Trump’s Worldview

We all know that Trump is a narcissist. Even the people who still support him cannot deny it at this point, with all the self-aggrandizement, lavish flattery and gifts he receives from those who want to grease his hand. Qatar luxury plane, Argentinian $40B bailout, and FIFA Peace Prize are just the tips of the iceberg everyone can see, but I also encourage you to look into the crypto enrichment schemes by the Trump clan and his economic "deals." Also, research who really benefits from the Iran war.

Wanting to be on TV (the ultimate dream job, by his own admission, is an award ceremonies' host), slapping his name everywhere, including the Kennedy Center are also driven by an untamed narcissistic desire. His narcissism is malignant and at this point cannot be changed, he is too old and was riding on it (successfully, in his own eyes) his whole life. The older he gets, the more attention, praise, and flattery he craves. MAGAs find this in a way endearing, like "aww, he just wants his legacy, to be remembered, and he's sacrificed so much for this country!" but how they justify his thinking and actions is of no interest for me here.

What is of greater interest for me are Trump's other beliefs and convictions that exacerbate the malignant narcissism at the core of his personality to the nth degree. There's truly no limit there as they emanate and expand from his core, affecting everything he says and does. Many people don't know, pay enough attention, and/or ignore them but they provide additional understanding to his "layered" narcissism that should equip you with insights, not send into outrage. Paradoxically, outrage numbs and demoralizes into inaction, insights result into action plans.

So here they are, in no particular order:

1. Manifestation

Trump is a practicing manifester. Has been for many years, probably since he met his mentor Roy Cohn, who convinced Trump he can achieve anything he sets his mind to. Trump believes that if he utters something into the ether, something he desires and truly wills it into existence, it will ultimately manifest into reality. Hence his repetitive speech patterns and "weaving," by the way: you need to repeat what you desire many times for it to come true, it's like a spell that needs to be completed and locked into a magic circle.

I am not against manifestation here in general, I know people who believe they can successfully manifest their hopes, aspirations and desires. Why this is important for understanding Trump is that he believes he can manifest anything and everything. And this ability defines his relationship with the truth. Many people who are not under his spell always wonder how he can lie so much; lying is like breathing for him. But here's the thing: in his mind, he never lies. He just manifests. And if he manifests successfully, he is never wrong. Hence his inability to admit any mistakes or wrongdoing.

2. Eugenics

Eugenics is a pseudo-science that fuels white supremacy and was behind Nazi medical experiments. It's being revived now by the far-right. As a practitioner, Trump believes he comes from superior genes. Evangelicals feed this fire by telling him he is "the chosen one." Hence Trump's obsession with his own "perfect health" and unshakable belief that he is strong, smart, and handsome. Eugenists also believe that their children, especially those who look and behave like them, are their biological extensions, literal continuation of their legacy and key to immortality.

Is this enough for you to understand his obsession with Ivanka and strange detachment from Barron who he refers to as "Melania's son"? By all Trump's measures of superiority, Barron outgrew him (taller, more handsome, smarter, and young) and for Trump it's scary, he doesn't know how to deal with it. So, Trump's solution is to just keep his distance and hope Barron will not outshine him while he is alive.

3. Human body as a battery

This is one of his quirkier convictions but Trump believes that the human body has a finite amount of energy to run on. I.e., there's only a certain number of heartbeats we have as a resource and strenuous activities deplete our bodies just like batteries deplete of their energy when used. That's why Trump never exercises and recently you see him in the snoozing mode more and more, since he is trying to conserve his energy. Old age adds to this: the elderly don't have good night sleep and take lots of naps.

4. Casual misogyny and racism

This doesn't need to be explained, but if you ask Trump if he believes he is racist or misogynist, he would emphatically say "no." Casual misogyny and racism are expressed in subtle behaviors and statements that many people consider harmless and can always write off as a joke. His supporters are exactly like this as well. "The Obamas as monkeys? Oh, it's just a joke and if you don't find it funny, you're a part of the problem" - I literally read this on a MAGA Army vet's FB page.

5. Zero-sum game in politics and business

In Trump's extremely competitive world, everyone is either a loser or a winner. Compromise is temporary and needs to be revisited under better conditions (watch out, Cuba and Greenland, we'll come after you again!). Trump does not believe in collaboration and trust, and alliances by extension, which takes us back to 19th century geopolitics (which, by the way, is shared by Putin) and pure transactionalism. Everything is a give-and-take game where Trump always needs to be on top. You hear this in his "They are taking advantage of us/they are laughing at us" rhetoric and his "winner-loser" dichotomies.

6. Perpetual war and (dis)loyalty

It's not paranoia yet but close. Just recently, Trump announced that all Democrats are the enemy of the country. Everyone who is against him and his policies is the enemy. Enemy needs to be neutralized and eliminated. Trump admin is building concentration camps that can hold a lot more people than all yet-to-be-deported immigrants for a reason. Everyone Trump labels as "an enemy" or "traitor" will end up there. This is again a shared feature with Putin, who is even more paranoid and is currently hiding in his bunker because he is afraid Israelis will hunt him down just like they did with Khamenei.

All of these can be seen in Trump's communication techniques and patterns, such as:

• Projection: When threatened, accuse the attacker. Every accusation by Trump is a confession. His mind and soul are so dark and heinous that a decent person cannot even comprehend the accusations, which seem numbingly unreal. I won't go here in detail, but do you remember the far-right hysteria about infanticide and "post-birth abortion" (which does not exist even linguistically, it's a euphemism for the murder of a newborn baby)? It was designed to outrage and if you are a decent person with functioning brain cells, you should have been wondering where the heck that came from and how could anyone, on the left or the right, do it. For the answer, I'll refer you to the newest release of the Epstein files and the document from a certain driver's testimony that the DOJ first uploaded and then tried to scrub, but not before millions of people took a screenshot and saved the document in other ways.
• Labeling and nicknaming - does not really need to be explained; the most recent example is Newscum; you should see Gavin's reaction to it;
• Weaving and repetition - I already mentioned it, but basically it's connecting ideas after three or four other ideas are expressed, basically thinking on a loop;
• Deflection and distraction - you will not catch Trump answering an unpleasant question honestly and when he feels threatened by a question he will attack the "accuser";
• Plain folks - playing to this fans, pretending to be just like them. What does have a billionaire who never worked an honest day of work in his life have in common with the working class he is dooping? - Only the dreams and promises he will never deliver.
• Confidence - Trump is probably the best and unsurpassed con artist of our times.

"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters." - DJT

And with all of this, the recent events show that Trump is losing his independence in decision-making. He is just a shield, a window dressing for the three much more powerful groups that play him like a fiddle:

(1) Evangelicals and Dominionists ushering in the Apocalypse;

(2) Israeli lobby working through Jared Kushner; and

(3) tech bros bent on building a new technocratic authoritarian state.

But that should be another article. Stay tuned.