Why Trump IS predictable, and Why He MUST Tweet Back to Every Attack

Why Trump IS predictable, and Why he MUST Tweet Back to Every Attack
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
"I am your father...."
"I am your father...."
File photo: Reuters

Pundits have had a field day recently questioning Donald Trump’s sanity. Is he mentally ill? Does he have a mental disorder? Is he mentally unstable? The is answer is “no” to all of these, but incredibly obvious to anyone who know what to look for.

In the paradigm of Gravesian Bio-Psycho-Social Model of Human Development, which has itself developed into what is known as Spiral Dynamics, Donald Trump operates out of the third level of human consciousness, described, in its simplest terms, as:

A highly individualistic level, often with a lot of anger in it. Can be seen in the ‘terrible two’s’ and rebellious teenage behaviour. Also evident in macho street violence later in life. Core values here include power, immediate gratification, escaping from being controlled, being respected and avoiding shame. [emphasis mine.].

Now, here are some caveats of this paradigm:

  • No level should be seen as ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than any other level
  • People operate out of the level where they get answers to life’s problems.
  • Each level enfolds and incorporates all the levels that precede it

It should be noted that no one is a level, or at a level. We tend to operate in a center of gravity in and around a level. You may want to look at the above links and peruse the other levels. You, the reader, likely operate, but not exclusively, between the 4th and 7th level. And again, “no level should be seen as ‘better or ‘worse’ than any other level.”

This final caveat is essential in our understanding of Trump:

  • Up to and including level 4, it is very difficult to see (and above all appreciate the value in) any level beyond the one you are currently at. [emphasis mine]

What does that last caveat mean? Well, the 4th level is described in its simplest terms as:

Strong sense of right vs. wrong, good vs. bad and the need for order in society. In cultural terms, judicial systems develop at this level. Fundamentalist religious beliefs are seen here too. Core values include justice, security and morality. Also a desire to control impulsivity and “evil” deeds. Can be seen in movements such as “right to life” and “moral majority”.

People operating at each level and be malicious, or benign. People operating at the 3rd level can even be spontaneous and joyful. The Robin Williams character in Mrs. Doubtfire comes to mind, in the beginning of the film, when he does what he likes, and the kids love him, to hell with consequences, until Sally Field is so fed up that she divorces him. Sally is tired of operating at the 4th level - in this case, being the “bad cop” ― in response to his actions. Robin, in turn, had up to that point been unable to “see (and above all appreciate the value in)” that 4th level, the one beyond where he was at the time. Of course, during the rest of the movie, he was able to change and grow.

More important to us, thought, the 3rd level is also where we find bullies. And that’s where Trump comes in.

Trump, operating in the 3rd level, has a very difficult time seeing, and above all appreciating the value, of a “strong sense of right vs. wrong, good vs. bad, and the need for order in society.” As noted, “judicial systems develop at this level,” and he has no interest in anything related to anyone telling him what he can or cannot do. He can pretend to be at level 4, in calling for “law and order,” and giving lip service to the religious right, but he, at his core, operates at the 3rd level. Remember that people operating at the 3rd level need to be respected and, at all cost, to avoid shame.

Trump, as fits someone in that third level of consciousness, has no use for existing rules, whether the Constitution of the United States, or normal rules of civil conduct. He wants to makes his own rules: ban Muslims; build walls; torture; kill the relatives of terrorists; ban newspapers; make it easier to sue people who say bad things about him — and the last one is key, because calling him on his behavior brings shame. And when he is caught, that’s when he experiences the biggest shame. Humiliation is his biggest fear. So what does he do? He has to attack. He has to defend. He has to be right.

It is this last part that compels him to react to any and all criticism almost immediately. That’s why he MUST tweet. He can’t help it. He must defend himself, mostly by attacking, because the best defense is often offense, and when he can’t refute someone, he will attack their credibility (Did you hear that the Khans are actually Radical Muslim Terrorists, in league with the Muslim Brotherhood? I saw it on the internet, so it must be true). He cannot stand to be laughed at, or shamed, or disrespected.

That’s why he lies — he has to change the truth in order to be right. That’s why he lies so casually, so matter-of-factly. Because facts don’t matter anymore. Because calling him out, admitting that he is wrong, catching him in a lie — brings shame. So, in his mind, he never said the things he said, because if they were wrong, those things could not have been said by him. He has to convince you of that.

Someone wrote, way back in the beginning of the primary season, that Trump brands himself as a winner, and that the way he will fade into oblivion is to lose. When he starts to lose primaries, the line of reasoning went, he would fade into oblivion. Well, it hasn’t happened yet. And, because he can’t be wrong, he is already pre-framing the November election as rigged, in advance, so that when he loses, he will not have really lost.

If you understand Gravesian Pyschology, and Spiral Dynamics, Trump’s behavior is predictable. He is not mentally ill. He is developmentally arrested. The more you understand the 3rd level of human consciousness, the more glaringly obvious and predictable he behavior becomes.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot