WaPo on psychological aspect of Trump's paper hoarding. Odd and weird. (gifted article, no paywall)

[Grasswire2]

[link:https://wapo.st/3Rf6h9t|

excerpts:

When I interviewed candidate Trump in early 2016 aboard his private 757, the pile of disorganized paper on his desk made a striking contrast to the pristine white leather seats and gold-colored hardware. An even larger mess rode in the seat next to him — thousands of pages in all.

snip

As the plane lifted its nose into the air, gravity pulled at the paper, and — as Trump muttered an expletive and tried in vain to stop it — the heap spilled fries-first into his lap. Though the scene was worthy of Buster Keaton, I managed to stifle a laugh, and instead wondered why this man traveled with Fibber McGee’s closet in the first place.

Indeed, Trump did not read anything from the paper piles. Several times during the flight he plucked a news clipping or report seemingly at random from the stack and peered at it with a puzzled look. Then he tossed it back onto the pile. The sequence repeated every five or 10 minutes until I understood completely why many in Trump’s orbit believe he is dyslexic.

But if the mass of material was not to be read, what purpose did it serve?

It was a prop, as much a part of the never-ending Trump Show as the make-believe coat-of-arms he had embossed on each leather seat. The mountain of paper showed how very busy and important its owner was.

This became clear as the candidate began rummaging through the pile for various proofs of his own fame and lovability. He dug down about three inches to unearth an 8-by-10-inch photograph of the late pop superstar Michael Jackson. “Do you know who this is?” he asked improbably. “A very good friend of mine,” he answered himself.


more at link

[Ocelot II]

1. I think there's an element of truth to this, but it still doesn't address the question

of what TFG intended to do with the documents. While it's possible, considering his pathology, that he thought of them as "props" that would made him look really important, props are useless unless you can show them to someone else. Someone has to see the props or else TFG wouldn't be able to feel like the King of the World by having them around them. So, we have to consider that even if he didn't actually sell them, he must have at least showed them to someone. The national security issue has to do with whether someone besides TFG saw, bought, or otherwise acquired them or the information in them, irrespective of TFG's motives.

And anyhow, no matter whether they were classified, he wasn't entitled to take them at all.

[frazzled]

2. Even if so, not an excuse

Taking those papers from the White House is a crime, and obstructing their requested return is a big crime. Doesn’t matter if he read them or not, or even if he can’t read. We always knew he was an idiot and a slob, so nothing surprising here.

[yonder]

3. Remember these? More props and very likely full of blank sheets.

I always thought it would've been fun for a reporter or cameraman to do a Chevy Chase style flop into that table to expose tfg's prop propensity for what it was. Phoney baloney fraudster is what he is, always was and always will be.

[Demsrule86]

4. I don't believe these excuses for Trump...he was selling these documents and using them

to make money.

[JHB]

6. I don't think it is an excuse so much as an explanation of why he...

....kept boxes and boxes of physical evidence on hand rather than making copies back when he was in office, or afterward, making more portable copies and then destroying the hardcopies to "sanitize" his his hands. Even after he knew people were sniffing around about them.

I don't think for a minute that he hasn't been using them for money and/or leverage, but it also completely tracks with his entire life that he needs his trophies to tell himself and other people how important he is.

[ultralite001]

5. RTumpian cosplay...

1995...



That is all...

[nclib]

7. Maybe he likes to pretend he's still president.

And having important papers makes it seem more real. Or he thinks they are his because he's convinced himself he is president.

[salin]

8. Mrs. Flustered talks t "Trump" like a Kindergartner (and talks of "playing" president.)

If you haven't seen her videos - they are worth a watch. Hilarious.

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

[nclib]

9. That's great!

Exactly what he needs.

[salin]

10. Oops wrong name: "mrs frazzled". Agree these are great.

He needs it, and we need comic relief in the face of this era and episode within it.