news -- like the people who voted for Democrats and like how Hillary was right about Trump.
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Mr. Trump’s moods... ah, important only because he happens to be president by fluke. He’s the Andrew Johnson of our time, but a dry drunk rather than a wet one, a petulant empty shell of a human being. Dangerous? Immensely so, leaving scars on people, on our upward-striving culture, on the value of empathy for our fellows – scars that won’t heal soon, if ever. But he’s useful in one way, if the country can survive him. He’s the test of whether this way of life, of governing, of choosing its leaders, this experiment called the U.S.A., can function without falling into the traps of authoritarianism, mobacracy, rule by whim and deceit rather than by an aspiration toward decency.
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I just ignore anyone who claims to know what Trump is up to. They're usually wrong. Trump will tell people himself. There's no reason to listen to speculation.
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Lewandowski is right that Trump is not complicated. He’s quite simply a genuinely unhappy man. The reasons that he is so are , however, very complicated. All one has to do is observe his seething defensiveness to know that he is very troubled and could keep multiple psychiatrists employed for life just treating only him.
Here are some simple questions. Would you hire someone who displayed Trump’s behavior? Would you want a co-worker who did so? Would you want a friend who did so? Would you even want to spend 30 minutes having a cup with someone who did so?
I suspect only a small minority, perhaps 20%, would answer yes to any of those questions.
So why does 40% of the country support him and want him to be President? That question is far more important than any question as to Trump’s mood du jour.
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Exactly what I say, but I think you are being far too generous with 20%.
Hes a big mouth New Yorker, whom are mostly unliked everywhere, but they have a knack for making tough deals and are tough themselves. But the anger and ranting from an impulse to get the fairness one deserves wears thin and annoys most people a lot. Eh, at least a non-politician; oh and the Mueller investigation may have trapped trump but in the greater context trump didn't do anything against the countrys intrest, oh and I don't know how much those email leaks influenced the election.
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I don't need to know anything about his "inner self," thanks. I already know everything I need to know about it from his words and actions. Also, who honestly cares, aside from people paid to write about it? I'd much rather hear about the results of investigative reporting, for which there is currently no dearth of fruitful opportunities.
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Never not enjoy your writing. Perfect pitch most always when your muse is Mr. Trump :) Thank you!
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Trump has no conscience, no soul. This is why he is capable of doing so much harm to others. His ‘moods’ are the result of his upbringing. He was allowed to get away with bad behavior with no consequences.
And, yes, we are sick and tired of hearing about him and his moods. I hope once he is in jail, reporters won’t ask him how he’s feeling. Let him fester in a cell and let our nation heal.
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I do not want to be at the mercy of this man with the maturity of a petulant child. It is time to hold the Republicans responsible for his actions and disasters.
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