Thread by @OurShallowState

THREAD

(1/6) Trump enters this weekend a very frightened man. As we've said umpteen times, a malignant narcissist already lives in fear, using bluster and bravado to counter it. A malignant narcissist's driving fear is that their falsities will be exposed. Their GREATEST fear is HUMILIATION. Trump is dancing pretty close to it these days. You see his franticness in his posts. He is not only more desperate to force-feed his false narratives BUT - he's now ALSO desperate to reclaim his grandiosity.

(2/6) Very few malignant narcissists have been more steeped in falsities as Trump. When I have dialogue about Trump with colleagues, the degree of his falsities, and his effort and (to an extent), his prior success at protecting them, is a frequent subject of our wonderment. Think of how many there are, and how far they go back!

(3/6) All his life, Trump has falsified narratives. Like all malignant narcissists, this stems from deep insecurity, a craving for respect and legitimacy, and a deep-down recognition that they're unlikely to earn either on merit, so they make it up. He started lying about his inheritance so that he appeared more self-made. He started lying about his grades, so that he appeared smarter. He started lying about his skill in business. And later in life, he started lying about his health - he's so addicted to his false narratives and grandiosity, that he even started lying, cartoonishly so, about his body weight. (FFS)

(4/6) His most pronounced lies are about his wealth, and his acuity. Those two are his "anchor" lies. As they get exposed to their fuller degrees, he gets closer to humiliation. Some of those secrets and lies about his wealth ARE now getting exposed. For one, we now know that his wealth was built significantly on business fraud. For another, the AMOUNT of his wealth is not nearly what he's claimed. And the kicker - despite his never-ending bluster about "brand" or reputation - he's certainly not seen as a good credit risk ... by anyone!

(5/6) As for his other "anchor" lie - his acuity - we've seen that as he's aged, his behavioral disorders have become more severe. I frequently tweet that they now own him. And they do. So much so, that he can only reclaim his contrived stature (grandiosity) through BOTH victory AND vengeance. But these disorders - his pathology - is only half the "acuity" issue. The other is his neurology. He is cognitively declining and will continue to do so. This is why his team will cut down on his rallies, and it is why he will never debate nor - if he can control it - sit for an interview that is not predetermined to be hyper-friendly to his false constructs - notably again, his grandiosity.

(6/6) Bringing it full circle, he is a very frightened man. 2023 was the year he suffered true narcissistic injury. 2024 is already the year he suffered true narcissistic come-uppance. These are new to him.
Now - as his ANCHOR LIE about his wealth takes a pounding, and his pathology continues to own him, and his ANCHOR LIE about his health gets exposed by advancement of his neurological decay - he finds himself struggling to reclaim grandiosity - and he needs that BADLY. But the quandary for him, is: how can he reclaim his grandiosity effectively when the clock keeps ticking against him, and so much of his effort and energy is going into staving off humiliation and collapse?

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