‘Snowflake’ (sometimes ‘special snowflake’) is a slang term used in recent years, usually directed against “entitled” Millennials who complain about the America they inherited — one full of debt, minimum wage jobs, exhorbitant student loans they can never hope to pay back, and few opportunities.
The term “snowflake” has its roots back in the 1990s and early 2000s when Millennials were still schoolchildren. In those days, it was fashionable for teachers to recognize that “every child was special” and give awards and prizes just for participating, etc. so that no one would feel left out. A real snowflake is a common and unremarkable thing, as common as dust. But since, purportedly, no two snowflakes are alike, every snowflake is special.
Over time, “snowflake” became a pejorative term, intended to shame a person for allegedly wanting “special” (or in most cases, maybe just “fair” or “just”) treatment.
Since Trump’s win in November, the meaning of ‘snowflake’ has shifted to a more political definition and is no longer confined to Millennials. The formerly non-political insult has been used frequently by alt-right Trump supporters to dismiss and minimalize the concerns of “the lib’ruls” (another insult they frequently use against those who oppose their far right views). “Snowflake” is used to trivialize the very real concerns of those who oppose the Trump presidency, regardless of their generation. It’s used against anyone of any age who dislikes Trump’s authoritarian, cruel, and controversial policies. So, if you’re an aging person and afraid you might lose your health insurance or Medicare or social security, are worried about accelerated climate change and the shut down of the EPA when we need it the most, fear and loathe Trump’s dismantling of democracy, are deeply offended by his war on truth, or oppose the Muslim ban, then, according to the Trump supporters, you are a pathetic snowflake who just expects special treatment or entitlements, when all you really expect is decent and humane treatment and your civil and human rights to not be taken away from you.
Calling people ‘snowflakes’ under these circumstances is gaslighting and shaming. It’s only one small example of the nationwide narcissistic abuse this administration is already dishing out on all of us, but it’s one of the more obvious (and annoying) ones. Complain because your mother has cancer and may lose her health care and die, and you’re a snowflake. Speak out against the president’s constant lies and twisting of the truth into “alternative facts” and “fake news” and you’re a snowflake. Express concern that this administration’s bigoted policies may bring back discrimination and sanction public bullying of non-whites, and you’re a snowflake. Object to Trump’s discussing women like chattel and sex objects, and you’re a snowflake.
In Trump’s strongman world, there is no room for anything feminine, sensitive, or soft. There is no room for compassion, kindness, or empathy, for in Trumpland, all those things are weakness. If you’re bullied, well, you probably deserve it because you’re a loser anyway and probably a snowflake too. Already I hear stories about bullying of kids who are “different” now being condoned among the kids of alt-right parents. They feel empowered to bully those who aren’t like them, because Trump is the President and he says it’s okay and he does it himself, so it must be okay.
This administration is bringing out the worst in everyone. For Trump’s supporters, they now feel emboldened, because they now have permission to bully and abuse those who don’t agree with them or are different than they are, and for everyone else — especially those of us who suffered abuse — we feel triggered: dissociated, afraid and hypervigilant, caught in a downward spiral of increasing chaos, hopelessness, and despair.
You’re not alone, as this chart shows. Older people (Silent Generation) are the most stressed out (probably because they are the most vulnerable group of people), followed by young adult Millennials, a generation that has been hobbled by an economic system that has prevented them from being able to get a foothold in the door of full adulthood (no, they are NOT entitled–they just want what previous generations had that has been denied to them). Gen-Xers are the least stressed out, but they have always been somewhat disaffected and of all the living generations, tend to be the least involved in politics and the least likely to vote. They tend to focus most of their attention on personal or local matters as opposed to national ones. But even almost half of them are on tenterhooks about the election along with everyone else.
Other countries are nervous about this election too. Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz talks about that in this article and video. I think of all the elections in the history of this nation, none has been as nerve-wracking as this one. Given the mood of the country right now, no matter who wins, I could see massive rioting breaking out in urban areas should it be a close election.
I really wish I could just leave should the worst happen. If Trump wins, I could see people leaving the country en masse, especially progressives with enough means to do so and young Millennials who aren’t afraid of taking risks. It would be the first time in history that people wanted to get out of America. Should something like that happen, we’d be left with a nation full of wealthy white conservatives and the most vulnerable impoverished people, with no one in between as a buffer. That would bring us even closer to third-world status than we already are. I could see mass unrest/rioting or even a civil war breaking out all too easily, and a police state being set up to control the hordes of angry, rioting people. I could see a Hunger Games-type situation in our future. We are definitely in a fourth turning. Think the housing crisis of 2008 was bad? You ain’t seen nothing yet. It’s not gonna be pretty.
I wonder if another wealthy country (like Canada?) would intervene in that case, the way we always seem to be getting involved in other countries who need outside assistance. I heard a rumor that Canada has set aside areas for refugees to settle should Trump win, which would not require a passport. I have no idea if this is true or not. Even Mexico (which hardly qualifies as first world) looks like a viable option for those who want to escape.
I’m pretty sure I’m going to vomit on election night from the stress. I’ve never been this nervous about any election.
There have been many articles written about Donald Trump’s alleged NPD, some written by bona fide mental health professionals, others by armchair wannabe psychologists–but this is the first one I’ve read that actually talks about Trump’s strange and painful childhood and his spotty memory of important events in his early life–and the surreal way this rather tragic figure (in spite of his billions) is now self destructing in front of the whole world. This entire election has been like a huge reality show — and no doubt the end of the show will prove to be very bit as dramatic.
Donald Trump, Narcissism, and Diagnosis as a Political Sport
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Southeastern Livestock Pavillion on October 12, 2016 in Ocala, Florida. (Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)
By GABOR MATÉ Special to The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Oct. 14, 2016
The consensus as to Donald Trump’s psychiatric issues is nearly unanimous. “Textbook narcissistic personality disorder,” according to clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis, quoted in Vanity Fair. He is just one of many who have reached the same conclusion. Noting his motor mouth, chronic inability to pay attention and shockingly deficient impulse control, others diagnosed Trump as a severe case of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Tony Schwartz, Trump’s ghostwriter for his 1987 bestseller, The Art of the Deal, reported that his client had no attention span and fidgeted “like a kindergartner who cannot sit still.”
In an election cycle where a candidate has been accused of unprecedented misconduct, including the latest allegations of sexual assault by multiple women, psychiatrists are bypassing the long-held professional standard, called the Goldwater rule, which stipulates that no psychologist should make a diagnosis of a person he or she has not examined face-to-face.
As a stressed electorate tries to make sense of a campaign unlike any other, they’re demanding to know: What is the root of Trump’s bizarre displays?
Making inferences about someone’s mental health is common sport with public figures. We don’t have the same data a psychiatrist or psychologist might have, but as candidates’ histories are revealed in biographical articles or books, and their behaviours are scrutinized in public forums, certain patterns become clear.
What we perceive as the adult personality often reflects compensations a helpless child unwittingly adopted in order to survive. Such adaptations can become wired into the brain, persisting into adulthood. Underneath all psychiatric categories, Trump manifests childhood trauma. His opponent Hillary Clinton evinces her own history of early suffering, even if milder and far more muted in its impact.
The ghostwriter Schwartz reports that Trump had no recollection of his youth. There is always a reason for such amnesia. People have poor recall of their childhoods when they found reality so painful that their minds had to push memories into the unconscious. “I don’t like to analyze myself because I might not like what I see,” Trump admitted to a biographer.
According to biographers, Trump’s father was a workaholic, a ruthless, cold and authoritarian man who believed life is a competition where the “killers” win.
Donald’s elder brother drove himself into alcoholism, a common escape from pain, and to an early death. The younger, favoured child is now self-destructing on the world stage.
Lying is such an endemic aspect of Donald Trump’s personality that he does so almost helplessly and reflexively. “Lying is second nature to him,” Tony Schwartz told The New Yorker. “More than anyone else I have ever met, Trump has the ability to convince himself that whatever he is saying at any given moment is true, or sort of true, or at least ought to be true.”
Many Bernie supporters are understandably upset that he lost to Hillary in the primaries. However, I’m alarmed by how many of them say they want to sit out this election or write in a vote for Bernie just because they can’t stand Hillary or her policies. I understand those feelings, but please hear me out. I don’t care for Clinton much either, but Bernie himself has bowed out graciously and is supporting her in this election. He knows what will happen if he does not.
Progressives, please do the right thing. If you don’t vote–or write in an independent vote for Bernie–Trump has a very good chance of winning this election! Is that really what you want? So if you feel as strongly as I do about what a disaster a Trump presidency would be, then hold your nose, use smelling salts, whatever you have to do–but vote for Hillary, just as Bernie is doing.
Again, my apologies for getting political on this blog, but this is probably the most important election in the history of this country. Maybe it sounds like hyperbole, but the wrong person winning the presidency could spell disaster for America beyond anything we’ve ever seen before. 9/11 and the 2008 housing crisis would look like a walk in the park. We’re already on a slippery slope to becoming a third world nation. Did you know Trump wants to abolish Social Security? I won’t even describe how disastrous that would be for millions of elderly and disabled people who have no other options. And that’s just for starters. So please do the right thing and stand by Bernie in his support of Hillary Clinton. Thank you.
I hope Hillary asks him to run on her ticket as vice president or another cabinet position. That would be a smart move, and attract many of the Bernie supporters who otherwise might not vote.
I always try to refrain from posting anything too politically partisan on this blog, but this is too important not to talk about, so I’m breaking my rule here.
I don’t like Hillary Clinton. I was and am a Bernie Sanders supporter. Like Bernie, I’m not afraid to admit my political leanings are “democratic socialist.” There’s nothing wrong with the S word in my book. Right wing conservatives have twisted its meaning into something resembling Communism, which it is not. “Democratic socialism” is the dominant ideology in Canada and western and central Europe. One of our greatest presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was also a democratic socialist, and lifted this country out of the Depression and indeed, “made America great again.” I always wondered what was so great about the crass narcissism capitalism that’s been taking over America like a cancer for the past 3-4 decades and stealing from the poor and middle class to provide welfare to big corporations and the wealthy. But anyway, I’m not going to get into that any further here.
Like many non-conservatives (I hesitate to call myself a “Democrat,” because in recent years, the party has come to stand for nothing at all except maybe watered down conservatism), I’m tempted to sit out this election, because of my personal feelings about Ms. Clinton. But if everyone does that, Trump will win by default! That’s a scary, scary prospect for reasons many of you are already aware of. The man is a sociopathic, xenophobic, malignant narcissist. Even mental health professionals point to him as a poster boy for severe NPD. The prospect of him becoming our next president is truly frightening.
If Hillary doesn’t choose Bernie as her running mate, a lot of liberals are once again going to not bother voting–and write in their votes for Bernie, if they do anything. Bernie came out of nowhere and became incredibly popular among Millennials in particular, who were (and still are!) almost rabid in their support of him. Whether you agree with Bernie’s agenda or not, his motives seem honest and he knew how to use social media (especially Twitter) to his advantage, attracting the younger generation, who are this country’s future.
If Hillary is as as smart as she seems to be, she will choose Bernie Sanders as her running mate because then those liberals who otherwise would not vote (and let Trump win by default) will get out there and vote for her (even if they have to hold their nose while doing it). Of course, Sanders also has to agree to accept a vice presidential position (or other cabinet position) under Hillary, even if she should choose him. #VOTEFORHILLARY #BERNIEFORVP
Donald Trump is such a narcissist that Barack Obama looks at him and goes, ‘Dude, what’s your problem?’ — Ted Cruz
I’m talking about The Donald, of course. Most politicians have a narcissistic style or narcissistic traits, but we have probably never had a president with fullblown NPD. Author and narcissism expert Sam Vaknin has watched over 600 hours of footage of Trump and pegs him as a malignant narcissist. I believe him. Yikes!
Former Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz had a few words about Trump too. He was enraged when Trump accused Cruz’s father of being involved in JFK’s assassination, and exploded to the press. Here is the transcript of that, and an accompanying video of Cruz’s entire rant.
The Primary election is on Tuesday night, but I’m so out of the loop sometimes that I didn’t even realize early voting ended today. I always try to vote early because you can avoid all the crowds and craziness. Sort of like Christmas shopping.
I wasn’t planning on voting today. I was driving downtown to run some errands. But I happened to pass by the library and saw all the campaign signs and a long line of people waiting to get inside. Huh? Why so many people standing on line when it’s early voting?
I got out of my car and breathed in the warm early spring air. It was a glorious day, with the sun shining and the birds singing. A few trees are beginning to blossom. I walked over and asked someone why the line was so long, and she told me there was only an hour left before the early voting polls closed until Tuesday night! I’d made it right in the nick of time. So I thanked her and took my place at the back of the line. The atmosphere was party -like. People were excited about their candidates of choice, and the spring weather made things seem festive.
The vast majority of people waiting to vote were young families, many with babies. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many babies in one place since I took my own kids to Gymboree classes back when they were tiny toddlers. A quick mental calculation based on these young parents’ appearance told me they were part of the Millennial generation (born in the 1980s and 1990s) A few might have been later Gen-X or Gen Y, but not too many. I’ve been reading about how politically active the Millennials are, something the previous generation (Gen-X) was generally not when they were of like age, oh, about 20 years ago now. (Has it really been that long?)
There was a 20-something clean-cut young man handing out flyers and another 20-something young woman dressed in hipster garb and covered with campaign buttons enthusiastically talking about the election and handing out flyers for a different candidate. My own 24 year old son has also become politically active in his state. He’s campaigning for Bernie Sanders (who seems very popular with Millennials, which is ironic since he’s the oldest of all the candidates). A an aside, Bernie has amassed his enormous popularity among Millennials through social media, especially Twitter, where you can #FeeltheBern becoming an unquenchable fire. 2011’s ill-fated Occupy movement also built its momentum using Twitter to spread the word. The movement might have fizzled out before it could make a real impact (or been silenced), but I think it was the first real sign of things to come.
Millennials get it. They’re not taking any more of the same old, same old. They’re not backing candidates who spout the same old tired rhetoric we’ve become so familiar with, jaded candidates funded by huge corporations who promise change but fail to deliver. This generation has inherited a broken nation and no one seems to give a damn. They have had a terrible time getting a foot in the door of real adulthood because they can’t find decent jobs that pay a living wage and many can’t afford to move out of he home they grew up in. They are in college debt up to their eyeballs and will no doubt remain in debt until their late middle age or even for the rest of their lives if things don’t change. They’re sick of being called entitled crybabies, when all they want is the same opportunities that other generations before them did. They also realize that if things are going to change, it’s going to be them that have to make things change.
Most of the Millennial generation is now old enough to vote, and they are taking advantage of that right and showing up at the polls to exercise that hard-won right, whether they are male or female; black, white, Hispanic, or “other;” gay or straight; Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or atheist; and regardless of political affiliation (though most seem to be quite liberal or independent). As Americans, we all have the right to vote, and voting is the only thing that brings real change. If you fail to vote, do you really have a right to complain? Although I’m terribly unhappy with the state of this nation and have been for a long time, I always felt guilty griping about it whenever I failed to vote.
So I stood there on line feeling the spring breeze in my hair and looked around at all these enthusiastic Millennials on line, with their bumper crop of babies and toddlers (the future generation of this country), and felt very proud of this young adult generation, the same one William Strauss and Neil Howe predicted back in the 1990s would become the new “Greatest” generation–the people who would finally be able to save America from itself.
Madonna wearing the “Eye of Horus,” a commonly seen Illuminati symbol.
For awhile, there’s been a growing Internet meme that states that the Illuminati (a secret fraternal organization started in Bavaria in the late 1800s and closely affiliated with the Masons) is pulling the strings behind everything from politics to the economy to the entertainment industry, and the people we see on our TVs and the media are nothing more than puppets attempting to indoctrinate the rest of us. It’s been purported that 9/11 was an “inside job”, the 2008 financial collapse was planned in order to benefit the richest 1%, and most or even all successful recording artists, actors and other entertainers are secret members of the Illuminati and undergo behind-closed-doors initiations that involve brainwashing, devil worship and depraved acts such as bestiality and human sacrifice. They believe Illuminati’s sole purpose is to establish a New World Order that rejects God and makes Satan its master. Fundamentalist millenarian Christians swallow this idea hook, line and sinker because it’s in keeping with Biblical prophecy and to them, is proof we are seeing the last of the Last Days, when humanity becomes increasingly debauched, soulless, and turns away from the God of the Bible toward the Self as God (which they purport the New Age teaches).
Being a person who values reason over hysteria, I’ve always been a skeptic when it comes to such conspiracy theories, but lately I’m beginning to wonder. I’ve always believed 9/11 was (at least in part) an inside job and I wouldn’t doubt the financial collapse being one also. I’ve never trusted the government or politicians (OR the powerful corporations and the people who run them) and I strongly believe our society serves and rewards the wealthiest 1%, not the masses. It’s gotten a whole lot worse in recent years too, and psychopathy and blatant narcissism seems to be in excess these days and is treated as almost a virtue and a means to get ahead. But even so, I was still a skeptic about the Illuminati and always laughed when I’d hear the “crazy” conspiracy theories. “Oh, the Illuminati again LOL!” was my attitude whenever I read the warnings of yet another whistle-blowing Klaxon. I wasn’t even sure such an organization existed, never mind have such a powerful influence over the civilized world.
But the other day I was watching some videos of celebrities who allegedly were inducted into the Illuminati (these videos are all over Youtube) and saw something frightening: at some point after their initiation (and usually immediately following or during a star’s sudden rise to fame and fortune), the light goes out in their eyes and they become flat and dead looking. Of course, Photoshopping can do a lot to “convince” us of the truth of that, so this alone wouldn’t convince me the theory is true. Besides, the entertainment industry itself can certainly take a toll on your soul once you achieve fame, without there being any secret demon-worshipping activities involved at all. When you become famous you lose your right to any semblance of privacy or a life of your own: your life isn’t your own anymore; it now belongs to the music or film producers and powerful corporations who are motivated by money and greed, and you must maintain the image they want you to present at all times if you want to keep your contract. In essence, you must sell out to the fame-machine. In that sense, you can actually lose your soul.
So it wasn’t the entertainers’ blank, expressionless faces and fake smiles that made me think there could be something unholy going on in entertainment (most obviously in music) as well as big business and politics. It was the symbolism. Almost all successful musicians these days use a great deal of Illuminati symbolism in their performances, music videos, and publicity photos: some of these are The Eye of Horus (the all-seeing eye) enclosed within pyramids (both of which also appear on the back of the American dollar bill), certain hand signs associated with the Illuminati, one eye being covered in some way, satanic goat’s heads (the god Baphomet), checkerboard floors, diamonds, and other satanic or illuminati symbolism. Although some effort is made to make these symbols subliminal, they are becoming increasingly obvious.
It’s believed by many that these entertainers are forced to “pay homage” to the Illuminati through these symbols, and that they also serve as a “secret communication” between Illuminati members that the rest of us won’t catch. It’s also been said it’s meant to indoctrinate the masses to the idea of satanism and the unholy, softening us to the eventual takeover of the world by the devil.
Illuminati symbolism in entertainment and politics is nothing new, but less effort is made now to hide it, and some form of this symbolism seems to appear in EVERY music video made by extremely successful music stars. Photos of celebrities in music, film and TV; and politicians and business leaders often show them covering one eye or making the ubiquitous Illuminati hand signs:
Beyonce and her husband Jay-Z are highly rumored to be high ranking Illuminati members.
The popular “devils horns” that’s often seen at rock concerts is actually an Illuminati symbol and us used in politics as well.
Another example of an Illuminati hand sign and another symbol, a diamond.
But even this wasn’t enough to make me think the takeover of the media and entertainment by the Illuminati might be true. It was this video of Taylor Swift performing at the 2012 AMA awards:
Taylor Swift, was, until around the time of this video (and her simultaneous switch from country to pop music), was a virginal pop-country princess whose videos and shows were wholesome enough for parents to take their preteen daughters to and Taylor was held up as a role model. Her songs were catchy and tuneful and she always dressed modestly and just seemed like such a nice person in an industry full of so much depravement and immorality. But here, we see a different Taylor. Yes, she is older and with age one would expect more “worldliness,” but I’m not so sure. This performance has been said by many to be a representation of her initiation into the Illuminati (which purportedly took place in 2009, with the Kanye West incident being a “test,” which she passed). In the beginning of this video, she comes out on stage dressed in virginal white (meant to represent the early Taylor) but then is “raped” by the dancers (representing the Illuminati) and emerges dressed in black and red, and suddenly her demeanor changes from sweet to siren-ish. The video is full of Illuminati and Masonic symbolism too.
It’s interesting that this seems to be a pattern, particularly in the music industry: once a celebrity becomes a commercial success, suddenly they take a very dark turn and the symbolism begins to appear.
While I can’t say Taylor has lost her soul or has the dead-eye look some celebrities seem to get (in her interviews she seems quite together and happy and as nice as ever), she is now the most powerful person in the music industry and her success only seems to keep growing. Her music has also become a lot darker. Did she sell out to the forces of Satan in exchange for unlimited fame and fortune? Will she harden even more as she gets deeper into the cult? Will the light go out in her eyes? What about other successful celebrities? Are they masters of their fortune or are they really victims and slaves to a sinister force they have no control over anymore?
Is there really a such thing as the Illuminati at all? If so, does it really have that much power over our society and does it really represent the takeover of evil? Or is it all a huge delusion, the product of the overactive and paranoid imaginings of unenlightened people who don’t trust anything anymore?
Photo-Illustration by Ben Park; By Noam Galai/WireImage/Getty Images (Trump).
Is Donald Trump really a narcissist?
Is the sky blue? Does a bear relieve himself in the woods? Is the Pope Catholic?
I think he is, and a ridiculous one with weird orange skin at that. If the Oompa Loompas were electing a President, he’d fit right in. He’d be a huge embarrassment to this country, and we already have enough to be embarrassed about.
Seriously though, Donald Trump really is a narcissist. Actual therapists have pegged him as a textbook case of NPD. Here’s an article from Vanity Fair that talks about what they have to say:
For mental-health professionals, Donald Trump is at once easily diagnosed but slightly confounding. “Remarkably narcissistic,” said developmental psychologist Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education. “Textbook narcissistic personality disorder,” echoed clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis. “He’s so classic that I’m archiving video clips of him to use in workshops because there’s no better example of his characteristics,” said clinical psychologist George Simon, who conducts lectures and seminars on manipulative behavior. “Otherwise, I would have had to hire actors and write vignettes. He’s like a dream come true.”
That mental-health professionals are even willing to talk about Trump in the first place may attest to their deep concern about a Trump presidency. As Dr. Robert Klitzman, a professor of psychiatry and the director of the master’s of bioethics program at Columbia University, pointed out, the American Psychiatric Association declares it unethical for psychiatrists to comment on an individual’s mental state without examining him personally and having the patient’s consent to make such comments. This so-called Goldwater rule arose after the publication of a 1964 Fact magazine article in which psychiatrists were polled about Senator Barry Goldwater’s fitness to be president. Senator Goldwater brought a $2 million suit against the magazine and its publisher; the Supreme Court awarded him $1 in compensatory damages and $75,000 in punitive damages.
But you don’t need to have met Donald Trump to feel like you know him; even the smallest exposure can make you feel like you’ve just crossed a large body of water in a small boat with him. Indeed, though narcissistic personality disorder was removed from the most recent issue of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, for somewhat arcane reasons*, the traits that have defined the disorder in the past—grandiosity; an expectation that others will recognize one’s superiority; a lack of empathy—are writ large in Mr. Trump’s behavior.
Is this the man we really want as President? Not me. For the record, I don’t really disagree with his politics (he’s not that conservative), but he’s nothing but a blowhard and there’s probably no substance under all that hot air.
* My understanding is Narcissistic Personality Disorder (DSM 301.81) was kept in the DSM-V; does anyone have any recent information about this? How ghastly if it were no longer considered a mental illness.
Bonus: here’s a complilation of Trump’s funniest moments.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures and declares “You’re fired!” at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, June 17, 2015. REUTERS/Dominick Reuter TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY – RTX1GZCO
The Narcissist in Chief
By Scott O. Lilienfield and Ashley L. Watts, for The Opinion Pages, The New York Times, September 4, 2015
WITH the presidential campaign in full swing, a perennial question has resurfaced: How much weight should voters give to candidates’ personalities? The political rise of Donald J. Trump has drawn attention to one personality trait in particular: narcissism. Although narcissism does not lend itself to a precise definition, most psychologists agree that it comprises self-centeredness, boastfulness, feelings of entitlement and a need for admiration.
We have never met Mr. Trump, let alone examined him, so it would be inappropriate of us to offer a formal assessment of his level of narcissism. And in all fairness, today’s constant media attention makes a sizable ego a virtual job requirement for public office. Still, the Trump phenomenon raises the question of what kinds of leaders narcissists make. Fortunately, a recent body of research has suggested some answers.
In a 2013 article in Psychological Science, we and our colleagues approached this question by studying the 42 United States presidents up to and including George W. Bush. (The primary data were collected before Barack Obama’s presidency.) First we took a data set compiled by the psychologists Steven Rubenzer and Thomas Faschingbauer, who for an earlier study asked experts on each president to complete personality surveys on the subjects of their expertise. Then, using standard formulas from the research literature on personality, we produced estimates of each president’s narcissism level. Finally, we correlated these personality ratings with data from surveys of presidential performance obtained from independent panels of historians.
We found that narcissism, specifically “grandiose narcissism” — an amalgam of flamboyance, immodesty and dominance — was associated with greater overall presidential success. (This relation was small to moderate in magnitude.) The two highest scorers on grandiose narcissism were Lyndon B. Johnson and Theodore Roosevelt, the two lowest James Monroe and Millard Fillmore.
Grandiose narcissism was tied to slightly better crisis management, public persuasiveness and agenda-setting. Presidents with high levels of this trait were also more likely to assume office by winning election in a landslide (55 percent or more of the popular vote) and to initiate new legislation.
Lucky Otters Haven 