What's in it for me?
Third in a three-part series
To begin the final article in this series, here are a few of Tony Schwartz’s notes about Trump. Recall that Mr. Schwartz was the ghostwriter for Trump’s “The Art of the Deal.” I cannot verify the accuracy of his journal, nor can anyone else. Thus, this section takes Schwartz at his word. I do so, because Schwartz began his ghostwriting project a long time ago as a somewhat neutral observer, certainly not one of disdain for or dislike of Trump. Nonetheless, it is not necessary to rely only on Schwartz. This section also provides statements Donald has made publicly.
Schwartz describes patterns of consistent, ongoing behavior that a rational American citizen should not want exhibited in the President of the United States. Not temporary mood swings, but compulsive behavior that appears to be part of his personality.
This seems to be one reason he appears unable to focus on much of anything for an extended period. He has no attention span. One can imagine him sitting as President in the situation room being briefed about a crisis and responding with platitudes. We all resort to clichés and platitudes. They are part of ongoing human discourse. But I ask you to decide if these quotes from Trump — publicly uttered, not at a private poker game — give you pause:
• “You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass.”
• “All of the women on ‘The Apprentice’ flirted with me — consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.”
• “The beauty of me is that I’m very rich.”
• “I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
• “I think the only difference between me and the other candidates is that I’m more honest and my women are more beautiful.”
• “The point is, you can never be too greedy.”
• “Look at those hands, are they small hands? And, [Republican rival Marco Rubio] referred to my hands: ‘If they’re small, something else must be small.’ I guarantee you there’s no problem. I guarantee.”
• “I will build a great wall — and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me — and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”
• “If I were running ‘The View,’ I’d fire Rosie O’Donnell. I mean, I’d look at her right in that fat, ugly face of hers, I’d say ‘Rosie, you’re fired.’”
• “Lyin’ Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania [Trump’s wife] from a shoot in his ad [a political advertisement]. Be careful, Lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!”
Consulting the list of narcissistic Presidents (the first article of this series), where would you place Donald Trump? For this writer, he is at the top of the list. Does this ranking disqualify him from being considered for the presidency? Of course not, but Trump’s narcissistic behavior is so compulsive and extreme that the latest polls show the public is growing uneasy about the man.
Thus, returning to the central point of this article: In view of Trump’s near certain defeat (as of this writing) because of his behavior, can he change himself? In other words, can he demonstrate he does not exhibit narcissistic personality disorder? If he cannot change his behavior, I believe he should not be the next American President.
But here is the conundrum that might face the American voter. Assume Trump indeed “turns around” and even with his narcissism, exhibits some of the leadership characteristics of another extreme narcissist but highly successful president, Theodore Roosevelt. I think it likely that moderate Democrats, anti-Hillary factions, and pro-Bernie groups, as well as the vast majority of Republicans, might move to his side. If so, has he proven to have a born again personality or has he simply altered his external persona to satisfy his narcissistic needs — still looking in the reflecting water and chuckling to himself about his genius?
Approach to politics, approach to life
In conclusion, I cite two more Theodore Roosevelt’s quotes about politics, or for that matter, life. Red or blue, conservative or liberal, rich or poor, we citizens should reflect on Teddy’s idea when we cast our vote for the next President: “The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency.”
If Donald Trump continues to alienate the general populace and his political allies, he might someday reflect on another of Theodore’s thoughts: “If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”
As of this writing, it is probable that Donald Trump will fade from the scene, but not his followers, who have complaints that they believe are not being addressed by the country’s leaders. Trump has said he will tone-down his vitriol, but he also said he was not sure that is what his followers want him to do.
Do his supporters suffer from massive narcissism? No, they suffer from their experience of a stagnation of living standards, unemployment, and repressed wages while 1 percent of the population continues accumulating even more of America’s wealth.
However, what many Americans seem not to know is that most of the world’s modern economies are suffering from the same problems we face: dislocation of jobs and massive unemployment. America’s statistics, in comparison to that of the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of South America, are glowing.
Nonetheless, Donald Trump has addressed a variety of major problems facing America. As said, I agree with some of them. But after much reflection about the character of this man, I cannot bring myself to support his candidacy.
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Uyless Black is a prolific researcher and professional writer whose undergraduate degree is in psychology. He later obtained graduate degrees in computer systems as well as money and banking. He resides in Coeur d’Alene.