A Triumphant President: A Psychoanalyst’s Observations and Opinions

During the 2016 presidential campaign I was stunned and often revolted by Donald Trump’s aggressive and insulting verbal behavior and political tactics. His comments about Carly Fiorina’s face angered and disgusted me. At times, his ad hominem attacks on political opponents were beyond impolite. Such behaviors were harshly labeled as unpresidential by pundits.

As a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, I took note of Trump’s obvious narcissistic preoccupations and relentless insecurity about criticism. his impulsive, punching, and counter-punching Tweets that created social media chicken and egg dilemmas. Did Trump’s political Tweet-punches create the liberals’ and liberal media’s hatred of Trump and their incipient fake news attacks on Trump, or was Trump primarily asserting and righteously defending himself? In the long run both Trump and the mainstream media seemed to relish and profit from the combat. They have created and coauthored a modern American political reality TV world of P.T. Barnumesque proportions. Ordinary buttoned-up, focus group-prepared politicians seemed bland and colorless in comparison to Trump the outrageous bully.

I also noted Trump’s hypo-manic behavior and personality style. My earliest associations about Trump were to Teddy Roosevelt. Like a classic hypo-manic personality, Trump seems to need little sleep and demonstrates unending energy and drive.

Over time, however, I became fascinated and increasingly impressed with Trump’s successful campaign despite his blatantly unorthodox political tactics and narcissism.

More from Dr. Olsson here