Trump's Defining Trait. It's his insecurity. Why that should frighten us all.

[DonViejo]

By Jamelle Bouie

Each president brings with him more than just his agenda to Washington. He also brings personal qualities, those traits of character that shape and define his time in office as much as any event or policy. For Barack Obama, that quality was a confidence—or, critics might say, aloofness—exemplified by the nickname “No Drama Obama.” For George W. Bush, it was a resolve that crossed into stubborn rigidity. For Bill Clinton, a malleability that sometimes—or even often—skirted principle.

Donald Trump has just three months in office, but even now, we can see what he brings to the White House. Not the strength or mastery he works to project with every public appearance, but its opposite: insecurity. As president, Trump is profoundly insecure: insecure about his electoral victory, insecure about his public standing, and insecure about his progress as chief executive.

President Trump’s smothering insecurity is evident in his recent interview with the Associated Press. Throughout the long and meandering exchange, Trump repeatedly turns from questions of policy and program to the obsessions and insecurities that seem to consume his attention. When asked, for example, if he’ll reject a bill to fund the government if it doesn’t include funding for a border wall, Trump pivots from the issue at hand to a discussion of the Electoral College. “You know, it’s funny. The Democrats, they have a big advantage in the Electoral College,” said Trump, later adding that “the Electoral College is very difficult for a Republican to win.”

This focus on the Electoral College—and how difficult it’s supposed to be for Republican presidential candidates—is a regular tic for Trump. “You know, look, the Democrats had a tremendous opportunity because the Electoral College, as I said, is so skewed to them,” said Trump in response to questions about his White House team. “The Electoral College is so skewed in favor of a Democrat that it’s very, very hard.”

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http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/04/donald_trump_s_defining_trait_his_insecurity.html

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. He is simply the single most dangerous person we could have put in this position.

We actually ASKED for this, even though he lost the election he should have never got anywhere near close enough.

[hurple]

7. no.

Close, but I can think of a few people even more dangerous.

[PJMcK]

2. Great column!

It's well-written and doesn't take an insulting tone. Instead, Mr. Bouie sticks to an objective tone.

Thanks for that, DonViejo! Enjoy your evening.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Insecurity is the flip side of narcissism.

A narcissist needs and demands constant attention and approval. Most people can manage to get through life without having to be reminded every minute of the day how awesome they are, but not a narcissist like Dolt 45. He holds "rallies" every few weeks just so he can bask in the love of adoring crowds; other presidents, once elected, just got down to business. Even Hitler held his Nuremberg rallies only once a year; I don't think Trump could survive that long without one. And if somebody isn't actively kissing his ass at any given moment, he proceeds to kiss his own, just to tell himself that all the other world leaders love him and his inauguration crowd was the biggest ever.

Nobody is more pathetically needy and insecure than a narcissist.

[Maeve]

4. That and his tiny hands...

[Motley13]

5. spot on, he knows he unfit for the job & hopes to bluff his way through

unfortunately at our expense. He has bluffed his way his entire life & now this is the biggest bluff of all.

[dalton99a]

6. Trump is a con man, a fake, a phony, a fraud

Mitt Romney said it best