As we are getting closer to Donald Trump's nomination, his outrageous behavior has accelerated. He stated that he would not change if he were elected president, insulted the media who have blindly financed him for sake of reality TV, insulted Republican parliamentarians, refused to publish his tax returns and recently defended a fake university that bears his name. He is being more outrageous every time he speaks.
Last week he disparaged a US judge of Mexican ascent who is a war hero and a respected magistrate: he accused him of a conflict of interest because he (in his phantasmagoria), is building a Wall.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a serious mental health problem.
It would be a grave mistake to consider Donald Trump stupid. He is intelligent, but displays many of the symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). It can only be cured with long therapy and specific medication. The disease is described the following way by the American Psychiatric Association(DSM-5) under the "Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders" category, according to the Mayo Clinic:
•Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
•Expecting to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
•Exaggerating your achievements and talents
•Being preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
•Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people
•Taking advantage of others to get what you want
•Having an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
•Behaving in an arrogant or haughty manner
This perfect portray of Donald Trump's behavior and disruption. Although the narcissist may seem extremely confident, they often use an exaggerated sense of self and sense of entitlement to cover their deep feelings of insecurity.
Did Donald Trump ever hope to be President?
Stephanie Cegielski who worked for the Trump Campaign said that when she was brought aboard as communications director for the Make America Great Again PAC last summer, the instructions from Trump Tower were to make sure that Trump finished a respectable second in the GOP primary. It was made clear that Trump was running not as a serious contender, but as a "protest" candidate.
Comparing the various ventures that Donald Trump went through, I believe that he is fundamentally a gambler and a deal maker, not a strategist. From casinos to golf clubs and hotels, he succeeded in some and miserably failed in others. He is a risk calculator, but a totally instinctive one. That makes him dangerous and unpredictable in a job where self-control is critical. Narcissists' emotions can turn on a dime. This volatility can cause constant stress in an organization.
He came into the campaign as he came to his TV shows, and the television immediately played with him as he played with them: they had a unique moneymaking showman. They gave him free exposure and made billions on advertisers.
He was convinced that he would never last more than a few months against the formidable coalition of Republican candidates. In the beginning he had a lot of fun in the show. He hates it now, but he will not be able to stop by himself the infernal machine he embarked on. He needs help. He is definitely in phase two of the NPD.On top of that, his business interest starts to suffer: the fact that the PGA golf championship moved from his golf course in Florida to Mexico adds insult to injury.
Facing the possibility of a loss is unbearable for a "winner".
Whether he outrages the Latinos, women, blacks, judges, the media or others, and denies having outraged anybody, he shows a personality who believes that one word can erase the previous one. More importantly, he definitely does not want to win, otherwise he would be cajoling the electorate rather than aggressing it.
The tide is turning.
He is now facing the obvious: he is likely to be the Republican Presidential Candidate and ... lose the Presidency. Since his entire live has been built on the illusion that he always wins, this nightmare scenario would be devastating loss. He urgently needs an exit strategy that portrays him as a victim of the system. It should not be difficult to organize.
Now is the moment to act. Donald Trump has reached the third and last phase of his NPD, the discard phase. He is more vulnerable than he has ever been and is offering at least one opportunity a week to blow him up.
The Republican Party has to recognize its mistake: does, however, the GOP still exist? Has Trump kidnapped it? If he is the candidate, he could deliver the majority of the Senate and the House of Representatives to the Democrats. Donald Trump or the Republican Party will collapse together. It is time to sacrifice a public danger for the sake of the country and of Donald J. Trump himself.
In this phase, the narcissist then begins the task of extricating himself from the situation he put himself in. Trump is only now discovering that he will have to face Barack Obama and knows he cannot win against him. The despicable way he made him responsible for the Orlando carnage says it all. He lost his mind.
The break can be quick, complete and devastating. Once narcissists achieve their material or personal goals from the situation, they are ready to move on to the next one. They may forge it while still in the current one, feeling it is their right to do as they like. In any event, he dos not care about his associates, his volunteers and his electors. He only cares about himself.
Donald Trump will do everything he can to avoid getting beaten in Cleveland. Let's find a way to engineer his exit strategy.