By Anne-Marie Macloughlin
As the world came to on November 5 2024, we were greeted by the news that convicted felon and global punchline Donald J. Trump had won the election, something that the rational among us had hoped (possibly assumed?) wouldn’t have come to pass. Seeing a country elect an unhinged and vengeful carnival barker with a criminal record and a slew of charges against him as the candidate of choice was like watching an episode of “Black Mirror” play out in real time. Those of us who had grown up celebrating Guy Fawkes Night were reminded of the nursery rhyme that accompanied it: “Remember, Remember the 5th of November, Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.” Convicted of 34 felony counts in connection with charges relating to the 2016 election and hush money paid to a porn actress, the rational world hoped that with this alone against him, the current White House incumbent was unlikely to pull off a second term as the de facto leader of the free world.
But here we are. In the first 100 days the despot in chief has declared war on immigrants, veterans, education, social services and the rest of the world, most significantly threatening to steal Greenland, the Panama Canal and add Canada as the 51st state. Using what he refers to as “A very powerful tool” he flip flops on tariffs that harm the American people as much if not more than those on the receiving end. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out where I stand on Drumpf; it’s physically painful holding back the more colorful words I’d really like to use when discussing the dictator in chief. That said, there are millions of people who think very highly of him and the decisions he’s made since he scammed his way into the White House for the second time. His rallies attract a rabid fan base willing to frame xenophobia, misogyny, and blatant criminal activity as an acceptable ideology, his smirking attacks on democracy, decency and the rule of law providing a kind of sick entertainment for those who enjoy train wrecks.
Given that most of us do not have an in with the powers that be with regards to the American voting system and therefore cannot begin to comment in an informed fashion on the legitimate percentage of votes cast in favor of Trump, let’s just acknowledge that millions of Americans thought that a bad businessman turned media whore was a good choice for the POTUS not once, but twice. His notoriety was already well established in the cybersphere, his TV show “The Apprentice” a guilty pleasure for some, the catch phrase “you’re fired!” associated with a rich successful businessman holding the fate of the weekly contestants in his hand. Viewers tuned in to that show from 2004-2015 – and the subsequent spinoff “The Celebrity Apprentice” – to watch plebs and celebs alike to compete for a job working for Trump himself at a starting salary of $250,000.
So, what makes a businessman known for bankrupting casinos and subsequently lying about how many bankruptcies in total he has under his belt (six) in the debate with Hillary Clinton during his first run at President resonate so with the general population? It’s not as if the average person would feel a kinship with a millionaire television personality and professionally speaking, he has zero relatable skills or education to apply for even an entry level position in politics. His fans on the other hand argue that his “self-made millionaire” status and high public profile presents him as capable of growing the economy much as he did his own wealth and that his experience in making “deals” would help create strong economic relationships and make everyone rich. He’s scammed America into thinking he’s got what it takes to “Make America Great Again”, love-bombed his supporters into thinking he has their best interests at heart and brainwashed them into downplaying his criminal past. America is the clutches of a Malignant Narcissist, classified in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual as a Cluster B personality disorder. Let the gaslighting begin.
Not a psychiatrist or medically adjacent, it was nonetheless a no-brainer for me to immediately identify Trumpesque markers in aspects of the narcissist. “Grandiosity (an aspect of Antagonism); Feelings of entitlement, either overt or covert; self-centeredness; firmly holding to the belief that one is better than others; condescension toward others. (American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th, ed. American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013. DSM-V, doi-org.db29.linccweb.org/10.1176/ appi). A self-diagnosed “stable genius”, Trump presents as a textbook case, so deep are his delusions of grandeur he is incapable of entertaining any other viewpoint than his own, surrounding himself with fawning toadies to echo the narrative back at him.
There is no upside to being diagnosed as such; as a Cluster B Personality Disorder, MN’s share crossovers with Borderline, Histrionic and Anti-Social Personality Disorders, characterized by dramatic, manipulative, or emotional behaviors which, let’s face it, aren’t positive attributes. Named after the vane Greek youth Narcissus, interpreting the meaning behind the disorder has become muddied by pop cultural stereotypes of self-loving vain celebs addicted to self-promotion and image curation. To be fair, that does describe aspects of Trump’s daily MO, his Truth Social rants being vomited out on a regular basis, putting his 2 cent’s worth in, solicited or not, but would that it would be true that narcissists were merely silly vain self-promoters. Where it becomes truly dangerous is in the influence they wield over others; the ability to bamboozle, charm, coerce and manipulate all part of the MN’s arsenal.
As I sorted through the immense amount of Trump-related media reportage it became apparent that his whole raison-d’etre is revenge for losing something he felt was his divine right, namely, the American presidency. Accusations of cheating, voter fraud and conspiracy after conspiracy were thrown across media channels by this angry little man and his acolytes, proof itself an irrelevancy. Taking something away from a narcissistic person that they feel is theirs by right – first place, the best seats in the house, a promotion, raise or a spot in the White House – enrages them. In their paper “Sound the Alarm: The Effect of Narcissism on Retaliatory Aggression is Moderated by dACC Reactivity to Rejection” (Chester DS, DeWall CN. Sound the Alarm: The Effect of Narcissism on Retaliatory Aggression Is Moderated by dACC Reactivity to Rejection. J Pers. 2016 Jun;84(3):361-8. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12164. Epub 2015 Feb 17. PMID: 25564936; PMCID: PMC4492910.) the authors inform us that challenging a narcissist on their perception of self will set off retaliatory rage, a response that has neurological connotations; part of the brain’s receptors that are activated when a discrepancy between the two views of the self is presented. The ego is threatened and in the case of a MN the response is to attack the attacker – i.e. whomever disagreed with their grandiose vision of themselves – with a targeted campaign of destruction. Sounds familiar? Here are 2 examples of the Narcissist’s Revenge, Trump style.
Tariffs
In late November 2024, Trump pledged to impose a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, citing drug trafficking and “Illegal Aliens”, as well as a 10% tariff on Chinese goods by February 20th 2025. Ostensibly to strongarm Canada and Mexico to increase border security (but more a hatred of non-whites and to ramp up threats of the annexation of Canada), Trump’s narrative became progressively more hyperbolic and MAGA lapped it up. The fact that these levies on Canada and Mexico would blow up Trump’s own USMCA trade deal, which allowed many products to cross North American borders duty free, was irrelevant as he fired up his supporters with xenophobic rhetoric raging against criminals and drug smugglers all just waiting to sneak into the US and hand out their merch. This love bombing, Trump-style, was to assure MAGA that he cares about their safety, eliminating scary foreign threats to the American way of life. And don’t forget how much money the US has been subsidizing Canada and stealing from hard working Americans – to the tune of $100 billion dollars, apparently (December 2024) or $200 billion (February 2025). Or maybe another number somewhere in there, who knows. Certainly not Trump. But that’s irrelevant when it comes to gas-lighters. And as to how much fentanyl crosses from Canada to the US – 19.5 kilograms were seized by US border agents between October 2023 and September 2024, compared with nearly 9,600 kilograms at the borders with Mexico.
“You’re Fired”.
On July 17 2025, late night talk show host and darling of democrats Stephen Colbert announced that his “The Late Show” on CBS had been cancelled, its final broadcast scheduled for May 2026. A dedicated decrier of Trump, Colbert and others were quick to connect the cancellation with a merger the CBS parent company of Paramount had in the works with Skydance Media which was dependent on Federal sanction from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and has since come to pass. Paramount had been sued by Trump over an interview they had broadcast with Kamala Harris on the show “60 Minutes” last October that Trump alleged tipped the scales in favor of the democratic party and the network subsequently paid 16 million dollars to his planned “Presidential Library”, not him personally but still. Given the FCC are a federal agency and therefore subject to presidential order it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the order of play – Trump gets upset over something he insists gives his enemies a leg up, he sues the perpetrator who then gets the green light for a big bucks merger after they funds up damages (although without an actual apology) and not so shockingly a very popular Trump nemesis is given notice. Since Trump ran for office the first time, Colbert has been relentless in his lampooning of the president, made no secret of his political leanings and on 31 July had Kamala on his show again who made no mention of the lawsuit but expressed her disappointment as how many purported “Guardians of democracy and the system” had “capitulated” to Trump. Skydance also promised to end diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, something the Trump regime despises.
To reiterate, I am not a mental health professional nor making a diagnosis here. But thanks to the incessant dissemination of news media with regards to Trump it isn’t difficult to see a pattern – “Disagree with me and I’ll sue/fire/deport/arrest/fine/impeach” etc etc. Many of us have been exposed to malignant narcissists in our daily lives or more seriously, in family or relationship constructs. During a period of personal study in narcissism and trauma it became apparent that one of the most destabilizing aspects of dealing with a narcissist is their inability to remain consistent within their relationships. On the one hand people want to believe the “nice” persona, the one that shows up first, the one delivering promises, compliments, gifts, and the assurance that our best interests are at heart. Compliance is what they want and they do what they have to to get it, in Trump’s case, votes, support and adoration. As soon we are sucked in, the worm turns – the narcissist not only fails to deliver on their grandiose promises but will pull away, their attention waning as they find a new victim. Witness Trump’s shifting alliance with Vladimir Putin and various other actors. The media can barely keep up with the narrative; he behaves like a toddler looking for the next fun thing to play with and treats the planet like a chunk of real estate that’s there for the taking (see Greenland, Canada, etc.). Now he’s in the big chair he has no interest in love bombing America; Donald Trump’s Revenge Tour is in full swing.
