President Donald Trump expressed how pleased he was with the level of assistance his government had offered Puerto Rico. Given the catastrophic damage the island has sustained, Trump seems rather delusional in his conclusion of how the relief effort has been handled.
In this quote from CNN.com: “All available resources, including the military, are being marshaled to save lives,” he said. And “we have been really treated very, very nicely by the governor and everyone else.” He’d gone on to say, that the people of Puerto Rico “are important to all of us.”
What stands out is the comment regarding his own treatment by the governor! Trump seemed more focused on his sense of importance and value, over his ability to grasp the immense level of destruction this island and its people have endured. In short, it was yet another sign of Trump’s narcissistic behavior.
According to psychologytoday.com, “Otto Kernberg, a psychoanalyst specializing in borderline personalities, defined malignant narcissism as having four components: narcissism, paranoia, antisocial personality and sadism. Trump exhibits all four.”
In acknowledging the fact that there is a troubling pattern of behavior exhibited by men such as Trump and more recently movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, who are in positions of extreme power and influence; is the idea that they possess similar traits to those who have been labeled psychopathic or sociopathic.
Steve Jobs, the chairman, chief executive officer, and co-founder of Apple Inc. (who died in 2011), was brilliant, yet as Walter Isaacson, author of “Steve Jobs,”(a biography) stated in his book that Jobs: “was capable of frightening coldness even with his oldest collaborators and his family.”
Though never diagnosed as either sociopathic or psychopathic, Jobs seemed to lack the filter to restrain himself from acting out maliciously on co-workers, friends and family alike. It was also known that he’d initially refused to acknowledge he’d fathered a child with girlfriend Chrisann Brennan.
Harvey Weinstein made a weak attempt at apologizing for his behavior toward women, stating that: “This was a wake-up call. I’m so sorry. It’s not okay. I have more work to do. I’ll do better. Please help me do better. I’m sorry. I’m very sorry. I’m so very sorry. I really do respect women.”
Almost immediately, he’d turned around and expressed his anger and desire to sue The New York Times for defamation over the sexual misconduct allegations. So, along with this (so-called) acknowledgment there was a perceived sense of detachment around his own behavior.
One of the traits that seem to be missing in these men is empathy. It is as if they see themselves as somehow above the rest of society. These men, seem to lack the understanding of and operate beyond the normal boundaries of acceptable behavior. It is if they’ve given themselves license to act out in destructive, disturbing and at times, violent ways.
Though much is written on a daily basis about Trump, he is the President of The United States and continues to run the country, with his government team acting as his “protector,” and deflecting away from his bombastic rhetoric. As for Weinstein, Police investigations have now opened up, as women continue to come forward and speak against his abuse. He is the catalyst to bring about change. The light is beginning to shine on years and years of darkness.
