Malignant narcissism is a psychological syndrome that combines narcissism, anti-social behavior, aggression, and sadism. Throughout his presidency, Trump has disparaged and acted aggressively towards segments of the population without showing any sign of empathy, concern, or remorse. Whenever he is confronted about his aggressive treatment of immigrants, Democrats, minorities, or anyone who opposes him he expresses no compassion or willingness to change his abusive behavior. His treatment of President-elect Joe Biden during the transition of power reveals Trump suffers from this extreme form of narcissism.
On November 20, 2020, CNN contributor Zachary B. Wolf analyzed how Trump is making things difficult for Biden as his inauguration approaches. By spreading the lie that Joe Biden stole the election, Trump is damaging faith in our democratic elections and demonizing Biden in the eyes of Republican voters. Keeping the country divided by the party is part of Trump’s plan to stay politically relevant and possibly run for president in 2024. Wolf writes “With the firings at the Pentagon, inaction on the economy, and denial about the pandemic, Trump is undercutting President-elect Joe Biden and harming the American people. Additionally, Wolf says from a foreign affairs perspective Trump “is setting so many fires, it will be difficult for Biden to put them all out. Wolf sites aggressive acts that expose Trump’s psychologically disordered motives such as;
-Pulling troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq
– Rushing through an arms sale that could damage the balance of power in the Middle East
-Planning a last-minute crackdown on China
– Hinting at a last-minute strike against Iran
– Building a wall of sanctions to block Biden’s ability to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal
These are a few of the possible actions being suggested Trump might take before he leaves office. His pathological vindictiveness is causing him to compromise the standing and success of Biden because he cannot fathom how badly that success could make him look. Narcissists are extremely insecure. To defend against shame and fear of humiliation, they are driven to harm and diminish others to elevate themselves.
Trump’s massive, baseless attacks on the election results has done damage to the democratic process, duped millions of voters to lose trust in our elections, attempted to delegitimize Joe Biden’s presidency, and compromised national security. Throughout his presidency, Trump has taken actions that reveal his lack of understanding and disrespect for the Constitution. The most important expectation American voters should have of any president is that they understand the contents of the Constitution. How can a president defend and believe in a document they haven’t read or don’t thoroughly comprehend? An understanding of the first four articles of the Constitution exposes the countless ways Trump has violated what the Constitution intends.
ARTICLE I bestows upon Congress the legislative powers to manage taxing, budgets, and oversight of the executive branch. Congress also establishes post offices and declares wars. No money can be taken from the U.S. Treasury without appropriations made by Congress.
ARTICLE II outlines the powers of the executive branch. The president’s only source of income is limited to his/her official salary. The president is sworn to preserve, defend, and protect the Constitution. He/she is also Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and appoints judges, ambassadors and makes sure laws are faithfully executed.
ARTICLE III vests the judicial power in a Supreme Court and lower courts.
ARTICLE IV states the president will protect the states against invasion only with the approval of the state’s legislature or executive against domestic violence.
An August 2020 article in the Gila Herald outlined the many ways Trump has violated the Constitution. He has used the “America First” slogan to deflect attention from his anti-constitutional actions. A few of the many rules of law violations he made are:
-He has taken money from the treasury which was not appropriated to build a wall on the southern border.
-He violated the Writ of Habeus Corpus by allowing the detention of people by unidentified persons acting as law enforcement during the racial injustice demonstrations.
-He has received personal remuneration from the secret service and foreign governments for staying at his properties.
-He refused to honor a judge’s order to release children from detention centers.
He has defied the checks and balances aspect of our democracy by ignoring congressional subpoenas.
-He refused to follow the Supreme Courts orders on the DACA program
– He aided an enemy of the United States by refusing to intervene after credible intelligence revealed Russia put bounties on American soldiers in Afghanistan.
People who suffer from narcissism and sociopathy are skilled at manipulation and are capable of convincing people they care about them and can be trusted. Trump has used his skill set in branding himself as an all-knowing, compassionate super-patriot whose behavioral differences from former presidents are legal, ethical, and promote democracy. Eventually, the malignant narcissist will fall victim to their grandiosity and sabotage the power and adoration they crave.
America will start healing on January 20th, 2021 when a man without mental health problems steps in to run the government with competence, compassion, and the ability to unite the divide in America that Trump has worsened.
