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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Hoarse Whisperer tells us what to expect next from trump the narcissist
Last edited Mon Mar 23, 2020, 04:21 PM - Edit history (1)
[link:https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1242119385801789444.html|
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The Hoarse Whisperer
@HoarseWisperer
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2 hours ago, 25 tweets, 5 min read
I havent written much about Trumps narcissism of late, so now is as good a time as any to lay down a thread on where his compulsions are taking us.
As always, lets start with the golden rule of narcissism:
Narcs care only about avoiding shame and soliciting adoration.
1/
Those are the two impulses which control their every thought, action and deed.
There is nothing more inside them.
There is no deeper capacity for thought or decision-making.
They are primal, caveman-like self-dealers wired to serve only those two needs.
At all times.
2/
Of those two impulses, the drive to avoid shame is the more powerful.
Being forced to face unavoidable public shame is like being boiled alive to someone with Trumps wiring. It is worse than death. Excruciating.
There is nothing a narcissist wouldnt do to avoid that.
3/
The go-to strategy of your run-of-the-mill average narcissist in private life would be to:
1) Insulate the people they wish to control from everyone else
2) Control the flow of information
3) Evict and villainize any critic or source of contradictory information
4/
4) Scapegoat and blame others for their own choices
5) Insist they are actually heroically solving the problems they, in fact, caused all on their own
6) Demand they be adored for the heroic way they have led in crisis (which, again, they caused)
5/
Trump cant run that script effectively as president - and it is truly the only script he has. He is incapable of adaptation, learning or insight.
He is literally and truly incapable of running a different play at the line of scrimmage.
6/
Add to all of this, Trump is not only genuinely ignorant, he is angrily resistant to being taught.
He has an adversarial relationship with information and expertise.
After all, his ignorance leads to him being embarrassed and per all the above, he is wired to fight that.
7/
We are in a situation where a healthy, functional leader would realize:
1) The situation is fluid
2) Experts must be in charge
3) The president must reduce themselves to being the chief advocate for direction set by experts
4) Their best role is as a Comforter in Chief
8/
As the above laid out, nothing could possibly be further from Trumps capacities.
He is quite literally a simple machine constructed of only a few simple wires soldered together in a way that enables only one canned approach to every situation no matter how they differ.
9/
Trump cannot treat a situation as fluid because that makes it appear like he is not in control.
He cannot defer to experts because that would be an acknowledgment that he isnt one.
10/
And he can not reduce himself to being a Comforter in Chief because:
1) That would mean acknowledging a problem came to exist under his watch which he cannot heroically fix
11/
And worse:
2) He exists solely to serve two primal impulses (shame-avoidance & seeking adoration) and frankly cannot even understand, let alone care about, the feelings or needs of others.
In fact, others anxiety makes him angry because it, in and of itself, shames him.
12/
After all, if people are still worried and upset, that must mean they dont really believe he is the all-conquering hero saving the day after all.
Remember when Trump lashed out at the reporter last week who merely asked what hed say to the worried?
13/
Remember how his first impulse was to lash out and explode?
Narcissists show themselves in full technicolor for brief moments.
People are always shocked by how very off the reaction was but cant really process that it isnt behavior. Its wiring. Its who they are.
14/
So, taking back to the present, Trump is now caught in the middle of his very worst kind of nightmare:
1) A situation of his making
2) Which he cannot solve
3) Intense public scrutiny
4) Rival sources of information who he cannot silence
5) The reality it will get worse
15/
For a narcissist, thats like being tied to the train tracks.
It is so excruciating, they double-down on their worst impulses - even as theyre told it will actually make things far worse.
16/
In their primitive eggshell minds, doing even a disastrous next thing which temporarily postpones their continued shaming but actually makes things worse is actually better.
They live in only this very moment. This very second.
17/
Trump is in the worst possible place for his particular wiring.
And he is absolutely commanded to do the worst possible things.
And that will absolutely make it worse.
18/
So, in my opinion, Id expect Trump will do some or all of the following next:
1) Insist he has already succeeded in stemming the spread
2) Insist severe restrictions can be eased or lifted by next week
3) Silence people who contradict him inside the admin. e.g. Fauci
19/
4) Angrily lash out at rival sources of information outside the admin. eg the media and outside experts
5) Insist on doing a victory lap of some kind to collect worship and adoration. A rally or trip or prime time appearance on Fox News. Something.
20/
Since all of that will be utterly asinine, governors and local leaders will fill the void by taking even more charge... and that will make Trump even angrier.
Within a week, he will be consumed with his grievances more than with even the growing problem of COVID-19 itself.
21/
Trump will simmer, rage, lash out and meltdown in an increasingly unhinged series of rants toward people like Governor Cuomo even as it becomes inarguable that Trumps guidance is making things worse.
22/
And then, when he finally has no choice but to face that he is failing at serving his only two masters - shame avoidance and adoration-seeking - he will buckle, reverse course, and then go quiet and hide away from the public.
23/
Trump will be made to walk the plank.
He will be forced by the escalating crisis to eventually succumb to the wisdom of experts.
But first, he will make all of this much worse.
24/
Next week, a dysfunctional man will lead the nation further into a health crisis.
It will be an attempt to avoid being seen as responsible for it to begin with.
It will make it worse. People will have told him that. He will do it anyway.
He is incapable of otherwise.
25/25
Edited to add one more post on the same topic:
[link:
Link to tweet
?s=20|
saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)knuckle dragger - Wiktionary
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/knuckle_dragger
An allusion to the practice of some large primates of walking upright with their knuckles close to the ground. knuckle dragger (plural knuckle draggers ). (idiomatic, often derogatory) A large, strong, and rather dimwitted person.
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)mercuryblues
(14,531 posts)coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)Donnie doll hands probably aspires to drag knuckles and can't because they are too little.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Terrifying. There is no good way out of this for him and there is no amount of manipulation that can make things any better for him. It's a lose/lose situation.
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)Maybe for us too because of his mental illness.
H2O Man
(73,537 posts)It is troubling to watch him overthe past two weeks -- even moreso than usual. It is sad to see him behaving just as we could anticipate, and it will surely become worse.
It is a common trait among people to, at a time of crisis, attempt to exercise some control over one or more things around them. An obvious example is the over-stocking up on ass-wipes. This is a nearly mindless activity that allows for some temporary relief from stress.
However, as your outstanding OP documents, human ass-wipes with the degree of personality pathology such as Trump engage in that attempt to exercise control -- especially in denial of all responsibilities that they have little or no ability to control -- act out in toxic ways. Always.
The sad truth is that Trump is currently the largest stumbling block that is preventing our country from responded to this crisis in the best ways.
Chainfire
(17,536 posts)The question is how far will he be allowed to go before his support system says, "We aren't going down in flames with you." And the cabinet is forced to meet.
Allow me to indulge in some fantasy:
Trump's best tact might be to "have a heart attack" brought on by his tireless efforts to save America and heroically and quietly withdraw to hospital bed to hide under the covers until this passes. He may have found that this job was more than he bargained for and fire himself.
leftieNanner
(15,089 posts)BUT - He will not survive in hiding because he won't have any adoring fans. Melania isn't gonna do it! Plus, he still has that terror of going to prison in the back of his mind and he is trying to stay in office to prevent anyone from indicting him. I wish he would resign, but I fear that he won't. And your last sentence is right on. He hates the job, loves the perks, but hates the job. We all know that he doesn't do any actual work.
Or he will "contract" the virus, withdraw from the public, watch while a massive prayer campaign is managed by Pence and others, tweet all caps hatred at China and the Dems, and then make a miraculous recovery when the adults have cleaned up his mess.
Or maybe not recover ...
localroger
(3,626 posts)The business shutdowns are what are ruining his beautiful stock market so he will try to proclaim the problem solved and lift them ASAP. Most were put in place by governors some of whom (particularly the R's) may go along with him but many will resist, knowing what it means to their population if the pandemic spins out of control.
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)and incapable of logic, whenever he speaks the market goes into freefall.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)As per your OP,as who lived with and was around a Narcissist for all of my perteen and teen years. As you posted,he will cause extreme damage to everyone before he goes into hiding.
Learned as a teen,once one says enough is enough and calls them out to put up or shut the f up,nothing changes. Seeing our Nation being subjected to what I tolerated for many years,and for our Media to allow this and not call enough is enough really angers myself and I am sure millions more.
Pepsidog
(6,254 posts)DENVERPOPS
(8,820 posts)is the fact that this type person, when finally going down, tends to go out with a "bang" pun intended.......Sort of an "I'll show you"
This is extremely relevant, but something that you clearly don't want to be thinking about..........
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)I hope rethugs will take him out long before that happens.
But so far we haven't had much luck with that have we?
They don't fucking care.
NCjack
(10,279 posts)The day of the opening and thru the acceptance speech at the Repuke National Convention?
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)Which I'm certain thrills the moron to death.
NCjack
(10,279 posts)The Repukes may postpone by a month. Still, not good.
malaise
(268,993 posts)This is Don the Con to a T
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)where he is finally so shamed and can't avoid it any longer, so he hides -- I hope that happens in time to save the country and let the experts take over.
bronxiteforever
(9,287 posts)Ohioboy
(3,241 posts)I had the unpleasant experience of knowing a diagnosed narcissist in my day, a relative. You are right that they cannot act differently to how they are wired. They will literally try to change history in order to undo something that their own behavior has caused, and in the process make things worse.
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)I didn't think it through at all. No sir all the credit goes to the Hoarse Whisperer on twitter.
He always seems to have the ability to dial in to trump's malfunctioning mind...
[link:https://twitter.com/HoarseWisperer|
Ohioboy
(3,241 posts)The Hoarse Whisperer is absolutely correct about how narcissists are wired, at least from what I have experienced having a relative (by marriage) with this personality disorder.
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)[link:
Link to tweet
?s=20|
Be clear, Mitch McConnells biggest fear isnt that the Senate wont rush aid to people in need.
His biggest fear is that the House will pass a bill first which will make clear just how bad the Senate bill is for actual Americans.
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)Now I recognize the epithet: Richard the Lionheart
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)rickyhall
(4,889 posts)coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)Love your photo icon. Im re-reading a biography of him right now. Love him to death.
doctorzuma
(44 posts)turned into an opinion piece and submitted to major newspapers --a little rewriting, and editing, and it would be an incredible piece, something every American needs to read because it so concisely and accurately describes "what makes Trump tick." Particularly accurate and insightful-the "shame" piece; he's always telling people they should "be ashamed." No one needs shame, it is the ultimate sense of being completely "untouchable," "disgusting," and a dirty worthless piece of shit." Trump's practice of constantly telling others they need to be ashamed demonstrates how shame-based he is, underneath all that noise and bravado lives a wounded soul, who everyday bathes himself in shit. Sad, he swallowed daddy's poison and came to hate himself as much as his father, for whatever reason, despised him.Trump is a tragic figure, yet, at the same time a very dangerous man.
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)That when trump accuses someone of something it is really a confession. I believe her.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)just posted a thread from her yesterday
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)What she says scares the hell out of me but she really knows her stuff.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)over 110 years, violent deaths in America increase under Republican presidents and decrease under Democratic ones.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213150159
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)That was f-ing mental. I guess it stands to reason given their lack of care about our citizens but to see it in black and white really blew my mind.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)can play into it - Trump sees a surge in hate crimes, Bush Jr saw an increase in bombings of family planning clinics, Reagan and Nixon divided working class whites against working class black and brown Americans., etc
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)will be reading all about trump and his mental illness, and how he caused the death of thousands.
All because he couldn't handle the shame of his illustrious stock market gains being destroyed by the workings of his own sicko mind.
Volaris
(10,270 posts)He has done NOTHING USEFUL in his time occupying the most influential and powerful political office created by mankind since Julius fucking Ceaser.
Think about that. NOTHING.
Even Criminal Nixon passed the Clean Air Act...
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)in an op ed. I bet he would be fine with that.
Volaris
(10,270 posts)And Yertle will lose his precious, precious Majority.
And then MAYBE to try n salvage it, '...Trump will be made to walk the plank.'
The political calculation for Yertle will be the ensuing, inescapable, and outright rage of trumps base for ANYONE daring to defy Dear Leader.
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)Unless they lock down the election or fail to protect it he is definitely losing his majority anyway.
But rump's failure during the crisis will speed it up.
I am just afraid they will use this to try and stop or steal the election.
dalton99a
(81,485 posts)Gothmog
(145,218 posts)The Hoarse Whisperer knows and understands narcissists like trump and I trust his analysis
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)He comes across as having researched the topic out of personal need because he has vast experience with a narcissist of his own.
Sometimes a truly awful experience can lead you to help a lot of people as I believe he is doing.
I had my own experience with a narcissist boyfriend long before I married my husband. All I had to do was break it off and he was forgotten within a month or two.
We are all going to need fucking therapy when this moron is finally gone. We can't just walk away and we are all being harmed.
Some of us are dying now.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth
MFGsunny
(2,356 posts)... send him 100,000,000 (yes, 100 million) tweets within each of which has at least the one word "SHAME" in it!
He deserves it. Might even do some good (or unhinge him to insanity).
REMEMBER that's 100 million "SHAME" filled tweets.
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)I say lets go for it.
MFGsunny
(2,356 posts)coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)I cannot post on twitter because of where I work. It is in our contracts, employment handbook, etc. that we cannot say or do anything to bring attention to ourselves or the organization we work for. I would worry about being doxxed.
It means I can't bash trump nor can I (if I were stupid enough to be a supporter of his) praise him.
I have to stay neutral. I have a sister in the DOJ in the same boat and I am sure she would love to express her opinion sometimes but she wants to keep her job. I've seen her take both sides -- trained to be neutral -- but she hates trump.
Oh I wish I were already retired. I would have at him every day.
dlk
(11,566 posts)He is completely incapable of being anything more, under any circumstances, even in as dire a situation as the one were facing with COVID-19.
SergeStorms
(19,201 posts)he really doesn't know what to do with himself. For the past 5 years he's been exposed to nothing but ass-kissing morons, and now he doesn't have that. He's like a junkie used to having 5 fixes a day, and all of the sudden he has to go cold turkey. I'm sure he's been watching videos of past rallies, because to have nothing would be too painful. Past videos are his Methadone. He doesn't get the soaring high from them, but at least he's not bending over with cramps and vomiting every 10 minutes either.
Donald Trump is in very unfamiliar territory here. He needs his moronic sycophants, badly. It's said he's already thinking about lifting any bans on gatherings that are in place, because he wants his rallies back so desperately. That's why his stupid "pressers" go on so long and nothing new or helpful is said. He just can't stop talking about himself, and this Chinese/Democratic/Asian/Fake virus is taking away valuable airtime when he could be talking about himself.
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)He is 100% caveman thriving only on seeking praise and avoiding shame.
He has no other personality traits and there is nothing in him worthy of praise.
Me.
(35,454 posts)coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)tinrobot
(10,899 posts)I just hope the governors, the healthcare professionals, and the people of this country continue to do the right thing.
Pacifist Patriot
(24,653 posts)Weeks ago, DeSantis made some early moves that signaled his administration might approach this rationally and get in front of things. That died quickly under the heat of Trump's orange glare - and the green lure of tourist dollars.
My county, which went in excess of 70% to Trump in 2016, is showing even poorer leadership and communication than our state government. So I cannot even rely on local leaders (like those in Palm Coast) to do what is right and necessary.
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2020/03/23/space-coast-officials-criticize-brevard-county-efforts-to-keep-public-informed-about-covid-19/2881233001/
So I have absolutely no public pressure to apply to my boss who is insisting on maintaining normal operations despite having the ability for approximately 90% of our staff to be perfectly effective from home.
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)I'll be part of a skeleton crew that returns to work some time next week.
I don't mind that much. I HATE working from home.