Watching the President’s erratic behavior over the last couple of weeks, it struck me that, in some ways, Trump is acting like someone with a serious addiction problem. He purportedly doesn’t drink and presumably doesn’t do drugs, with the exception of an occasional experimental cocktail of various pharmaceuticals designed to counteract the COVID virus, so what could manifest this kind of behavior. I am no psychologist or psychiatrist but it seems to me he has an addiction to adulation and drama. I did a little research and found an article in Psychology Today that addresses this very issue.
“Getting attention is necessary for life’s vital enterprises and can be the difference between life and death in a crisis. Therefore, not getting adequate attention can threaten the quality and sustainability of life. Thus, getting functional social attention is understandable. However, extreme attention seekers go to unhealthy lengths that are driven by emotional desperation.”
In her book, Too Much and Never Enough, Mary Trump (who is a trained psychologist), points out how Donald Trump’s mother, Mary, was sickly during most of Donald Trump’s childhood and unable to provide the type of motherly nurturing that most kids need. Further, Fred Trump, Donald Trump’s father, was described by Mary Trump (the niece, not the mother) as a high functioning sociopath. He was cold, distant and demanding and was also unable to provide the type of emotional support most kids need.
From very early on in his life, Donald Trump has craved attention and drama and I would argue that it is a type of addiction. “The obvious answer is drama gets attention. However, it is more than that. Drama causes the pituitary gland and hypothalamus to secrete endorphins, which are the pain-suppressing and pleasure-inducing compounds, which heroin and other opiates mimic. Hence, drama eases the anxiety of wanting more attention than you are getting. Naturally, since drama uses the same mechanisms in the brain as opiates, people can easily become addicted to drama. Like any addiction, you build up a tolerance that continuously requires more to get the same neurochemical effect. In the case of drama, then means you need more and more crises to get the same thrill.”
How else can you explain the irrational and completely unnecessary ‘parade’ around Walter Reed Medical Center when he was supposed to be quarantined? How else do you explain the campaign event on Saturday with Trump speaking from the balcony to crowd which 1) was probably putting peoples’ lives at risk because there was no social distancing and 2) it was likely a violation of the Hatch Act for any government employee other than the President who helped set it up and participated in it. How else do you explain his unwillingness to participate in a virtual townhall? (Because there will be no adulation nor drama like the last debate). How else do you explain Trump’s rambling rants when calling in to Fox News or Rush Limbaugh and actually calling for the arrest of his political rivals – drama!! Trump thrives on it. Everything Trump does is designed to draw attention to himself and create drama. This election is just another example of Trump creating unnecessary drama to feed his ‘drug’ habit.
I think the majority of people in this country understand and want a return to some level of normalcy in the White House. However, we have Republicans in virtually every state in the Union trying to do everything in their power to suppress votes in order to get this man reelected. The governor of Texas put out an edict stating there could only be one drop off box for ballots in each county. A Federal judged overturned that edict, but it was again challenged by the Republicans and the Appeals Court issued a stay of the Federal judge’s order for the time being so Texas is back to having one drop-off location for each county. That is nothing other than a pure play for voter suppression.
Election procedures have been challenged in Pennsylvania and virtually every other ‘must win’ state for Trump. Even here in little old Montana, the Republican Party challenged Governor Bullock’s directive stating each county could use mail-in balloting if they chose to because of the COVID crisis. It got challenged all the way up to the Supreme Court when Justice Kagan finally killed the challenge (I hope!)
Just think about all of the tax payer dollars and resources that are being squandered on these efforts when there is zero evidence of widespread fraud with mail-in ballots. “Benjamin Ginsberg, a top Republican election lawyer who has represented four Republican presidential candidates, slammed President Donald Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud in a new op-ed saying it lacks evidence and is “unsustainable.””2
All of these Republican enablers are no different than drug dealers to Trump. They provide the adulation and attention he craves so dearly and they are right there to help create and sustain the drama. Trump needs it just like a junkie needs a fix or an alcoholic needs a drink.
The really scary thing is, just like addicts require more and more of something the longer they are addicted, Trump continues to require more and more attention and more and more drama to feed his habit. If he is elected to another 4 years what shape might that take? Will he actually arrest his political rivals and put them on trial? Sound far-fetched? Maybe not. Will he start a war? Sound far-fetched? Maybe not. Will he send more Federal troops into the streets? Sound far-fetched? Maybe not.
Trump’s decision-making process is clouded by his addiction the same way that the decision-making process of an addict is not governed by rational thought. If Trump doesn’t win the election, not only will he likely be facing legal problems involving his finances, but he will likely be going through withdrawal as well. There is no other platform that will provide the same level of attention and opportunity for creating drama. This makes Trump a very, very dangerous man right now. Think that’s hyperbole? Maybe not. An addict may destroy themselves and perhaps their family. In this case, Trump may very well destroy what was once a proud and respected country. Think that’s hyperbole? Maybe not.
Final Note: For another scary read, I have included the link to Professor Richardson’s blog discussing the confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett and what’s really at stake.
This is the October surprise Trump must be talking about when DOJ Barr is suppose to put out an arrest warrant for Obama, Biden, Hillary, and all of their rivals. QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory, alleges that a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotting against President Donald Trump, who is battling against the cabal. The theory also commonly asserts that Trump is planning a day of reckoning known as “The Storm”, when thousands of members of the cabal will be arrested. No part of the theory is based on fact.
Trump is about to commit treason. QAnon has been listed as a terrorist organization by the FBI. Trump will be fulfilling their prediction of arresting the thousand members of the cabal in the day of reckoning known as “The Storm”.
This will be compared to “The Night of the Long Knives.”