President Donald Trump suffers from serious mental disorders that seem to completely control his actions and reactions. Armed with the awesome power of presidency of the only superpower in the world makes him the most dangerous person on earth.
Trump has openly displayed his mental disorder on a daily basis for four years – and probably because his mental problem is on TV and the print media it has become accepted as “normal” and not shocking. But not to the Mental Health Community – over 60,000 mental health professionals openly rebelled against the long respected “Goldwater Rule” from the American Psychiatric Association which states “Psychologists should not offer a diagnosis in the media of a living public figure they have not examined.” They were, however, motivated by their knowledge of the seriousness of the mental illness and what Trump might do with all his power as president if he felt trapped and humiliated. Their petition reads:
“We the undersigned mental health professionals, believe in our professional judgment that Donald Trump manifests a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States. And we respectfully request he be removed from office, according to article 4 of the 25th amendment to the Constitution, which states that the president will be replaced if he is ‘unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.'” This has gone unheeded by the Republican Senate, which refused to approve the House action for impeachment.
The general public does not seem to share the concerns and fears of the mental health professionals. 74,223,251 Americans voted for Trump on November 3rd. Although there are Trump supporters who say they know he is a liar without morals but remain his strong supporters, the majority like most Americans are not familiar with his mental illness. This lack of a plan to educate Americans to become fully aware of Trump’s mental sickness is basically irresponsible, if our goal is to protect our democracy. Americans must get to know Trump for what and who he is. Just as in the early 1950s Senator Joseph McCarthy used fear, falsehoods and belligerence to become arguably the most powerful man in the U.S. — until he was exposed for what he was by courageous defenders of American democracy like Edward R. Murrow, a CBS News host, and Margaret Chase Smith, who was the first senator to denounce McCarthy’s tactics with her “Declaration of Conscience” speech on the senate floor. Trump can be likewise exposed by making the public aware of the seriousness of his mental illness.
So let’s begin by identifying what has long been described as Trump’s mental problem: A combination of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and Antisocial Personality Disorder.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association defines Narcissistic Personality Disorder as a personality characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance. An excessive need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. There are a lot of other traits and behaviors including arrogance, callousness, and envy and is associated with a preoccupation with power, prestige and vanity; other negative characteristic include “grandiosity” and a disdain and lack of empathy for others. This condition is also characterized by exploitation behavior to achieve personal gain, exaggeration of skills and accomplishments and intolerance of the views of others. Pathological narcissism is also associated with the derogation and insults of others and an inability to tolerate disagreements and criticisms, and even the most minor slights and humiliation.
Antisocial Personality Behavior Disorder involves a pattern of disregard for, and violation of rights of others and also includes such negative characteristics as deceitfulness as indicated by continuous lying or conning and manipulation of others, aggressiveness and consistent irresponsibility. According to the Manual, narcissistic and anti-social personality disorder can overlap with each other including in terms of lack of remorse and disregard for the wishes, rights and feelings of others and even co-exist as in Megalomania.
It is essential that Trump’s mental state be the major topic of discussion on TV and the print media to replace the political analysis that has monopolized the media the past four years. In overcoming the Trump mystic we must be inundated with mental health professionals rather than political analysts. And there is a pool of over 60,000 mental health professionals ready to be interviewed — to scientifically explain that his mental illness prevents him from having empathy for the 230,000 Americans who have died from the pandemic. And why instead of remorse and guilt for encouraging Americans to ignore proven safety measures, he glories in his power to have millions of Americans willing to die for him. And he has publicly sworn to use his “power” to disrupt the Biden administration, and remain as the major force in determining America’s future. He obviously believes his removal from office will have little effect on his supporters and the business and government officials he controls.
And he has unswerving confidence in his god-like ability to lie, con, and manipulate groups and people to love, trust and follow him — even to their death.
Only the mass – public education of Donald Trump’s mental problem can Trump be exposed for who and what he is — and his personal action, especially since his election loss, will reveal a dangerously ill person.
Trump Will Lose Election — And Democrats Will Take Credit For The Win!!!
My previous blog was released over 4 months ago. I complained then that the American public as a whole did not seem to have connected his erratic behavior with his dangerously deteriorating mental illness. The media and especially the Democrats needed to greatly improve their ability to reach out to the public on a daily basis and show his actions as related to his purported mental illness. Four months ago there was an active public interest in the President’s mental state. And approximately 60,000 mental health professionals collectively diagnosed Trump with a type of insanity that induces a lack of honesty and impulse control. The Psychiatric Community stated that he suffers from “Malignant Narcissism” which is basically a combination of Anti-Social Personality Disorder, Paranoid Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Their conclusion is based on the hundreds of hours of Trump’s on-camera dialogue and off-the-cuff public speaking. These tens of thousand of mental health professionals were motivated to act by their knowledge of the seriousness of the mental illness and what Trump might do with all his power as president if he felt trapped and humiliated.
So what’s happened in the past four months? Trump’s mental health has deteriorated to an extremely dangerous level. On June 1st in Washington D.C. — federal law enforcement deployed riot control tactics and munitions against non-violent protesters to clear a path for President Trump to walk from the White House to the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church for a brief photo op to have his photo taken in front of the church holding a bible. Days later, anonymous federal troops began to appear on D.C. streets. Also, tactical teams from 16 different federal agencies were deployed in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Miami, Detroit, Port Huron, St. Louis, Buffalo, NYC, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Seattle, Tacoma. In July federal forces were deployed in Portland, Oregon as part of PACT, where the use of unmarked cars and officers in camouflage w/o identification badges generated a national outcry. These deployment has been met with lawsuits, rebukes and concerns over constitutionality. The chairs of House Committees on Homeland Security, Judicial, and Oversight and Reform authored a joint letter calling for an investigation — as “Citizens are concerned that the Administration has deployed a secret police force, not to investigate crimes, but to intimidate individuals they view as political adversaries. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was troubled by reports of unidentified officers in military garbs. A vice-president of the National Guild of Lawyers stated, “It’s like stop and frisk meets Guantanamo Bay . . . It sounds more like abduction. It sounds like they’re kidnapping people off the streets.” Portland Mayor, Oregon Governor and its two U.S. Senators, protested Trump’s totally unexpected and unnecessary deployment of federal forces and demanded they be withdrawn.
Department of Homeland Securities Acting Secretary Chad Wolf dismissed criticism saying, “I don’t need invitations from the state, state mayors or state governors to do our job. We’re going to do that, whether they like us there or not.” House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer, released a statement saying, ” In deploying federal law enforcement to patrol American cities like Portland and Chicago and silence those exercising their 1st Amendment rights, Donald Trump is drawing from the playbook of the worst dictators of the past century . . . he is perpetuating a myth of disorder and mob violence – which is not occurring – to justify his deployment of heavily armed, anonymous, military- style agents into our communities who pull peaceful citizens into unmarked vehicles and detain them without lawful cause. These actions are never justified in what is supposed to be the world’s greatest and freest republic.” The House Judiciary Chair said, ” The legal basis for the use of force has never been explained — it is not at all clear that the Attorney General and the Acting Secretary are authorized to deploy federal law enforcement officers in this manner.” And Trump has openly stated that federal forces were being sent into cities with weak, liberal Democrats unable to maintain law and order to protect its citizens and businesses.
I don’t do conspiracy theories, and I am not an alarmist. Everything I’m telling you has actually happened. Federal forces are deployed in many major cities not to stop or investigate crimes, but to intimidate individuals they view as political adversaries. Along with occupying American cities, Trump and his appointees (puppets) have spent the entire summer spreading lies that state and local governments, and Democrats could not be trusted or believed. And with the polls showing his chance for reelection dwindling, he told his cheering supporters that he would not accept the election results if he lost because it was rigged. He repeated his mistrust of the electoral system on Debate Night, and refused to say he would accept the results if he lost. That evening, he also resisted fully condemning white supremacists, and instead told Proud Boys, a far-right group that endorses violence, to “stand back, and stand by.” Members of the group were elated at being mentioned and called the president’s comment a tacit endorsement of their violent tactics. Law enforcement and former group members say the president’s comments will embolden many factions of the group. Later the group boasted of a large spike in recruitment.
Leaders of the Democratic Party have serious cause and responsibility to protest the outrageous actions of Trump and his Republicans — but it is ineffective in halting their effort to dismantle American Democracy. To be effective the full power and strength of The House Of Representatives must be applied, not just well-intentioned individuals armed only with self-righteous rage. However, the reason Democrats acted individually was the absence of Speaker Pelosi who spent much of her time on national TV denouncing Trump’s crazy/ stupid actions and statements which may look good in her resume’, but does nothing to stop his idiocy. Her plan of action is in full compliance with the moderates and conservatives who voted to elect her speaker: the large group of freshmen Democrats whose single platform is to get reelected in districts that are split or Republican, who pleaded with Speaker not to attack the president too hard as to provoke Trump supporters in their districts. The New Democratic Coalition (NDC) which controls 40% of the Democratic Caucus, and its major governing belief is that the challenges are too great for Members of Congress to refuse to cooperate purely out of Partisanship – and believe leaders of both parties should work together to find common cause solutions for the American people. They represent “neither here nor there” moderate Democrats who want to cooperate with Trump and His Republicans.
The most significant and proudest accomplishment of the NDC was in helping to bring House Democrats and the Trump Administration together to pass the North American Trade Treaty (USMCA), which is widely seen as a crucial win for President Trump going into the 2020 election. After three years, this was the first major agreement struck by the Trump Administration. The NDC Chair Derek Kilmer said he is proud of the critical role his members played in getting an agreement that can serve as a template for bipartisan consensus in future agreements. Speaker Pelosi has repeatedly made clear that passing USMCA goes beyond partisan politics — “And if the President wants to take credit? So be it.” The tough, wise words of an experienced strategist and political leader — and possible supporter of Joe Biden.
Nancy Pelosi has kept House Democrats toeing her party line by applying power politics she learned from an early age from her father, a three time mayor of Baltimore and congressman. She kept her fathers books which kept track of favors done and owed. Since being elected, she has her own books which have served her well in getting elected to positions of power. Since her elections on January 3rd 2007 and January 3rd 2019 her book on favors owed has exploded in lieu of the Speaker’s vast powers and ability to grant favors. Even the seemingly strong, independent senior House Democrats appear content with their appointment as Chair to their committee of choice, and seem unwilling to criticize or challenge her lack of leadership. It appears that Pelosi’s single concern is her legacy — to be remembered as the greatest speaker in history, who kept America alive during its most devastating business closures, worst unemployment, a pandemic that terrorized the entire world, a certifiable insane president who did not believe in science and announced policy by twitter and lied continuously, and a rogue Republican Party and U.S. Attorney General who did the mad president’s bidding – plus a lot more. But was it Pelosi’s fearless and strong leadership that that kept America alive? Obviously not. When federal forces invaded American cities. And when the mayor of Portland, the governor of Oregon and its two U.S. senators protested and pleaded with the president to recall the federal troops . . . seldom was heard an encouraging word from Speaker Pelosi. Her black book is still filled with favors owed her which can be used to fulfill her quest for ever lasting glory. House Democrats will be elbowing into position to propose programs, rooms, buildings, schools etc. be named after Pelosi, with appropriate statues, busts and paintings of her. Pelosi’s carefully planned numerous appearances on television attacking Trump (the world’s biggest and easiest political target) will serve as undeniable proof of her continuous courageous encounters with the Mad President. She relished and encouraged her grand image as “Trump’s worst enemy,” but a careful look at the results of her actions will clearly show that she is actually “Trump’s indispensable enemy.” Trump could not have moved on so easily and unopposed if Pelosi had not dismantled and eliminated the liberal, innovative and maverick elements which was the backbone, energy and strength of the Democratic Party. Instead, she utilized moderates and conservatives who were too weak to confront Trump, but a group she could manipulate and command.
What the heck happened in the last four months? Where are the more than 60,000 mental health professionals who abandoned precedence by signing a petition acknowledging the seriousness of the mental illness and what Trump might do with all his power as president if he felt trapped and humiliated. Where is the Psychiatric Community that said Trump suffers from “Malignant Narcissism,” which according to John T. Gartner, one of the country’s top psychologist, is basically a combination of three mental illnesses: Anti-Social Personality Disorder, Paranoid Personality Behavior and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Okay, but is there an ethical responsibility to continue to warn the American public about the dangers Trump’s psychological state poses. Four months ago the president’s mental health was a prime topic. And I noted that the American public as a whole did not seem to have connected his erratic behavior with his mental illness, for which I blamed the Democrats and media for their poor job of reaching out to keep the public informed on this critical problem. But it can be perceived as just politics without the mental health professionals visible and active. Campaigning a couple of days ago in Georgia, Trump tried to dissuade his supporters from using masks by quoting a CDC report that said 85% of people who wear masks get coronavirus. Trump comfortably lies continuously – and alarmingly. But his blatant disregard of the facts and truth regarding the deadly pandemic, and his shocking lack of empathy for the safety and welfare of Americans have alerted the nation to the President’s mental ailment and bad character. With an increase in public awareness, the desperate need for leadership from the Democratic Party to defeat Donald Trump might lessen. But there will be a far greater need for strong, bold and highly innovative leadership from the Democratic Party after a dramatic defeat of Trump and His Republican Party.
Trump has vowed not to accept the election results if he loses , which is a popular decision among his vocal supporters. During his nearly four years as president, he has nurtured his support for white supremacist, racist organizations and groups and has refused to condemn their violent actions. On “Debate Night,” he mentioned “Proud Boys,” a group known for its violence, by name and told them to “Stand back, and stand by.” Members of the group were elated and called the president’s comment a tacit endorsement of their violent tactics. There are a large number of these groups and many consider Trump as their commander-in-chief.
A review of various other segments of Trump’s restless hard-core support is also discomforting: 2) Xenophobes: feel strongly that America is under attack by foreigners; believe the Chinese sent COVID-19 to kill Americans. They believe they are supporting traditional American values, white society, the free enterprise system along with Trump against destructive changes promoted by liberals and foreigners. 3) Evangelical Christians, whose idea that Americans are “God’s Chosen People” and are deathly afraid that we are losing our God-given morality. Trump has designed his speeches and actions to target their major concerns. He is the first president to attend the annual “March for Life,” and his appointment of social conservatives to the Supreme Court pleases the Evangelicals who are anxious to see “Roe vs Wade” overturned. 4) The Economically Abandoned are the millions of largely white, Anglo-Saxon, males, who believed from an early age that hard work will guarantee success. This life-long dream vanished as innovation made their jobs disappear, and businesses and governments were extremely lax and unprepared to provide professional counseling and retraining programs. These workers were basically abandoned and left alone to survive – while Affirmative Action Programs seem to grow and blossom at the local, state and federal levels of government as decades flew by. The coarse, insensitive response to their cry of abandonment by politicians on Capital Hill led them to Donald Trump, who is a pathological liar, and will comfortably say whatever people want to hear because nothing he says is supported by facts. But a genuine effort should be made by Democrats to reach out and painfully discuss the issue of “abandonment.” It appears impossible to resolve, but a real attempt should be made because the pain of abandonment is real. Joe Biden often boasted of his affinity to the “working-man.” Then he must remember that even after World War II, the base of the Democratic Party was the blue-collar worker and labor unions (The Working Man’s Party). By the 1960’s, the Party got fancy and started hiring college-educated professional analysts who were experts in demographics and political vote counting. So the new major components of the Party , to replace the “working stiffs” were women, minorities, youths and unions largely representing government and professional workers, which was okay with liberals and young people, who often found the social views of white blue-collar workers especially in the south not compatible with the Party’s. Can Biden and his advisors find answers to alleviate some of the pain, and work with the group’s leaders to make the Democratic Party more responsive in assisting the left-behind workers catch up. 5) Southerners Who Feel Ignored and their views not appreciated. Trump has openly sided with them in defending Confederate heroes, and retaining the names of Confederate officers on military bases.
These hard-core Trump supporters represent tens of millions of unhappy Americans who don’t want their “protector and savior” replaced. Some violence seems unavoidable. It will take great leadership in planning and administering a peaceful transition. The heavy burden of creating this “Dream Team” to wisely and decisively advise the new administration belongs to President-Elect Biden, exclusively! With minimum participation (interference) from “posture and pose” Speaker Pelosi and her wishy washi, timid band of moderates and conservatives, who were unwilling to battle Trump, and boasted how effectively they cooperated with Trump and his Republican Party. For over a year, this weak, indecisive, confused leadership made the chances for a Democratic victory in 2020 grow dimmer and dimmer. And suddenly a horrifying pandemic appeared threatening the entire world with death and economic destruction. Trump was slow to respond, and when he did he dismissed it as a minor ailment which would soon magically disappear, which has been basically his view of COVID-19 to this day.
When I hear people’s comments that Trump might still change his mind re his policies and attitude towards the coronavirus, I know they don’t realize that he can’t control his mental illness. His Narcissistic Personality Disorder is characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. It is also associated with derogation and insults of others and an inability to tolerate disagreements and criticisms and even very minor humiliation — which means he is unable to admit making mistakes and misjudgments. This mental inability to accept making mistakes and misjudgments is what stopped him from making a simple and harmless admission in early March that he underestimated the seriousness of the new virus. Instead, he predictably doubled down on his initial assessment using boundless amounts of dangerous lies to protect his decisions which have already cost tens of thousand of American lives.
President Trump suffers from serious mental disorders that seem to completely control his actions and reactions. I had hoped that Nancy Pelosi when she won the speakership on January 3rd 2019 would immediately gather the brightest and best among House Democrats, especially from the left-leaning, innovative liberal segment to form committees to research and study his mental illness and matching it with his bizarre performance as president. The information would be invaluable in confrontations and battles with Trump. But Pelosi’s priority was not Trump, but to solidify her leadership in the House by aligning herself with moderates and conservatives, and squash the four freshmen females who had gotten the attention of the Republicans and media for their fine performance at Hearings, who she disparaged as “The Squad.”
The task confronting the New Administration is overwhelming: 1) Worst pandemic in a hundred years with the U.S., the world’s richest and most advanced country, having the most cases and deaths — and growing worse as Trump continues to loudly oppose safety measures strongly recommended by all health institutions and followed by almost all countries. 2) Trump, who was diagnosed by over 60,000 Mental Health Professionals as mentally ill and very dangerous, will remain as president until the inauguration on January 20th, and Trump has declined to say if he will accept results of the election if he loses, repeating his unfounded complaint that mail-in-ballots would lead to election fraud. 3) The U.S. Attorney General, William Barr, the Nation’s top law enforcement officer, and Director of National Intelligence, John Radcliffe, serves as head of the 17 member U.S. Intelligence Community – it seems by their actions that they will both serve the president’s bidding. 4) Federal forces have been deployed in many major cities during the past five months – not to stop or investigate crime but to intimidate individuals they view as political adversaries. Along with the occupation Trump and his appointees have spent their time spreading lies that state and local governments, and Democrats could not be trusted or believed. 5) Hard-core Trump supporters represents tens of millions of unhappy Americans, many of whom have looked upon him as their “protector and savior.” 6) His mental illness deprives him of principals, morals, a conscience, a moral compass, an empathy for others or regret — and leaves him with a pattern of deceitfulness as indicated by continuous lying, conning, manipulation of others, aggressiveness and consistent irresponsibility. (This rather long description comes from The Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association, in describing what world- renown psychiatrists stated were Trump’s mental problems: Narcissistic Personality Disorder combined with Anti-social Personality Disorder). His sickness gives Donald Trump a huge advantage in politics. How do you counter a person who attacks with a huge and continuous barrage of lies. And he can say anything people want to hear because nothing he says is supported by facts. He can make things up whenever he wants without blinking an eye. And it appears he wants to all the time. I guess these six problems are enough to show the enormity of what Biden and Democrats will be up against.
So how do you begin to make the Disunited States of America whole again? To make America, America again. To make US truly great again, with our American Values intact, to lead the Free World, and regain the respect of world leaders , including Vladimir Putin who has openly ignored America’s direct questions and threats of action, and even offered the Taliban bounties for each American soldier killed in Afghanistan, which Trump refused to even mention to Putin.
I am not silly or dumb enough to think I have the answer to tackling the massive challenges confronting the new president. But to satisfy my obligation to the half-a-dozen or so people who might read this blog, I will toss in a few of my thoughts: 1) Appoint VP Kamala Harris to be totally and without exception, in charge of recruiting, training, selection and deployment of the army to do battle with the opposition and troublemakers from Day -One. 2) Appoint a very senior House Democrat, like the Majority Leader, to keep the Speaker’s interference and her gang of moderates and conservatives under control. 3) Recruit and genuinely involve as many people into the team at various levels, especially liberals, mavericks, and innovative (even slightly crazy) people – and maybe a few for their wit and humor. The four female freshmen who had gotten the attention of Republicans and media for their sharp performance at the open hearings, were at times viciously attacked by Pelosi and disparaged as “The Squad.” She seem perturbed by their actions which seem to highlight the obvious fact that she had not been adequately aggressive in confronting Trump. They may be good pick-ups with great potential, after receiving some advice on more effective ways to promote their views. 4) Over the long term, of course, the goal is repairing democracy and diminishing intolerance. If intolerance can be reduced, the environment for the growth of democracy will improve. It would seem then that the best way to limit the growth of intolerance is by talking about and applauding our sameness. Both sides are, after all, Americans and share an abundance of common and unifying beliefs, practices, and proud events in our history. Unfortunately, after a mostly vicious campaign filled with personal attacks and bad behavior, things could more easily go the other way. It will take a military-like discipline on the part of the victors to remain positive and courteous. Just a few disrespectful or scornful, abusive remarks will start a landslide. Incivility spreads rapidly and generates anger and defensive reactions. Oh, where is Abraham Lincoln when you need him! Well that’s it for now. Good luck, and godspeed!
Electorial College To Decide On Trump’s Mental Health
I purchased a blog site 5years ago, but I used it just once on July 21, 2017, and that was a copy of an email I sent to two friends on election eve when I was deeply concerned with Donald Trump being elected president of the United States – the only super-power in the world. The blog was not about politics but about Trump’s mental problems which were often mentioned as a Narcissistic Personality Disorder combined with Antisocial Personality Disorder. I checked with The Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association which defines Narcissistic Personality Disorder as a personality characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an execessive need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. Other traits and behaviors include arrogance, callousness, envy and is associated with a preoccupation with power, prestige and vanity. This condition is also characterized by exploitation behavior to achieve personal gain, exaggeration of skills and accomplishments and intolerance of the views of others. Pathological narcissism is also associated with derogation and insults of others and an inability to tolerate disagreements and criticisms and even very minor humiliation – which means he is unable to admit making mistakes and misjudgments.
His Antisocial Personality Behavior disorder involves a pattern of disregard for, and violation of rights of others and also includes deceitfulness as indicated by continuous lying or conning and manipulation of others, aggressiveness and consistent irresponsibility. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual narcissistic and antisocial behavior can overlap in terms of lack of remorse and disregard for the wishes, rights and feelings of others and can even co-exist as in Megalomania.
Trump has openly displayed his mental disorders on a daily basis for more than three years – and probably because his mental problem is on TV and print media every day it seem to have become accepted as the norm and not at all shocking. And the elite White House Press Corps helps his image by continuing to treat him as just a normal and a bit eccentric president, who gets very angry with reporters who even indirectly question his response.
There is, however, a huge response from the Mental Health Community which may become increasingly difficult for even Republicans to ignore. Approximately 60,000 (a later report ups it to 70,000) mental health professionals have diagnosed President Donald Trump with a type of insanity that is often compared to an alchoholic’s lack of honesty and impulse control. The Psychiatric Community says that Trump suffers from “Malignant Narcissism,” which accordng to John T. Gartner, one of the country’s top psychologist, is basically a combination of three mental illnesses: Anti-Social Personality Disorder, Paranoid Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
There has never been so many mental health professionals to collectively diagnose a living person. Their conclusion is based on the hundreds of hours of Trump’s on-camera dialogue and off-the-cuff public speaking. But why did tens of thousand mental health professionals abandon the long respected “Goldwater Rule” from the American Psychiatric Association which states that psychologists should not offer a diagnosis in the media of a living public figure they have not examined?” They were motivated by their knowledge of the seriousness of the mental illness and what Trump might do with all his power as president if he felt trapped and humiliated.
It must be crystal clear to Vice-President Pence, members of the cabinet, Mitch McConnell and members of the Republican leadership and Attorney General William Barr, and Trump’s senior staff that the president does have a serious mental disorder and his descent is noticeable. He has become more and more involved in the medical end of Coronavirus pandemic as Ducktor Trump releasing false and dangerous misinformation – culminating on April 23 on his nightly coronavirus briefing onTV suggesting that household disinfectants could be used as an “injection inside” to kill COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus. Federal officials, health officials and the Consumer Product Safety Commission immediately warned Americans not to try cleaning fluids as medicine: “Cleaning products are poisonous, America!” Warnings from Clorox, Lysol, Dettol , and the American Chemistry Council were also emphatic. In Maryland over 100 people called a hotline to ask about injecting or ingesting disinfectants according to the office of Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican. The frantic chorus of corrections must reflect the deep concern about the president who refuses to trust medical experts and science over his own instincts. On TV recently, he admitted he was not a trained doctor – but had something more valuable and tapped his forefinger to the side of his head indicating his brain. Then looked directly at the camera and smiled knowingly. Nothing seems to faze him anymore. On April 24, the day after his disinfectant fiasco, the Food and Drug Administration warned that using two anti – malarial that Trump had repeatedly touted: hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, as a therapeutic could have potentially lethal side-effects, citing a new study that showed increased mortality among patients in an experimental trial. By the sixth day of treatment in Brazil, 11 patients had died leading to an immediate end to the high-dose segment of the trial. Also, 28% of US veterans with coronavirus who were treated with hydroxycholoroquine died of the infection, while only 11% of veterans who got standard care died.
Although his meddling and indecisiveness as Ducktor Trump is deadly serious, it is only a part of the major problem: HIS MENTAL ILLNESS. This made him bombard the country with lies from the beginning. His unceasing campaign to convince people of things that are not true. As of April 26, Fact Checking announced the President of the United States had made more than 10,000 false and misleading statements publicly since taking office. Others were less kind estimating over 12,000 and 15,000. It appears that practically everything he said that made the news were misleading, and mostly outright lies.
CNN started counting from July 8, 2019. As of March 15, Trump has made 2,062 false claims in all, averaging 57 false claims per week. According to CNN, “Trump began March with a barrage of false claims about the coronavirus pandemic — understating the extent of the crisis, overstating the availability of tests, inaccurately blaming his predecessor, the governors, the World Health Organization, and wrongly insisting that the crisis was unforeseen.” There were 33 false claims from March 2 through March 15 (his misleading claims as well as well as false and misleading claims from members of his administration were not counted).
In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump’s longtime pimpress, called Trump “The Health Care President” three times in a very recent Fox News Interview. Obviously, those who still remain close to Trump have absorbed his ability to lie and mislead comfortably without shame or embarrassment. It’s almost beyond belief watching the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Attorney General William Barr do the same.
So how did this all happen? How could Trump openly expose his serious mental problems and continue to gain acceptability and expand the power of his office?
There were many factors that contributed towards his rise to an unprecedented level of tyrannical strength: a) For the first two years of his administration Republicans controlled both Houses of Congress and Trump was basically left unchecked and allowed to pretty much do as he pleased. And soon it became known as the Trump Republican Party, and he believed it was and seem to demand loyalty and obedience from members of His party. b) the major responsibility of keeping Trump and his Republican Party under surveillance and serving as the watchdog belonged to the Democrats.
Unfortunately, the Democratic Party was weak, disorganized, and powerless and timid under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer in the Senate. It was a matter of “What can we do when the Presidency, Senate and House are all controlled by the Republicans. Meanwhile, the president was growing even bolder and getting really wild as the most powerful person in the world unchecked and unopposed. In 2018, the voters showed they wanted his free-wheeling callous and arrogant actions checked — and armed the Democrats with a clear majority in the House of Representatives. And the Democrats celebrated this big win as a mandate to challenge Donald Trump and convert his authoritarian style government back to a democracy.
After two years of excruciatingly frustrating failure in dealing with an opponent who is free to lie continuously, which allows him say whatever people want to hear and demean and insult anyone he wants with fake news (which is simply news not based on fact), Nancy Pelosi must know the upcoming battle cannot be won with traditional tactics. Because even a ten year old tennis player knows to change tactics when losing. So her first order of business as Speaker was obviously to gather bold and innovative minds to do strategic planning to counter and frustrate a person with Trump’s mental illness. And a good place to look was the ladies in the newly elected freshman class. I was proud and impressed at how well-prepared they were at the open hearings with their sharp questions and their straight – backed, confident demeanor. The Republicans seemed unsure on how to deal with them, and looked apprehensive — like “how do we get rid of them?” It made me want to become an active Democrat. I recalled Will Rogers saying humorously — and with some pride, “I don’t belong to any organized political party. I’m a Democrat.” Yeh, I think Democrats until now pretty much accepted mavericks as an integral part of the party to prevent even temporary inbreeding of thought and stagnation.
As the much anticipated January 2019 arrived, Speaker Pelosi appeared almost giddy with her new power to deal with crazy Donald Trump. But as the weeks flew by it didn’t look like her priority was the president. Instead her sometimes vicious attacks were focused on members of her own party – the four freshmen females who had gotten the attention of Republicans and the media, who she disparaged as “The Squad.” She appeared intent to completely squash their enthusiasm and energy which the anemic Democratic Party desperately needed – and isolate them from the rest of the Party. A wiser and more party-oriented leader might have tried to recruit senior Democrats with experience to advise members of the “Squad” of more effective ways to promote their views. Instead, the Speaker strongly supported the much larger group of freshmen Democrats whose single platform was to get reelected in districts that were split or Republican. So they pleaded with the Speaker not to attack the President too hard as to provoke Trump supporters in their districts. And they would, obviously, not support harsh measures against Trump. This was fine with her as she likes to support moderates because they protect her from taking strong action against Trump and Republicans. Whereas the actions of the four young members of the “squad” seem to highlight the obvious fact that she has not been adequately aggressive in confronting Trump and his authoritative actions.
“Pelosi is really tough and determined.” This was her projected image in calling for the release of the President’s tax return. This is what the current Democratic leadership seem to do best: Posture and Pose. From early on Pelosi liked being branded as “Trump’s worst enemy” — although the results of her actions made her Donald Trump’s “Indispensable Enemy.”
The Speaker took leadership in strongly condemning the Attorney General for his attempt to clear Trump using his own Mueller Report summary. At the same time, she also adamantly stopped any attempt by the Democrats, who had finally come together as a team after their big victory, to bring about impeachment proceedings. Whereas Barr was openly known as a Trump flunky appointed to protect him from the Russia accusations, Pelosi was known as “Trump’s Worst Enemy” — and her well publicized action to quell any attempt by Democrats to introduce impeachment proceedings was factual proof that the president was in fact innocent and talk about Trump wrongdoings were being promoted by the Fake News Media. Later, when Trump’s actions and behavior had worsened to make the public demand action from the Democrats, Pelosi made her grand announcement on national TV that she would lead the House of Representatives in impeaching the president. The media made the announcement a really big thing – like “Now that the Speaker’s on board.” And on the surface the impeachment movement was on a roll. But it also felt like the enthusiasm and timing had passed. And then she ordered all Democrats to focus on a single issue for impeachment. So forget about the dozens of other impeachable charges, the only one we will bring forward is Trump’s Ukraine debacle, which contains a number of impeachable offenses. Unfortunately, the large majority of Americans have never heard of Ukraine, know where it is, or even spell it. The public is interested in the charges – and equally important is where it happened. And Ukraine seems totally insignificant, and what happens there is of little interest. So Pelosi’s grand strategy did nothing to generate the huge emotional public outcry needed to weaken the partisan stranglehold in the Senate. Instead, this mindless strategy emboldened Mitch McConnell to ask the Speaker with cocky confidence to hurry and send the House impeachment vote to the Senate so the impeachment cloud over the president’s head could be quickly removed.
As a result of the Speaker’s weak leadership and her strong preference for Moderates, who can be best described as”elected officials who are neither here or there,” the New Democrat Coalition (NDC) can now boast that it is the largest ideological House caucus, making up more than 40% of the Democratic Caucus and 2/3 of the freshman class. The NDC’s major governing belief is that the challenges ahead are too great for Members of Congress to refuse to cooperate purely out of Partisanship — and believe leaders of both parties should work together to find common cause solutions for the American people. The NDC was founded in 1997 by centrist Democrats who supported moderate pro-growth and a balanced budget. But today it sounds like moderate Democrats who want to cooperate with Trump and his Republicans.
The most significant and proudest accomplishment of the NDC was in helping to bring House Democrats and the Trump Administration together to pass the North American Trade Treaty (USMCA), which is widely seen as a crucial win for President Trump going into the 2020 election. The NDC Chair Derek Kilmer said he is proud of the critical role his members played in getting an agreement that can serve as a template for bipartisan consensus in future agreements. Vice chairs Susan Delbene, Terri Sewell, Ann McLane Kuster, Scott Peters, Susan Delbene, Pete Aguilar, Kathlene Rice, Ami Bera, Chrissy Houlahan, Miki Sherril — all shared the Chair’s sentiment in helping Trump succeed. After three years, this was the first major agreement struck by the Trump Administration, and it also fulfilled his campaign promise to do away with the worst trade deal ever made — though the actual terms of NAFTA is largely intact. Speaker Pelosi has repeatedly made clear that passing USMCA goes beyond partisan politics — and proof that they could pass legislation that benefit American workers. “And if the President wants to take credit? So be it.” The tough, wise words of an experienced strategist and political leader.
The reputation of the Speaker and her useless gang of moderates may be saved by the devastating pandemic and Trump’s mental illness which prevents him from saying he messed up — and instead doubling down by publicly giving himself a perfect score for his handling of the pandemic — which is ridiculous since all his past statements are on tape. This allows Pelosi to become a fearless and courageous leader confronting Trump (finally.) And the public is buying it. Ordinarily, this would be so comical and funny, except this is all about saving “America, the Beautiful.
There may be a question of why the other half of the “Posture and Pose” Democrat leadership, Chuck Schumer, has not been mentioned: A week before the confirmation hearing of Trump’s nominee as Justice to the Supreme Court, Bret Kavanaugh, Schumer cut a deal with Majority Leader McConnell to approve another 15 Trump nominated judges without a hearing, in exchange for allowing red state Democrats to return home and campaign – which these Democrats could have done by just excusing themselves. Another painful fact was that Elizabeth Warren was the only member of the Caucus to reject the deal made by Schumer. I spent weeks chewing on Schumer’s justification for the deal. But I could not swallow it. Although my reflux medical problem started at least five years earlier, Schumer (and watching Barr and Pompeo destroy the grand reputation of their office) made my condtion much worse.
Other factors that allowed Trump to continue in his madness was the drastic change in Republican women who were once the backbone of the Party’s “Family Values.” On June 1, 1950, Margaret Chase Smith became the first senator to denounce McCarthy’s tactics with her “Declaration of Conscience” speech on the senate floor. Would Nancy Reagan be admired today? Can you imagine Republican women who in the majority support Trump scolding their children: “Don’t worry about others, and stop telling the truth or you’ll never be President.”
Well, whatever the reason for Trump’s survival and strength is the puzzling inability of the Democrat Party leadership to recruit more effective surrogate voices and salespersons for their policies, and to keep the public regularly informed as to Trump’s dangerously deteriorating mental health. It’s crazy but the American public as a whole doesn’t seem to have connected his erratic behavior with mental illness. The Democrats and media have to greatly improve their ability to reach out to the public. Especially his cult-like supporters, who the liberal community dismisses as ignorant. That’s false. “The trouble with most Trump supporters isn’t their ignorance. It’s from knowing too many things — that are not true.”
Well, that’s it for now. My next overly long blog will be out in three years.
my first blog
People: I climbed past the 80 year mark a couple of years ago and thought it was time to relax and watch the world go by. But then there was a terrible slide from “No Drama Obama” to a man who had pants that was always on fire and had a nose as long as a telephone wire. Even from the early days of the campaign it was obvious that Donald Trump had a mental problem. There were comments describing Trump’s behavior as a Narcissistic Personality Disorder and/or Antisocial Personality Disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association defines Narcissistic Personality Disorder as a personality characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance. An excessive need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. This disorder can be accompanied by a large number of traits and behaviors including arrogance, callousness, and envy and is associated with a preoccupation with power, prestige and vanity;
other negative characteristic include “grandiosity” and a disdain and lack of empathy for others. This condition is also characterized by exploitation behavior to achieve personal gain, exaggeration of skills and accomplishments and intolerance of the views of others. Pathological narcissism is also associated with derogation and insults of others and an inability to tolerate disagreements and criticisms.
If someone suffers from Antisocial Personality Behavior disorder: it involves a pattern of disregard for, and violation of rights of others and also includes such negative characteristic as deceitfulness as indicated by continuous lying or conning and manipulation of others, aggressiveness and consistent irresponsibility. A person suffering from an antisocial personality disorder is often referred to as a sociopath. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual narcissistic and antisocial personality disorder can overlap with each other including in terms of lack of remorse and disregard for the wishes, rights and feelings of others and can even co-exist as in Megalomania.
Eighty-nine per cent of Republicans may disagree, but it looks like a fit.
Steve Bannon is no longer in the White House, but as the author of Trump’s plan to destroy “Old America,” his spiritual presence is huge. Bannon’s approach to politics is made crystal clear in an informal interview with Ronald Radosh on Nov. 12, 2013 at Bannon’s Capitol Hill townhouse during a book party. Bannon never called himself a “populist” or an “American nationalist” as many think of him today. “I’m a Leninist,” Bannon proudly proclaimed. “Lenin wanted to destroy the state and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment — including Republican and Democratic Parties as well as the traditional conservative press. The National Review and the Weekly Standard are both left wing magazines.” Before a radically new form of government could be established the old must be abandoned and destroyed. (Donald Trump was perfect for the job and his tens of million of supporters would become a great army of Leninist to be the backbone and enforcers of the new system). But Bannon got kicked out instead because he underestimated the strength and
power of Megalomania. However, Trump continues with the master plan to reduce our faith and trust in all our institutions: the strong and persistent attack on our media as untrustworthy and completely biased has shaken the First Amendment. All the other Amendments, except the Second – the right to bear arms, have suffered. Even the Constitution is said not to be what our Founding Fathers meant it to be. The strong and continuous effort to reduce our faith and trust in all our institutions: the courts, schools, banks, the Federal Reserve, our military, the FBI, ETC. Since he is unable to accept criticism and blame, Trump very often resorts to psychological projection to defend himself against his own unconscious impulses or qualities by denying their existence in themselves while attributing them to others – as when he accuses the legitimate news media of fake news when he is the one continuously making statements not based on facts. Projecting his faults appears to cleanse him – like going to “confession” it relieves him of guilt. This is why it’s a bit scary when he veered from his prepared speech at NATO and claimed Germany “is totally controlled by” and “captive to Russia” after the subject of his summit meeting with Vladimir Putin came up. So what is he saying? Is he a captive totally controlled by Russia? Why did he insist there be no one in the meeting except he, Putin and the two interpreters? This goes against all rational rules of diplomatic protocol and national security. Why would a US president want to meet alone with a former Lieutenant Colonel of the KGB with 16 years experience as a highly competent agent? So if there are more than one version of what happened at the meeting, who do you believe — a known pathological liar without a shred of moral principal, or a highly trained professional liar who does not believe in principals?
Meanwhile, both houses of Congress which is controlled by Republicans seem determined to undermine the Mueller investigation, the professional reputation of the FBI, and that of U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein while protecting Trump from criticism of his many questionable action and dealings as president. If Trump continues to appear to cater to Putin’s best interest, and Congress to the President’s, will the ghost of Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy return to the “Hill” and point his finger at the new Trump Republican Party and call it the new American Communist Party with control over both Houses and the Executive Office. He might pass over Paul Ryan as too much of a sissy – and go over to the desk of Trey Gowdy to ask for a fist fight. This would be real fun if you believed in ghost stories. And McCarty would finally be the hero, saving America from Russia – may he finally rest in peace. If you rightly think these last several sentences were stupid and crazy, take a look at these poll results: 89% of Republicans support Trump; 76% of Republicans polled said trump is truthful most of the time; 72% of Republicans say Trump is a good role model for children; A new poll by YouGov Friday on 12/12/2017 show 51% of Republicans believe Pres. Obama was born in Kenya, compared to 14% of Democrats.
FOX News is by far the most watched news station in the U.S. and the TV station watched almost exclusively by the president. But those who watch several stations and subscribe to major newspapers and news magazines seem to find news on FOX misleading and often unsupported by real evidence. As a “light” liberal I tried to periodically watch FOX but without success as I rather quickly got annoyed and insulted and went to another station for news. In the mid fifties I was a jobless high school graduate weighing 93 pounds and unable to join the army – so I hung out in a pool hall hiding from friends, but with lots of time to read and learn. I heard the term “liberal” and checked it out in Webster’s Dictionary which said a liberal is one who wanted positive change – and possessed two essential characteristics – an open mind and tolerance. A person who also wanted change but without the two essential characteristics was referred to as a “zealot.” I chose to become a liberal. It was not an easy course as I liked to argue, complain, criticize, and disliked sudden unexplained changes. But I stayed the course and found each new task/job challenging and enjoyable. This is my very first blog, and I hope to learn, and hopefully get better. ALOHA!