The Witness Chronicles, March 30, 2024

How far does he have to go?

Photo by Vadim Bogulov on Unsplash

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The Evolution of a Psychopath

And what does that make those who follow him?

Trump posted a picture of Joe Biden hogtied in the back of a pickup truck yesterday. Obviously fake. But I am having a hard time wrapping my head around why anyone in their right mind would do something like this.

The obvious answer could be two things. The poster could be a pre-adolescent boy or he could be a crazy person or even psychotic. Either way, this is not normal behavior for a 77 year old man, much less a Presidential candidate.

If this appeals to a large number of Americans, we have a serious problem, a mental health problem. I’d really like to think it won’t. But the fact that this happened brings a huge question front and center. Is the former President crazy?

I’m serious. 

The evidence of a major mental crackup is now a daily reality. He posts dangerous and untrue allegations about a judge’s daughter, a judge he will sit in court with for weeks next month. He is shilling bibles that include a copy of the Constitution, that he is accused of violating multiple times and threatening national security in the process.

He can’t talk without a teleprompter and he ignores it when he wants and rambles on in garbled language that alarms mental health experts all over the country. Though he came into the public eye as a self-made billionaire, he is a terrible businessman who basically squandered the fortune his father bequeathed to him.

His wife won’t be seen in his company and his daughter is publicly avoiding him. He cheats at golf, blatantly, which is really cheating against himself. Two weeks ago he was selling sneakers that don’t actually exist and may never exist.

Think about that last one, and the Bibles. He is on the hook this week for $175 million and he is pitching bibles and golden sneakers?

The real thing here is what these things say about what he really thinks about his supporters. He thinks they are ignorant rubes, and if you happen to be one, you might want to pull back and think about that.

But you won’t.

A lot of sociopaths and psychopaths throughout history have had rabid followers, those who willingly drink the koolaid, commit acts of violence in their name, and sacrifice themselves in service to their leader. But a big chunk of America? Really?

So, when we think about this litany of crazy, we have to ask how we got here. It’s tempting when writing about these things to insert cynical humor, but nothing about this is funny. This man could be the leader of the free world and he is batshit crazy. Actually worse.

A sociopath is a person with no regard for others. A psychopath is a person who takes pleasure in inflicting fear, pain, and death to others. A narcissist is a person who only loves themselves and believes that everyone else should love them too.

You pick your flavor. But realize this man is a danger to himself and everyone he comes in contact with, and he is out of control.

Threatening a judge’s daughter and posting a picture of the current President hogtied in a truck is not just stupid, it’s scary. Yes, maybe he has dementia, but I think it is narcissism gone haywire, a man whose ego no longer has any checks or sense of normalcy.

In other words, a desperate man. A man alone, facing huge legal problems of his own making, a man whose elaborate financial house of cards has collapsed, a man capable of doing anything to save himself, including committing treason.

I know that no Trump supporter will get to this point in this diatribe, but if by chance you do, please think about this stuff, because I’m not making any of it up. This is not a conspiracy theory, these things have actually happened and they are happening on a daily basis.

This is not right. 

It should bother us all when we witness the public unraveling of a man, a descent into a place where none of us want to go. A man who has buried his soul and his conscience, a dangerous man.

I think the most incomprehensible aspect of all this is how unredeemable he seems. It’s impossible to imagine Donald Trump coming out of this abyss. When he fails this time in his quest for re-election, what then? Will his followers double down?

My gut tells me no. His destruction of a major political party, his disregard for the welfare of his followers, his financial straits, and his legal path to jail will finally catch up to him. Like all would-be dictators, he will retain a core of followers and they will create a myth, but he will fade and fade quickly.

And maybe this country will wake up and realize how close we came to disaster. Or not.

This is the choice we face.

~ I write The Grasshopper, a letter for creatives, The Witness Chronicles, a place for my articles on politics and climate, and The Remarkable, a recovery letter, about my addiction and reentry experience. All are weekly and free, however this is how I live and I strongly believe all writers and creatives should get paid, if we provide value. Your upgrade to a paid subscription helps make that happen. 

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