Thread by @PatrickDowns

1/ I don't feel sorry for Trump one bit, but he is probably the most dramatic, tragic example of a malignant narcissist. At the core they are very unhappy people. They crave attention, respect and adoration, but they can't reciprocate in relationships because they lack empathy.

2/ I've shared this image before, because I think it's one of the great political illustrations I've ever seen, by @ArtofMarkBryan. Trump is The Man Behind the Inflated Image of himself, a construct. NPD narcissism (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) is one of the worst...

3/... personality disorders, I have personal experience having been married to one. They are insufferable people, who care only about themselves and what you can do for them. They are users.

Mayo Clinic describes NPD: newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/nar…

4/ Trump has for his entire life built up this magnificent self-image, aided by the media. He lied his way onto the Forbes Wealthiest List, which led to a myriad of fawning stories about him for years. He began to believe his own publicity, a mirror image of his fake self.

5/ His bankruptcies were a serious narcissistic injury, because it really pulled the curtain back on this fiction of brilliance and financial genius. It's all a myth, and without the help of his father he would have gone bust. He still would have inherited tens of millions.

6/ Maggie Haberman @maggieNYT has her critics, but I don't know of another journalist who has had more access to Trump over the years, and I think her book Confidence Man is really excellent. Some deep insights into the history and formation of Trump's defective psyche.

7/ One hilarious story from the book is when Trump tried to renegotiate his deal for The Apprentice after the first successful season. He requested a meeting with the producers, and demanded a 10x pay raise, iirc. He brought financials proving how rich he is. Oops. The reply:

8/ They asked him if the show had increased the value of his personal brand and made him much more recognizable. He said yes. They then said, "Well, maybe you should pay us!" He was stunned. The so-called "Art of the Deal" genius got owned. I think they doubled his salary, iirc.

9/ But the show made him a household name, and convinced Americans that he was an absolute business genius CEO who should be able to run the country. It's all a fiction. When the producers went to look at Trump HQ because Donald wanted to shoot the show there, they were appalled

10/ at how shabby & unimpressive the office was. They couldn't shoot the show there! But in his triplex apartment there, "Versailles in the Sky" (he exaggerated its size, of course) it's all gold leaf and all the bad taste money can buy, because that's who he is. 2 microns deep.

11/ He's always desperately craved acceptance by the real estate developers in Manhattan, but as the obnoxious Richie Rich son of King Fred of Queens, he never got it. He could never be part of their club and it infuriated him. Becoming POTUS was the ultimate F You to them.

12/ Many people in Manhattan have had his number for decades, although he fooled much media because he was good headlines and interviews, or they capitalized on him. Spy Magazine brilliantly nicknamed him "The Short Fingered Vulgarian" during in the 80s.
vanityfair.com/news/2016/03/h…

13/ For some perverse reason, I've followed him off and on for decades, and I remember at the White House Correspondents Dinner when he got skewered, and you could see in the look in his eyes (murder) how wounded he was, and when he announced, I thought that was his motivation.

14/ That's the thing people don't understand about malignant narcissists, how vengeful they can be. They would literally murder to protect the carefully curated and defended self-image they have made of themselves. Hell hath no fury like the scorned or wounded narcissist.

15/ As to the lack of empathy, a real defect of the malignant narcissist, it's dangerous. They don't care about anybody but themselves, they will use anybody, and they will discard you as soon as you're not useful. Trump doesn't give one crap about his base, so it's tragic to see

16/ ...so many millions in his cult, the Branch Trumpidians, who think that he cares about them. It's all about how much money he can extract, putting him back in the WH so that he doesn't go to prison, the adoration. All transactional. He's the greatest conman in my lifetime.

17/ As someone funnier than I (Fran Lebowitz?) said:

Trump is a poor man's idea of a rich man, a weak man's idea of a strong man, and a stupid man's idea of a smart man.

I know smart people who have been sucked into this cult, so it's not just the rubes. I have family who...

18/... have been sucked into the abyss of this cult and it's been heartbreaking. I will never understand, because I don't understand cults of personality, whether it's Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Jim Jones, a Christian grifterpastor, or Cheeto Jesus Trump, aka Don the Con.

19/ Of course, there are so many co-conspirators who should die in infamy for allowing this criminal conman to be contender for GOP nom in '24. GOP is a diseased, corrupt party of Quislings. Enough has been written about that by others, but I quit GOP & became #NeverTrump early.

20/ I do have a forever grudge against some in the TV media who gave Trump $5 billion dollars in free publicity covering his campaign for the '16 election. Les Moonves of CBS said then, "I know Trump would be bad for America but he's great for our bottom line." F YOU. As to Fox:

21/ I hope that Dominion crushes them to dust. Muerto. Bankrupts them. It's unfortunate that people won't go to prison. I think Rupert Murdoch has proven to be the most dangerous media person in the world. A pox on him and his family.

So the guardrails of democracy have barely

22/ barely held fast. I have great hope for Jack Smith's cases on the stolen classified documents & January 6th, and the Georgia election hijack attempt. I think Trump is in very serious legal jeopardy. As to those who say we shouldn't jail an ex-president: HARD DISAGREE.

23/ If Trump dies or goes to prison, how long will his cult hold the torch for him? Will they use the torches to try and set fire to America? The serious Judge Michael Luttig says that if Trump loses in 2024, he fears that his cult will spark civil war. I fear it too. Hold fast.

24/ The best solution is that he's not the nominee for GOP but what will prevent that? Certainly not DeSantis, who is a lot smarter and just as malevolent and wannabe fascist. His defect is he has the personality of a wet dirty diaper, and Trump wants to gut him like a fish.

25/ For any of you who read this far, thanks for reading my midday ramblings. I'm sitting here with Wookie Puppy napping at my feet, waiting to give him his next walk. Just chilling & thinking. Many of my thoughts are inspired by people smarter and more eloquent than I.🙏 PEACE

13.5/ That was in 2011 when Obama was POTUS. Seth Myers was the MC. He eviscerated Trump, who was sitting near the front. You could tell that Trump was just seething, literally if looks could kill Obama would have been dead. Starts about the 12:30 mark.