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@TylerDu50887305 There is no nuance in Trump’s world. He sees everything in terms of binary absolutes. Everything is zero-sum. This may be due to intellectual/personality limitations, or the fact that it facilitates his pathological dishonesty/gaslighting. Probably both. 1/
@TylerDu50887305 The most recent example is the Mueller report. Clearly, he lacks the focus and attention to detail to read 500 pages. But he also doesn’t want to read/acknowledge the report in a comprehensive way because that would threaten his alternate reality/self-concept... 2/
@TylerDu50887305 Instead, as he does with almost everything, he embraces an oversimplified, self-serving interpretation that allows him to dishonestly gaslight the country about what really happened, and what the report actually says. This allows him to attempt to control the narrative....3/
@TylerDu50887305 This has been relatively effective for him because many of his supporters share similar personality traits and/or a similar lack of intellectual curiosity/sophistication. 4/
@TylerDu50887305 Going back to the original question about Trump demanding an apology from the NYTimes, there is some history there because Trump claimed the NYTimes apologized to him after the 2016 election. 5/ politifact.com/truth-o-meter/…
@TylerDu50887305 The NYTimes denied they did so. 6/ politico.com/story/2017/03/…
@TylerDu50887305 A sincere apology admits error in judgment or a mistake. This triggers Trump’s deep-seated pathological feelings of inadequacy. In his binary worldview, Trump not only views an apology as a sign of weakness, he views it as a sign of subordination. 7/
@TylerDu50887305 To put this in context, contrast Trump’s recantation of Putin’s "strong and powerful" (alpha) denial, versus Trump's perception of the “weakness” of an apology. 8/
@TylerDu50887305 An apology by the NYT would serve several purposes. 1) It would frame the NYT as weak in contrast to Trump’s strength, as subordinate to Trump’s superiority, and as a subversive measure to that which Trump fears the most: the free press revealing the actual/objective “truth”…9/
@TylerDu50887305 Trump’s assault on the truth has created a war over who gets to define reality, over who gets to determine what the “truth” is, and over who controls the narrative. If Trump can force the NYT to apologize, or even just convince people that the NYT did,… 10/
@TylerDu50887305 …in his mind it not only creates the appearance of strength/superiority in him, over a weak/subordinate adversary (NYT), but it’s a concession in the battle over who has the claim of right/ownership of the “truth”. And by apologizing, the NYT would be conceding. 11/
@TylerDu50887305 An apology would also be twisted/gaslighted to give the impression of substantiating Trump’s claim that it was a Russian Hoax/witch hunt, and that the Mueller report provided “total exoneration”. Remember, there’s no nuance, everything is binary and zero sum. 12/
@TylerDu50887305 Trump’s tweets show he was triggered today. Reality may be threatening his worldview & his narcissistic self-concept because he’s been exposed….appearing weak, & unable to carry out his (“strong”) obstructive impulses, because his orders were ignored by his staff (impotent). 13/
@TylerDu50887305 In the past, when his power is challenged, he likes to paint a picture where people appear to grovel to him, even when they may have rejected him. 14/
@TylerDu50887305 The appearance of being groveled to implies power & strength. His threatened self-concept causes him to feel weak/inadequate, which he attempts to ameliorate by creating alternate realities & revisionist histories: demand/claim an apology 15/
@TylerDu50887305 In the past, Trump has talked about changing libel laws. Perhaps he’s foreshadowing a potentially autocratic move against the free press....
