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Wed Sep 9, 2020, 03:16 PM

Hstch05 (202 posts)

Stupid or Evil?

For years, I've been wrestling with the basic question; is Trump stupid or is he evil? Does he just not know any better, like some privileged beast rutting his way through life or is he truly a monster who knows the difference between right and wrong and just doesn't care?
Lately, after reading Mary Trump's book, I was shifting towards stupid. He was so stunted by his father that he just never stood a chance, and grew up in an echo chamber that rewarded all of his worst qualities.
But today, after the Woodward revelations, I have no doubt. He's evil. And really, that's the only word for him. Sociopath, malignant narcissist, put all the psychological terms behind it that you want, but at his core, he really is just...evil.

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17 replies	Author	Time	Post
Stupid or Evil? (Original post)	Hstch05	Sep 2020	OP
A bit of both-- one supporting the other.	TreasonousBastard	Sep 2020	#1
He's both. He's a very talented dude.	elevator	Sep 2020	#2
The conditions are not mutually exclusive	Miguelito Loveless	Sep 2020	#3
Conniving. And evil.	Alliepoo	Sep 2020	#4
It's possible to be both. It's even possible to be stupid, evil and crazy	The Velveteen Ocelot	Sep 2020	#5
Utterly dark self absorbed evil!!	Thekaspervote	Sep 2020	#6
He's evil and stupid	In It to Win It	Sep 2020	#7
Evil is what happens when a person with no conscience attempts to	Mike 03	Sep 2020	#8
A book that has really helped me understand this, because it is	Mike 03	Sep 2020	#9
Both.	tblue37	Sep 2020	#10
It's not an "either/or". There can be	COLGATE4	Sep 2020	#11
Yes	Zorro	Sep 2020	#12
Just dangerous to the country and the well-being of Americans.	imanamerican63	Sep 2020	#13
I'd go with "and." A rocket scientist doesn't say this on tape. n/t.	NNadir	Sep 2020	#14
Psychopath is the word you are searching for	Klaralven	Sep 2020	#15
Demented/Vindictive and Petty. Bad seed.	SammyWinstonJack	Sep 2020	#16
Evil to the core...	Claire Oh Nette	Sep 2020	#17

Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 03:18 PM

TreasonousBastard (41,879 posts)

1. A bit of both-- one supporting the other.

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 03:18 PM

elevator (415 posts)

2. He's both. He's a very talented dude.

He's also always wrong..... a triple whammy.

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 03:18 PM

Miguelito Loveless (4,159 posts)

3. The conditions are not mutually exclusive

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 03:20 PM

Alliepoo (1,914 posts)

4. Conniving. And evil.

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 03:20 PM

The Velveteen Ocelot (105,649 posts)

5. It's possible to be both. It's even possible to be stupid, evil and crazy

all at the same time. Trump's upbringing certainly warped him badly, but the other siblings didn't turn out like him (especially Freddie), even if they weren't totally wonderful people. I don't know exactly where evil comes from; I'll leave that to philosophers, psychologists and theologians. But if I ever saw an example of it in real time, he's it (like a Supreme Court justice once said about porn, I can't define it but I know it when I see it).

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 03:21 PM

Thekaspervote (28,630 posts)

6. Utterly dark self absorbed evil!!

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 03:22 PM

In It to Win It (5,211 posts)

7. He's evil and stupid

He’s evil partially because he’s stupid.

He’s willfully stupid. He’s goes out of his way not to learn anything.

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 03:37 PM

Mike 03 (16,616 posts)

8. Evil is what happens when a person with no conscience attempts to

gratify himself, build himself up and evade responsibility for his actions. Sometimes his motive is revenge, or to hurt people who don't like him, or a desperation to please people who he owes a favor or who he perceives to have equal or greater status (i.e., Putin, Kim, Erdogan).

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 03:40 PM

Mike 03 (16,616 posts)

9. A book that has really helped me understand this, because it is

fascinating and a question many people wrestle with at some point during their lives (questions about the nature of evil and human criminal behavior) is Alone with the Devil by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Ronald Markman. It's an old book but it stands the test of time, and it approaches this question from both the legal and psychiatric perspective.

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 04:09 PM

tblue37 (57,220 posts)

10. Both.

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 05:26 PM

COLGATE4 (14,732 posts)

11. It's not an "either/or". There can be

both in a person and Trumpy embodies that. He's phenomenally stupid and evil as fuck, too.

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 05:27 PM

Zorro (14,709 posts)

12. Yes

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 05:28 PM

imanamerican63 (12,424 posts)

13. Just dangerous to the country and the well-being of Americans.

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 05:29 PM

NNadir (30,757 posts)

14. I'd go with "and." A rocket scientist doesn't say this on tape. n/t.

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 05:34 PM

Klaralven (7,510 posts)

15. Psychopath is the word you are searching for

"Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is traditionally a personality disorder characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy

He is unable or fearful to act out his full predilections, epitomized by his admiration for Kim's murder of his uncle. At least, so far.

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 05:55 PM

SammyWinstonJack (44,095 posts)

16. Demented/Vindictive and Petty. Bad seed.

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Response to Hstch05 (Original post)

Wed Sep 9, 2020, 06:19 PM

Claire Oh Nette (2,636 posts)

17. Evil to the core...

He is Reagan all over. Ignoring the AIDS crisis because he, too, thought viruses cared who their hosts schtuped. Ignorance and bigotry and single minded focus on the stock market and investment bankers is truly evil in a civil servant. Or, you know, human being.

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