In a discussion with my young son, he pointed out something about Trump. Whenever he does something that seems silly, odd, or even bizarre, he is dominating the news cycle...which he wants to do. In doing so, whether the news is "positive" or "negative"... people are talking about him (which is what he desires) and it might just work, since he is forever before the people. People are, thus, speaking less about Biden. Makes sense.
I've been convinced for years that it is an explicit Trump strategy to do this. The apparent philosophy being bad news is better than no news. Think about this. In past administrations/campaigns what has caused the most problems has been the hammering on the same thing over and over for many months or years. Even if it leads no where, it is still problematic. A couple of examples, Benghazi and Clinton's emails, nothing ever really came out of either of these of substance but they are arguably what did in Hillary Clinton's career. On the other hand every week it seems something of more substance comes up in the Trump administration/campaign but it quickly gets buried by the next new thing. Trump is an absolute genius at capturing the news cycle. While it is true that it doesn't seem to work as well as it used to, I think it still serves Trump.
I thought the strategy was to show up orange, wear a massive combover, talk over everybody, flail his arms in a both authoritative and dismissive way, and deny everything and everybody that doesn't flatter him. Well hell, no reason to change now. It got him this far.
I believe it too, Bill. But I don't think the reason has much to do with seeking political approval or votes. It's just a deep-seated need for attention - the operating principle being that negative attention is better than no attention. Same as when little kids sometimes misbehave on purpose, when they can't get their "attention fix" in a positive way. It's a matter of concern, I think, when a world leader often reverts to strategies consistent with a very young mental age.
I think we agree. That is his "gut" reason. He also has some more intellectual reasons to state explicitly (The narcist personality is based on an arrested development where empathy never develops properly and so does mean some very childish characteristics sometimes.)
Narcissism? I think you hit a homer, Bill. These 4 therapists agree. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/11/donald-trump-narcissism-therapists
https://smile.amazon.com/Dangerous-Case-Donald-Trump-Psychiatrists/dp/B076245F8N/ref=sr_1_1?crid=IXES6DHR54HY&dchild=1&keywords=the+dangerous+case+of+donald+trump&qid=1602220503&s=audible&sprefix=the+dangerous+case+of+%2Caudible%2C201&sr=1-1
It's one thing when it's "civilians" like you and me. I happen to agree with you; he sure seems like a narcissist to me. But... isn't it unethical for therapists to diagnose someone they've never met?
Yes and no, there's also a "duty to warn" argument. The psychologists say it's a very obvious case. The "diagnosis" is agreed by Mary Trump, his niece, who knows him personally and is a clinical psychologist that wrote her own book. https://smile.amazon.com/Too-Much-Never-Enough-Dangerous/dp/B0898S8WP8/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=mary+trump+donald+trump&qid=1602252011&s=audible&sr=1-1 I read one book about narcissism many years ago, long before I ever heard of Trump, and it seems like an obvious diagnosis to me as well. While he is an extra severe case, much less severe cases are fairly common. People with the disorder are generally fairly well able to function in their jobs usually. One lady that worked for me had NPD, I think. She had some issues getting along with colleagues but was a horrible mother that beat her kids. My daughter taught violin lessons to her son. Lack of empathy is the defining characteristic. I think ability to empathize is more important for a parent than a work colleague.
Tried to edit, but couldn't in time. I should have referred to it as "what is commonly called TDS". Generalized anxiety disorder. The steady drip going into people's minds, coupled with the stressors that already exist separate from Big Media. I can see how it would break people. An environment of extreme focus on a vocally narcissistic wealthy, white male target. Resulting in the lashing out in the peculiar manner we so often see now.
The last election was between a narcissist and a sociopath. The current election is between a narcissist, a senile pathological liar and Kanye West. I think we ought to appreciate how far we've come.
I think what is referred to as TDS is real in two ways, both where his detractors attribute malice to every mention of his name, and conversely where his supports are incapable of seeing any malice in anything he does, however obvious.
Well, and Jo Jorgensen, who's on every ballot. And for the lefties, Howie Hawkins, who (unlike Kanye) is on enough ballots to theoretically win. As usual, though, I expect non-voters will be the plurality.
From my perspective (a Trump supporter rather than a Trump hater) it's the democrats who do that. Biden isn't isn't doing much of anything. Kamala seems to be in hiding. I've never seen a Presidential campaign as lackadaisical and flaccid as theirs. They seem to have delegated the campaigning to the media, entertainment and "education" who serve as their unofficial propaganda arms. Every time that somebody looks at the legacy media (fewer and fewer do), it's non-stop "Trump sux!!" We even see it here on Degreeinfo. It's everywhere and it has been since even before the 2016 election. Trump was a "fascist"! He was a "nazi"! He was a "racist"! He was a "xenophobe"! He was a "misogynist"! He was a "Russian agent!" Crazy, bizarre, over the top and repeated over and over and over. Dominating every news cycle. What the New York Times calls "the narrative". Assuming that there's any strategy to it and that it isn't entirely psychological, I suppose that it's intended to sway the tiny fraction of voters in the middle who haven't already formed an opinion and a voting intention. They don't know anything about the candidates, they have no opinion on the issues, but they remember that "Trump sux!!" which they've heard over and over and over and over. So these voters are supposed to think, 'Can't see voting for him if he sux'. Association, like Pavlov's dog. We see it in how the democrats constantly try to make Trump's personality the focus in this election. You did it yourself with your "silly, odd or even bizarre" jibe. That's why they are so silent on the issues and so fixated on personality. They know that a platform that places the interests of illegal aliens, rioters and transvestites above the interests of patriotic working Americans isn't likely to be a winning platform. So it all devolves to "Yeah, maybe so, but Trump sux!!" So we go into an elcction in which nobody really knows what a Biden-Harris administration, or a Harris-Biden administration, actually stands for or will do once elected. There are so many factions in their party, it's impossible to know which ones will end up on top. The race/gender militants? The deep-state spooks and what Vindman called "the interagency"? The silicon valley tech titans? The Venezuela-style socialists? Nancy Pelosi? The rioters, arsonists and looters who demand the elimination of police? So much better to turn the spotlight the other way, towards "Trump sux"! Maybe it will work, I don't know how the election will turn out. All I know is that the United States has never seen anything like it in its history.
"Trump Strategy" is a name of strategy by the left to unseat the democratically elected President of the United States. All the American people who voted for President Trump seen since 2016 is the unveiling of the "Trump Strategy" Trump attack mode 24x7 since 2016. Like a magician, you never know what next the left will pull out of the hat. The strategy with huge help from the puppets ie drive-by so-called left media disinformation on behalf of the left masters is somewhat successful. They condition the brains of people. and this is how Congress has the left majority. Shortly we will see how successful the "Trump Strategy" will be in the 2020 elections. And what price our country will have to pay to satisfy the left. In a few words, for the left, the "Trump Strategy" is to destroy Trump by any means.
The only one I can stand is Jo Jorgensen. Although I can't help but remember what Frank Zappa said, that "Government is the Entertainment division of the military-industrial complex."