All true, and yet we still don't realize the danger we're all in. I find myself expecting some degree of rational thinking on Hippo Don's part, still. And I recognize that expectation in others, still, something along the lines of: "Finally, he's coming to his senses."
But he won't.
We cannot imagine he'll allow the stock exchanges to drop another 20%. And by the time we can, because it has become a reality, we cannot imagine he'll allow the exchanges to drop another 40%, and until they do we'll count ourselves lucky they've dropped only a mere 30%.
Because the scariest aspect of malignant narcissists, or Grandiose Narcissists as you call them, is that they wear us down. You are right in saying he won't let go of his tariffs. He'll revive them until we're so exhausted that we'll say, and the world will say, in some form or other - fine, have your tariffs.
And then, given that his appetite for domination is insatiable, he'll come up with something else - confiscating the gold reserves other wealthy nations have stashed in the US, incessantly threatening Greenland, or something we haven't even thought of.
Like Hitler, with his 'totalen krieg (total war),' Hippo Don won't even admit defeat if he's literally, and physically dragged from his WH bunker...
Also, and this I find the most fascinating about malignant narcissists, they always find cause, in retrospect, to justify their actions. They never plan for success, because they generally don't have the intellect to understand our world even on a basic conceptual level, but they feed on, and construct success, in retrospect.
An example.
So, Hippo Don is driving the US economy, and with it the World economy, into a recession. Which means the world is going to need and use less oil. And so the oil price is dropping.
Hippo Don didn't foresee this. He didn't plan for this. He didn't strategize for this. But the direct result might be that Putin cannot continue his little war in Ukraine for simple lack of income. And so the result of Hippo Don's destruction will be economic misery around the world - but also the end of the Russian/Ukraine war.
And naturally he'll declare victory. He might even admit he didn't intend to end the war in this way, but then he'll argue that such is his brilliance that he made the right decision unknowingly, because he simply can do no wrong - not even if he wanted to.
Whatever results come from the actions of malignant narcissists while they blunder through life, some inevitably will be positive, especially on the world stage ("Hey, but Hitler did build the German highway system, which benefits the Germans to this day!"), and that, that is what they feed on.
It's not that they continually throw the dice, it's that they throw the dice until it shows a six.
It's not that Hippo Don intends to destroy the American, or World economy, it's not that he actively intends to destroy American Democracy, or the Free Press, or the Rule of Law, because he doesn't understand any of these things, not even on the most basic conceptual level.
It's that he'll continue destroying everything around him until suddenly, there is, somewhere, a positive outcome that'll confirm his own Greatness...
This is a great analysis, however, the night before the pause announcements went into effect, Japan, the largest holder of U.S. debt, starting offloading bonds, driving up the yield to the 5% ceiling, which is the metric where debt repayment becomes unsustainable and counterproductive to lowering interest rates. He capitulated to Japan.
Agreed. But he’ll never admit that capitulation to himself, let alone others.
And so that (actual) capitulation will no doubt eventually be presented as part of his (non-existent) “strategy” — once it’s had time to fester further & metastasize into a malignancy, with subsequent (tactical) lashing out at Japan (and probably others too, Canada & EU coming to mind specifically for what he no doubt sees as our betrayals).
Exactly, and we have Fox correspondents saying Trump took the win. The spin is the danger, because chaos has no limits, as long as it further consolidates power around him.
Though, I would argue Donald Trump does not discriminate against personality disorders 😜. He’s got multiple, and they aren’t just confined to one cluster 🫣
May I posit what is overlooked here is Trump has a complexity of personality disorders other than narcissism. He also wants and needs full control of the narrative and those who hold any portion of power that can control him.
For example, his blatant manipulation of the economy to benefit friends who in turn will die on their sword to keep him in power, and strike fear in businesses and corporations that will be coerced by him to bend the knee and kiss the ring to survive.
It is a strategy to gain control over everyone from the retiree with a small savings to the corporations hobbled by the uncertainty Trump has created. Full submission will be required by Trump who will dole out relief then withdraw it and then dole it out again.
This is abuse on a grand scale. Trump is many things and amongst them is he is an abuser. Abusers present themselves as bigger. They spend every waking moment maintaining an image that is falsely "puffed up" to deflect the truth, which is they are in fact very small and very afraid and can be beaten.
Once you recognize it and then chose to stand up and reject it no matter what that may take the ground literally disappears under their feet, and they panic displaying even more disturbing and threatening behavior.
But don’t be afraid for it is then that you have them in the crosshairs. Stand your ground. You are not alone. We are a morphing quickly into a united front.
For example:
Our judges and state attorney generals and lawyers and politicians and the J6 defenders of the Capitol and civil servants such as the poll workers and others who stood up against Trump despite the cost.
Our allies have stood up to him and united together despite cruel tariffs imposed to control them. Even Ukraine’s President Zelensky has bravely stood up to both Trump and Putin literally fighting two fronts despite the loss of the support of our country in defeating a mutual enemy.
And then there are the law firms being targeted which have stood up to Trump willing to lose all rather than submit to his demands.
And the free press as represented by the AP which stood up to him and won their day in court.
Now it falls to us, WE THE PEOPLE, who are targeted for submission and have been pushed into what feels like a nightmare of shock and awe. It is in fact a strategy to force control and acceptance.
However, as the world watches WE THE PEOPLE have shown up in protest across the nation demonstrating in our unity that we will not surrender. WE THE PEOPLE are the last “check and balance” built into our Constitution that is separate from all other agencies, and very quickly we are becoming aware that WE THE PEOPLE generate a formidable and great power in being united and present.
It is today clear to our allies which support us and our enemy which in truth fears us that resignation does not sit well with Americans. Resistance is in our DNA.
We have inherited from those who came before us spines forged in fire and made of steel and hearts that beat strong for the cause of freedom and human rights and dignity.
Please educate yourself as to the "3.5% Solution" for it is a proven formula to overthrow an autocrat; and then educated and recruit others to join you in protest asking them to invite two more, and those to invite two more, and so on and so on.
The “3.5% Solution” is our pathway to recovering our country and our democracy and anyone who learns of it feels empowered. So pass the word educate and recruit, recruit, recruit, recruit, recruit.
Over the coming weeks and few months, we must hit that "sweet spot" in our protests, which is possible if each of us works with laser focus to meeting it at every single protest going forward. It is attained by showing up and recruiting heavily.
The next nationwide protest is 4/19 the anniversary of The Revolution against a King. Join Indivisible and find your local tribe. Sign up. Show up. Bring two friends! There is something for every one of us to do, including joyous but firm protest by at minimum 3.5% of the overall population. 4/19 is close at hand and there is much for each of us to do post haste.
I agree - the insider trading is most definitely part of it. I'm not sure that was part of his grandiose plan, or if he just benefitted from it, and then took credit for it, as always.
Trump is small and afraid as are all abusers who “puff up” to hide what they know but deflect thru abuse and cowardly power grabs for as individuals they hold no substance or real threat if challenged. We must resist.
Look at all the agencies and even nations and people who have resisted. Now it is our turn to unite and flood the streets. Once done the power we hold but have never had the occasion to use on the scale required to remove the “regime” from power will be tapped.
But we need to show up with the laser focus of meeting in numbers 3.5% of the population at every protest. Sign up with INDIVISIBLE to find your local tribe thru them. There is something for everyone to do; and those physically able to protest must sign up, show up and bring two people with them.
We need to learn about and educate others on the “3.5% Solution” for this is a war declared upon us and our country by one man backed by oligarchs and supported by cowards. In a war the most important part of an attack is knowing the man power needed to “take the next hill” and in this war it is 3.5% of the population, now less. We have little time. It must be done.
Brent: I really appreciate your insightful articles. Thanks for writing. The ubiquitous maga insanity is obvious. That doesn't take a psych degree... but the cruelty & pain they are inflicting around the globe? There’s gotta be a way to STOP this. As you have written, their ego-driven weaknesses are also apparent. So how about a nonviolent psyops directed by pro-Democracy leaders, retired pro-Democracy CIA operatives & military leaders, & other influencers? Start playing chess: peacefully nudge these cruel, bad actors on the brink of insanity into their own self-destruction, so they can stop inflicting pain & terrorizing people around the world.
Hi Jan, thank you so much for reading! And I do like where your head is at. You are right that there's an inherent psychological weakness in MAGA ideology. The reason a palliative psy-op won't work is because engagement-maximizing social media algorithms are conducting the largest psy-op in human history. Moral Foundations Theory posits - correctly, in my view - that outrage content politically activates conservative temperaments (particularly extreme ones) far more than liberal ones. This is why the current GOP is more extreme-conservative than Dem leadership is liberal. We will get absolutely nowhere on breaking the insidious tide until we get rid of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, or at the very least, apply any degree of regulation on digital media platforms by making them accountable for the massive damage their websites have caused. Many members of the GOP are up for this. The Dems need to swallow their pride and set their regulatory strategy to parallel GOP interests on this matter. It would be the best thing to happen to the country in a very long time.
I'm sad to say there are likely no projects like this inside the government. One reason has to do with legal mandates of specific agencies. The CIA, for example, conducts psy-ops, but cannot legally operate inside the US. The FBI can, but they are a law enforcement agency and has a hierarchical culture that more readily subordinates to leadership, no matter who that is. The other reason is that there are no psy-ops that reliably make subjects go insane. Unfortunately, many autocrats around the world have lost their mental faculties but still retained power over their hollowed-out countries thanks to minions around them continuing to enjoy the power and riches of that regime not changing.
Thank you for this perspective, it gives me a much better understanding of his behavior and thinking. While trump is not strategic, he does have people around him who are, like Project 2025, billionaire donors, etc. They understand how to manipulate him by appealing to his narcissistic qualities, and they have every intention of destroying the government to create a world they control. I encourage everyone to learn about Project 2025, Network city-states, Peter Thiel, Curtis Yarvin, and Leonard Leo if they haven’t yet.
This explains why he hasn’t thought this through to the conclusion that other countries will not only put on retaliatory tariffs and sell US Treasury bonds but also look at forming trading partnerships and alliances with countries other than the USA.
In short, Trump can’t play chess, let alone 5 dimensional chess.
Great article! A different perspective that explains a lot.
All true, and yet we still don't realize the danger we're all in. I find myself expecting some degree of rational thinking on Hippo Don's part, still. And I recognize that expectation in others, still, something along the lines of: "Finally, he's coming to his senses."
But he won't.
We cannot imagine he'll allow the stock exchanges to drop another 20%. And by the time we can, because it has become a reality, we cannot imagine he'll allow the exchanges to drop another 40%, and until they do we'll count ourselves lucky they've dropped only a mere 30%.
Because the scariest aspect of malignant narcissists, or Grandiose Narcissists as you call them, is that they wear us down. You are right in saying he won't let go of his tariffs. He'll revive them until we're so exhausted that we'll say, and the world will say, in some form or other - fine, have your tariffs.
And then, given that his appetite for domination is insatiable, he'll come up with something else - confiscating the gold reserves other wealthy nations have stashed in the US, incessantly threatening Greenland, or something we haven't even thought of.
Like Hitler, with his 'totalen krieg (total war),' Hippo Don won't even admit defeat if he's literally, and physically dragged from his WH bunker...
Also, and this I find the most fascinating about malignant narcissists, they always find cause, in retrospect, to justify their actions. They never plan for success, because they generally don't have the intellect to understand our world even on a basic conceptual level, but they feed on, and construct success, in retrospect.
An example.
So, Hippo Don is driving the US economy, and with it the World economy, into a recession. Which means the world is going to need and use less oil. And so the oil price is dropping.
Hippo Don didn't foresee this. He didn't plan for this. He didn't strategize for this. But the direct result might be that Putin cannot continue his little war in Ukraine for simple lack of income. And so the result of Hippo Don's destruction will be economic misery around the world - but also the end of the Russian/Ukraine war.
And naturally he'll declare victory. He might even admit he didn't intend to end the war in this way, but then he'll argue that such is his brilliance that he made the right decision unknowingly, because he simply can do no wrong - not even if he wanted to.
Whatever results come from the actions of malignant narcissists while they blunder through life, some inevitably will be positive, especially on the world stage ("Hey, but Hitler did build the German highway system, which benefits the Germans to this day!"), and that, that is what they feed on.
It's not that they continually throw the dice, it's that they throw the dice until it shows a six.
It's not that Hippo Don intends to destroy the American, or World economy, it's not that he actively intends to destroy American Democracy, or the Free Press, or the Rule of Law, because he doesn't understand any of these things, not even on the most basic conceptual level.
It's that he'll continue destroying everything around him until suddenly, there is, somewhere, a positive outcome that'll confirm his own Greatness...
This is a great analysis, however, the night before the pause announcements went into effect, Japan, the largest holder of U.S. debt, starting offloading bonds, driving up the yield to the 5% ceiling, which is the metric where debt repayment becomes unsustainable and counterproductive to lowering interest rates. He capitulated to Japan.
Agreed. But he’ll never admit that capitulation to himself, let alone others.
And so that (actual) capitulation will no doubt eventually be presented as part of his (non-existent) “strategy” — once it’s had time to fester further & metastasize into a malignancy, with subsequent (tactical) lashing out at Japan (and probably others too, Canada & EU coming to mind specifically for what he no doubt sees as our betrayals).
Exactly, and we have Fox correspondents saying Trump took the win. The spin is the danger, because chaos has no limits, as long as it further consolidates power around him.
“Chaos has no limits”
Beautifully said.
The physics grad in me feels compelled to say: well akshually, the eventual heat death of the universe is the effective limit of entropic chaos.
But of course, we don’t have nearly that long to save freedom.
Elbows up, Diane! 💪💪🇨🇦
Yesssss to all of this.
Though, I would argue Donald Trump does not discriminate against personality disorders 😜. He’s got multiple, and they aren’t just confined to one cluster 🫣
😅
I don’t know if you are right that this personality disorder precludes military actions. The military parade is a very ominous sign
A bipartisan question. Are we safe with this lying, incompetent National Security team and without our cybersecurity experts?
Make Americans Secure.
May I posit what is overlooked here is Trump has a complexity of personality disorders other than narcissism. He also wants and needs full control of the narrative and those who hold any portion of power that can control him.
For example, his blatant manipulation of the economy to benefit friends who in turn will die on their sword to keep him in power, and strike fear in businesses and corporations that will be coerced by him to bend the knee and kiss the ring to survive.
It is a strategy to gain control over everyone from the retiree with a small savings to the corporations hobbled by the uncertainty Trump has created. Full submission will be required by Trump who will dole out relief then withdraw it and then dole it out again.
This is abuse on a grand scale. Trump is many things and amongst them is he is an abuser. Abusers present themselves as bigger. They spend every waking moment maintaining an image that is falsely "puffed up" to deflect the truth, which is they are in fact very small and very afraid and can be beaten.
Once you recognize it and then chose to stand up and reject it no matter what that may take the ground literally disappears under their feet, and they panic displaying even more disturbing and threatening behavior.
But don’t be afraid for it is then that you have them in the crosshairs. Stand your ground. You are not alone. We are a morphing quickly into a united front.
For example:
Our judges and state attorney generals and lawyers and politicians and the J6 defenders of the Capitol and civil servants such as the poll workers and others who stood up against Trump despite the cost.
Our allies have stood up to him and united together despite cruel tariffs imposed to control them. Even Ukraine’s President Zelensky has bravely stood up to both Trump and Putin literally fighting two fronts despite the loss of the support of our country in defeating a mutual enemy.
And then there are the law firms being targeted which have stood up to Trump willing to lose all rather than submit to his demands.
And the free press as represented by the AP which stood up to him and won their day in court.
Now it falls to us, WE THE PEOPLE, who are targeted for submission and have been pushed into what feels like a nightmare of shock and awe. It is in fact a strategy to force control and acceptance.
However, as the world watches WE THE PEOPLE have shown up in protest across the nation demonstrating in our unity that we will not surrender. WE THE PEOPLE are the last “check and balance” built into our Constitution that is separate from all other agencies, and very quickly we are becoming aware that WE THE PEOPLE generate a formidable and great power in being united and present.
It is today clear to our allies which support us and our enemy which in truth fears us that resignation does not sit well with Americans. Resistance is in our DNA.
We have inherited from those who came before us spines forged in fire and made of steel and hearts that beat strong for the cause of freedom and human rights and dignity.
Please educate yourself as to the "3.5% Solution" for it is a proven formula to overthrow an autocrat; and then educated and recruit others to join you in protest asking them to invite two more, and those to invite two more, and so on and so on.
The “3.5% Solution” is our pathway to recovering our country and our democracy and anyone who learns of it feels empowered. So pass the word educate and recruit, recruit, recruit, recruit, recruit.
Over the coming weeks and few months, we must hit that "sweet spot" in our protests, which is possible if each of us works with laser focus to meeting it at every single protest going forward. It is attained by showing up and recruiting heavily.
The next nationwide protest is 4/19 the anniversary of The Revolution against a King. Join Indivisible and find your local tribe. Sign up. Show up. Bring two friends! There is something for every one of us to do, including joyous but firm protest by at minimum 3.5% of the overall population. 4/19 is close at hand and there is much for each of us to do post haste.
I agree - the insider trading is most definitely part of it. I'm not sure that was part of his grandiose plan, or if he just benefitted from it, and then took credit for it, as always.
Trump is small and afraid as are all abusers who “puff up” to hide what they know but deflect thru abuse and cowardly power grabs for as individuals they hold no substance or real threat if challenged. We must resist.
Look at all the agencies and even nations and people who have resisted. Now it is our turn to unite and flood the streets. Once done the power we hold but have never had the occasion to use on the scale required to remove the “regime” from power will be tapped.
But we need to show up with the laser focus of meeting in numbers 3.5% of the population at every protest. Sign up with INDIVISIBLE to find your local tribe thru them. There is something for everyone to do; and those physically able to protest must sign up, show up and bring two people with them.
We need to learn about and educate others on the “3.5% Solution” for this is a war declared upon us and our country by one man backed by oligarchs and supported by cowards. In a war the most important part of an attack is knowing the man power needed to “take the next hill” and in this war it is 3.5% of the population, now less. We have little time. It must be done.
Brent: I really appreciate your insightful articles. Thanks for writing. The ubiquitous maga insanity is obvious. That doesn't take a psych degree... but the cruelty & pain they are inflicting around the globe? There’s gotta be a way to STOP this. As you have written, their ego-driven weaknesses are also apparent. So how about a nonviolent psyops directed by pro-Democracy leaders, retired pro-Democracy CIA operatives & military leaders, & other influencers? Start playing chess: peacefully nudge these cruel, bad actors on the brink of insanity into their own self-destruction, so they can stop inflicting pain & terrorizing people around the world.
@do-no-harm1.bsky.social @indivisiblelasvegas.org
Hi Jan, thank you so much for reading! And I do like where your head is at. You are right that there's an inherent psychological weakness in MAGA ideology. The reason a palliative psy-op won't work is because engagement-maximizing social media algorithms are conducting the largest psy-op in human history. Moral Foundations Theory posits - correctly, in my view - that outrage content politically activates conservative temperaments (particularly extreme ones) far more than liberal ones. This is why the current GOP is more extreme-conservative than Dem leadership is liberal. We will get absolutely nowhere on breaking the insidious tide until we get rid of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, or at the very least, apply any degree of regulation on digital media platforms by making them accountable for the massive damage their websites have caused. Many members of the GOP are up for this. The Dems need to swallow their pride and set their regulatory strategy to parallel GOP interests on this matter. It would be the best thing to happen to the country in a very long time.
I'm sad to say there are likely no projects like this inside the government. One reason has to do with legal mandates of specific agencies. The CIA, for example, conducts psy-ops, but cannot legally operate inside the US. The FBI can, but they are a law enforcement agency and has a hierarchical culture that more readily subordinates to leadership, no matter who that is. The other reason is that there are no psy-ops that reliably make subjects go insane. Unfortunately, many autocrats around the world have lost their mental faculties but still retained power over their hollowed-out countries thanks to minions around them continuing to enjoy the power and riches of that regime not changing.
Here's the best explanation of Moral Foundations Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=8SOQduoLgRw&t=6s
And here's a story of bipartisan work to regulate social media: https://www.npr.org/2023/05/15/1176230830/bipartisan-senators-try-to-regulate-social-media-will-they-succeed
Thanks for the links.
And thanks for listening. Some days it just feels hard to breathe.
I know. It’s really overwhelming right now. But positive action punctuated with vigorous self care will get us through.
Thank you for this perspective, it gives me a much better understanding of his behavior and thinking. While trump is not strategic, he does have people around him who are, like Project 2025, billionaire donors, etc. They understand how to manipulate him by appealing to his narcissistic qualities, and they have every intention of destroying the government to create a world they control. I encourage everyone to learn about Project 2025, Network city-states, Peter Thiel, Curtis Yarvin, and Leonard Leo if they haven’t yet.
On the positive side, the fact that they are having problems exposes soft spots that we can push. https://jacobin.com/2025/04/trump-tariffs-gop-lawsuit-congress
A brief lesson on FREE TRADE and where Americans stand today:
https://youtube.com/shorts/fULb-fQE8T8?si=gU7Q69NybwVW7OfV
Finally. People are waking up to his narcissism.
This explains why he hasn’t thought this through to the conclusion that other countries will not only put on retaliatory tariffs and sell US Treasury bonds but also look at forming trading partnerships and alliances with countries other than the USA.
In short, Trump can’t play chess, let alone 5 dimensional chess.
He’s so shitty at everything he does that pulling off being a fascist dictator appears to be just another Agent Orange failure!
🤡😎