My working theory is that Trump is best understood as an epically tragic character.

So desperate to be valued and liked, that he desperately grabs at anything and everything to get the acclaim that, under normal circumstances, would signify that.

His besetting character flaws foreclose any possibility of attaining the actual approval he seeks.

And so, with his misguided approaches to getting praise and love, the harder he tries the further they are from his reach.

Adding to that tragedy is that a 180-degree U-turn is still within his reach. He could do it today, and probably get some of what he most deeply wants. But I think the most likely outcome is that he'll keep his current trajectory for the rest of his life.

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farrelle25 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

100% this … He’s a wounded Soul … desperate to be loved and admired. As someone else wrote - there’s a void inside him that can’t be filled.

Yes if only he had the heart/insight to make that 180 U-turn. It’d bring him some peace at last.

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mapontosevenths 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> So desperate to be valued and liked, that he desperately grabs at anything and everything to get the acclaim

Like all billionaires, he is an empty void that can never be filled. To borrow a phrase, he is a hungry ghost.

After his first million he needed more, then after a billion he saw that it was not enough, then after becoming president... he is, was, and always will be an empty hole of a person who can never feel satiated and who can consequently never feel genuine happiness.

He is not just a bad person, his is a bad soul.

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vrganj 2 days ago | parent [-]

It's time we take seriously the pathology behind billionaires.

You can't become one as a person with basic empathy. To do so is a moral failing.

	▲	jrs235 2 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Most can't. I would say Warren Buffet was level headed, has empathy, and understood he was a steward of resources.
	▲	mapontosevenths 2 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Earlier I said "all billionaires", and that wasn't fair. To be clear, there are some who turn Capitalism into a religion (objectivists, and the like), and to them it can be moral. They at least seek to serve a moral good, even if I disagree about the means I can appreciate that their goal is still to make the world a better place. Trump is not one though. He is utterly devoid of morality and seeks only to fill an endless black need for external validation.

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cestith 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don’t think he’s interested in general approval. Having a fervent cultish minority support and being detested by others both seem to suit him. Hell, he seems to enjoy being able to paint himself a victimized underdog to his followers.

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RealityVoid 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Interesting reading, but hard to have sympathy when he causes suffering for so many.

I also don't think changing his behavior is within reach. His narcissism prevents him from growth and, like the scorpion in the tale, he can't help but sting.

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CoastalCoder 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

Thanks. FWIW I wasn't trying to imply that we should have sympathy for him.

My only point was that so much of this suffering, both for himself and others, could be avoided but for his choices and flaws.

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weavie 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I don't think it's so clear cut. The problem is that his personality defects have allowed him to be influenced by people who are truly malevolent. Those people lurk more in the shadows and so avoid the condemnation that they deserve. Trump is their obvious useful idiot with the target painted on his head.

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