Fox anchor Bret Baier did something unexpected on Monday night: He eviscerated Donald Trump. In a wide-ranging first part of a two-part interview, Baier surprised critics by actually asking hard-hitting questions of the former president, which Trump then stumbled over badly. In response, Trump produced word salads, non sequiturs, deflections, and, importantly, some key admissions that could expose him further in his federal criminal case, now pending in the Southern District of Florida.
I saw on the news last night that the judge had ORDERED him to STFU, and he still won't. Cut off his gab, he'd bust a gut. (That's a quote from a book I read long ago, can't remember what it was, but it's definitely apropos here). He is incapable of believing he isn't right about everything all the time, no matter what he's told by people who actually know things.
That is how narcissistic personality disorder works. Which of these criteria for diagnosis does not fit Trump?
Overview
Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism.
A narcissistic personality disorder causes problems in many areas of life, such as relationships, work, school or financial matters. People with narcissistic personality disorder may be generally unhappy and disappointed when they're not given the special favors or admiration that they believe they deserve. They may find their relationships troubled and unfulfilling, and other people may not enjoy being around them.
Treatment for narcissistic personality disorder centers around talk therapy, also called psychotherapy.
Narcissistic personality disorder affects more males than females, and it often begins in the teens or early adulthood. Some children may show traits of narcissism, but this is often typical for their age and doesn't mean they'll go on to develop narcissistic personality disorder.
Symptoms
Symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder and how severe they are can vary. People with the disorder can:
Have an unreasonably high sense of self-importance and require constant, excessive admiration.
Feel that they deserve privileges and special treatment.
Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements.
Make achievements and talents seem bigger than they are.
Be preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate.
Believe they are superior to others and can only spend time with or be understood by equally special people.
Be critical of and look down on people they feel are not important.
Expect special favors and expect other people to do what they want without questioning them.
Take advantage of others to get what they want.
Have an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others.
Be envious of others and believe others envy them.
Behave in an arrogant way, brag a lot and come across as conceited.
Insist on having the best of everything — for instance, the best car or office.
At the same time, people with narcissistic personality disorder have trouble handling anything they view as criticism. They can:
Become impatient or angry when they don't receive special recognition or treatment.
Have major problems interacting with others and easily feel slighted.
React with rage or contempt and try to belittle other people to make themselves appear superior.
Have difficulty managing their emotions and behavior.
Experience major problems dealing with stress and adapting to change.
Withdraw from or avoid situations in which they might fail.
Feel depressed and moody because they fall short of perfection.
Have secret feelings of insecurity, shame, humiliation and fear of being exposed as a failure.
If the pay was good I wouldn’t care if he listened or not-I figure getting paid for having a mentally deficient client is part of the package. It’s getting stiffed that’s the deal breaker.
Yeh, but lawyers want/need to WIN. And if they have a client that refuses to participate as directed, it makes the lawyer look incompetent. That doesn't help their case or their win record.
This is just colossally stupid, but Trump is so psychologically impaired that he will never understand or accept the consequences of his actions. It remains to be seen whether Republicans will just shrug it off and continue to support him.
Psychologically impaired? Are you a Psychologist? if not you have no reason to make such a diagnosis. If you are you should know that you can't make such a diagnosis based on public display alone.
Oh, really? After 8 years of public exposure to The Defendant' you are going to play the 'what do you know, puny layman' card here? Ok. Surely you have observed - shall we say - his 'aberrant' psychological characteristics over that time: the incessant lying, the narcissism, the grandiosity, the boorish & callous sociopathic behavior, the solipsistic detachment from shared observable reality. Right?
Psychiatrists over this time, conceding that they have not been able to examine him directly (as if that could ever happen) have observered that The Defendant displays public behavior consistent with several personality disorders presented in the DSM. For a widely available book, see Dr. Brandy Lee's 'The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President'.
After observing the behavior of 'The Defendant', I - as a puny layman - think there is serious and dangerous psychological dysfunction there. You may not. But please, don't imply that someone can *only* be, say, a Stanford trained psychiatrist with 'The Defendant' as a patient to reasonably think that - especially considering the danger "The Defendant' now poses to the nation at this time.
I read the book too. You got it right. No one had to read the book to know & observe what a mentally disturbed person trump is. HE WAS DANGEROUS & still is!!!!
It is built into our ability to survive to make judgements about people. We could use layman's terms to say we recognize his personality defects. Some choose to use commonly understood psychological terms. Normal people do not need to be practicing therapists or psychiatrists in order to recognize that something is wrong with someone. In fact, it is the people around the impaired person that are usually convincing them or others that the person needs help. Perhaps Donald Trump is in therapy. Who knows. His therapist certainly would not be telling us. What I do know is that it should be okay for us to analyze the behavior of someone who behaved terribly as our president and is running again. I do not need to have one on one sessions with him because after teaching hundreds of children over the years, I have a good sense of human behavior and where things end up, as well as studying psychology. I have had abnormal psychology classes, and know how a diagnosis is made. Still, words like psychopath are commonly used to express personality disorders of behaviors that Trump has exhibited like grandiosity, and lying. We have seen him disparage people when he does not get his way, and act in ways that do not come across as emotionally mature or balanced. This is what we are going on when we diagnose him. I would be glad to not have enough evidence of Trump's personality flaws to make a diagnosis, but unfortunately he is inserting himself into too many dangerous things for me to not use my common sense to try to figure out what is going on. Know thy enemy!
When the safety of “someone” is at stake, it is necessary for experienced, well educated in their field, professional mental health experts take immediate action to protect the safety of that “someone.” To not take action is a dereliction of duty. It became the “Tarasolf” (spelling?) law. Namely, because “someone” died because of no disclosure to the injured party & measures of safety were not enforced. Replace “someone” with all people living in the USA (even the world, maybe) & you have the professional responsibility to speak out. Trump has destroyed the reputation & good will of the USA. IMO, he killed many by his dereliction to take Covid seriously—many, many died. If you don’t see trump as a psychologically disturbed individual it is because you know little about psychopathology!
Richard you are taking my words out of context. Read my other comments and writings and you will surely see that I am a warrior against the orange one and his MAGAT hordes.
My bad, brother Al! I dropped a note to Carol, too. We all are good!! I will trudge the Road of Happy Destiny with you as two warriors, shoulder to shoulder!! (We too old for this?)
True, Carol. BUT, Al clearly is one of us, so I fully accept his note was worded in a way he didn't intend. I reacted to "who cares?" Bad choice of words because we all have to get everyone to care. But, he's on our team. "Democrat 2024 !!!
(Biden? Dunno ... but hope he's healthy enough to run for a year and a half. (And what do we do about Kamala?)
As much of a crazed hoarder he may be, I think the reason he has to maintain the records are **his** is because he's sold some of them. No matter what, Trump's obsession is money.
I will await evidence of such a sale before I join you in this belief. In my view, Trump is vain enough that he wants all the trappings of being a president, including possessing top secret materials, and wants to have leverage over his enemies, and that alone is enough to explain his behavior. If he did more than that, of course we should follow the money, and I believe Smith has looked into it.
Right. This case is fundamentally about his inability to distinguish between himself and the office of the Presidency, not (necessarily) his mafioso LARPing.
We have that, from round 0.5 of this clownshow. From the inventory, intermixed with the classified stuff (and folders that should have contain classified stuff but didn't) was (1) Trump's usual hoard of random news articles, (2) maybe three dozen or so undescribed "books", and (3) about two dozen items listed as "Article of Clothing/Gift Item". That last set could easily be traditional diplomatic gifts exchanged between heads of state (fancy pens, a watch, a scarf, some jars of honey...). Such things traditionally belong to the Presidency rather than any particular office holder and sit in the White House or with the National Archives before perhaps making their way to a Presidential Library, but it wouldn't be even slightly out of character for Trump to have grabbed the ones he liked and shoved them into his luggage on January 19.
(For those interested in the docket as a whole, please enjoy the numerous cameos of Raj K Patel, a crazy pro se litigant with no particular connection to the case.)
Money and puffing himself up. If he's not hearing how great he is from his circle, he says it himself. The example of waving around papers to people screams of "Look! I'm so important I have these war plans! I had them drawn up, too. Wanna see them?"
Surely this case will result in a jail sentence. Trump obviously can't be trusted to not run his mouth, even when it's in his own best interest, so any secrets that may have lodged in his tiny, delusional brain are far from safe. There's no guarantee he hasn't squirreled away more secrets or copied those secrets and handed them to others in an effort to inflate his own importance. He needs to be put away where there is no chance he can do any (further) damage to our national security.
And furthermore, he had 'stuff' in those boxes he wanted to get out before returning secrets pertaining to our national security and the 'stuff' he cited is shirts, pants and so forth? Since when are those things more important than our national security? He obviously doesn't need them if they've sat in boxes all this time without him needing to retrieve them. How can he possibly think his shirts and pants outweigh classified documents?
I imagine the Feds would need a lot more than supposition to dig up a grave. Remember, Trump's motivation behind almost everything he does is to convince others how wealthy and smart he is, so an ostentatious casket is very much in character., whether or not it's needed. And burying her on a golf course means he didn't have to pay for a cemetery plot (and can afford a bigger casket). I can't imagine he'd stuff it with classified document because he wouldn't have easy access to them. It would be more than obvious if he tried to retrieve anything from that gravesite. I just don't see it.
Agreed, however the casket would not need to be digged up to be probed:
~
Law enforcement agencies can use ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology when looking for buried or hidden evidence. Forensic investigators can use GPR to find and retrieve delicate material without causing damage; allowing for more detailed searches. Other uses of GPR for law enforcement include:
Forensic Investigation with GPR
Since ground penetrating radar is non-destructive, it has the potential to assist law enforcement in time-sensitive crime scene investigations. Using GPR eliminates the need for digging or hauling multiple pieces of equipment. Most of our systems, for example, can fit inside a small SUV with ease. They are easy-to-use as long as the battery is charged and the wires are connected properly.
Ground penetrating radar can be used in locating clandestine graves, human remains and skeletal remains. One notable case includes the 2010 discovery of a missing Delaware man who was buried six feet underground. Here, GPR detected a patch of disturbed soil in a wooded area, and police later confirmed it as the body’s location.
Buried Caches
Ground penetrating radar can also help law enforcement with finding buried caches, such as weapons or other evidence. In many cases, criminals quickly bury this type of evidence to hide proof of their activities. Unlike metal detectors, GPR can detect non-metallic structures and items, such as drugs and money as well as soil disturbances caused at burial sites.
I read somewhere that you don't have to pay inheritance tax on a cemetary, so burying her at Bedminster was a way to leave it to their children without having to pay.
I think jail time is impossible, given the judge he drew and all of the complications associated with incarcerating a former president. I think the most we'll see is a brief home confinement, that is if Cannon doesn't just dismiss the charges altogether.
I would so love to be a fly on the wall when Biden reads about this or watches Danger Yam & Co. tear themselves apart. I bet he would have some fantastically biting quips to offer.
Ok, when I'm wrong - I'm wrong. I was upset that Trump did not remain in custody, but apparently being free to talk and move around provides more material for the prosecuting team. So - go right ahead, Donald!
Jay, your point about the Fox inquisition is THE salient one. Bret Baier pulled off the Trump-colored glasses, and Brit Hume found his spine. This is a turning point, you watch!!
It might be a turning point on their support of Trump but they will just find another God for people to worship that will continue to push their agenda. Fox is never going to be anything but a propaganda machine for Fascists and White Supremacists.
Ignorance of the law, or bad advice is not excuse. Every time he opens his mouth he sounds like a 3 y/o spoiled brat! For someone of his "education(?)" he talks like a 6 y/o.
He supposedly paid others to take his tests and prepare his homework all his life so he is anything but educated. In fact he can barely read the teleprompter.
AFAIK, that particular struggle (and related issues like the sharpie obsession, the Carroll/wife confusion, and maybe even his addiction to capslock) are plausibly caused by a stubborn refusal to wear glasses, rather than being definite indica of illiteracy. I mean he clearly isn't interested in words from other people; I doubt he could be bothered to read much of anything even if it was easy for him. I just think that at some point in the last seventy years, he was probably more or less able to read.
And regardless of whether he possesses or possessed that particular skill, it's important to note the fundamental point that he's gone just about his entire life without ever having to process having made a mistake.
“He isn’t interested in words from other people.” and “ ...never had to process making a mistake. As well as refusal to wear glasses. To me those observations are highly astute.
It is well documented that he would not read the PDB and his staff had to make a visual presentation for him….and even then he would lose interest before it was completed.
Like I said, I totally believe he *doesn't* read; I just don't think that means he literally does not have the skill (and that, ultimately, the question of whether he can is irrelevant unless it changes the answer to whether he does). Same with Elon "why is this a book and not a blog post" Musk. Both of them are more anti-literate than they are illiterate, and conflating them with people who are, whether through circumstance or disability, truly *unable* to read risks insulting the illiterate and confusing the issue.
There are people who can read the words, but are functionally illiterate because they cannot comprehend what they are reading. My mother worked for a man who had her read contracts out loud to him even though he owned a chain of more than 10 supermarkets. He wasn’t a stupid man, just functionally illiterate. Trump also appears to have ADHD along with his narcissism. The man is a total mess. Admit it.
Whether or not Trump's behavior is caused by ADHD is beside the point and, as someone who actually struggles with ADHD, more than a little insulting. Once again: the relevant problem here is his belief that nothing outside his own thoughts could possibly be worth extending his awareness. I am not defending Donald Trump. I am emphasizing the importance of correctly stating the nature of his malice.
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but yep, all it takes is one. One juror with the red hat, arms folded across their chest, refusing to hear reason and facts, tRump's own statements admitting his guilty behavior... just one. And we'll have a hung jury, and off he'll skate.
Let's talk about something else for a moment. What if a guilty verdict comes down, and Cannon, totally within the law, decides that she loves tRump so much and she wants out of the judge business and vacates the verdict. What that means, if I'm not mistaken, is that he can skate free, and due to double jeopardy, he can't be tried again. Maybe Jay can clarify that possibility and the consequences.
Or what if he's found guilty and all of his proudly brainless supporters decide it's go-time? Does anyone think we won't see January 6th-level violence or worse? I live in a deeply-red part of a blue state (NJ) and when I tell you that I'm surrounded by neo-nazis and KKK, I'm not exaggerating in the very least. This will not end well, either way. This morning I voiced these concerns on a FB post, and I was ridiculed and told that the 'GOP has succeeded,' that they've 'had their way' with me, and made me 'fearful,' which is 'exactly what they want.' So being afraid of the craziness that occurred on January 6th is somehow a flaw in my character. Check. With two octogenarian parents with serious health issues of whom I am the caretaker. Check. And the GOP made me into a coward. Check. *eyeroll*
Let's be realistic here: Either outcome, guilty or not-guilty, will come with its own ramifications. Neither will be sunshine and rainbows. YES, we all want to see tRump *finally* held accountable, especially for behavior that may have placed all of us, including our allies, in danger. Absolutely. But we know that his supporters will, pardon the French, go apeshit. There WILL be violence. People may be injured. Property may be destroyed. People may die. Yes, it will pass. Yes, he'll be held accountable. But it's that post-verdict craziness that I fear. Once we get through that, it's time to make repairs. To heal, and hopefully, move forward, a lesson learned. And the GOP will die off.
I wrote up my concerns about what Judge Cannon could do, from delaying the case to issuing a directed verdict that is non-appealable. There are reasons to think she will not do this, with so many legal eyes upon her and the rest of her life to consider, but it’s a bit of a crapshoot.
We can’t control what one juror might do. Such a juror might or might not get into the pool and onto the panel. What we can do is use the trial to show, irrespective of whether Trump is found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of fellow Floridians with all their potential MAGA biases, why Trump should not be the next president. He cannot be trusted with the nation’s secrets. We need to use the trial to peel away his support, even if it’s just a few percent.
I appreciate your comment, but I shudder to think of him skating away. I feel sick thinking about it...all he's put the nation though--all the covid dead...all the letting loose the hounds that bark racist bs. I can't think about he just walking.
Agreed. However find solace in that this is just one case. Think Indiana Jones traversing the dangerous traps at the end of 'the Last Crusade' - except 'The Defendant', with his incessant sphincter mouthed jabbering, is laying more traps for himself as he traverses the legal perils he *doesn't* believe he is in...
I think violence is inevitable. Many Trump supporters are heavily armed and are itching for a fight. Some may be hesitant because of all the convictions and jail sentences from January 6, but they still want their turn to "save" America. I don't wish there to be violence, but it might be the thing that inspires people to actually recognize that our Democracy is in danger and act accordingly.
I don’t think the post verdict craziness will happen. Trump may be *their* hero but I believe they know he is not a true hero. I’m sure to get disagreement on that notion.
Yeah, well this is part of why Ford pardoned Nixon, just to avoid all the crap that would come along with it. If Biden truly cared for the country he'd pardon Trump, afterword specifically announce that he did it to save the nation from violence, and then resign, or at least promise not to seek nomination for 2024.
So again trump gets a level of justice that is inaccessible to the common man? Just because his sycophants threaten violence? I believe each state has a national guard to stand in the way of such an insurrection.
Ford's pardoning of Nixon is part of the story that has led us here. There need to be consequences when presidents break the law or the next one will know they can get away with it.
I can hardly find the words to say how much I disagree with you. Biden pardoning Trump would be a colossal mistake, just another way of saying Trump gets special treatment. Not to mention letting him loose to spew his lies, hatred, and idiocy all over again. No thanks.
I want to caution, the idea of a New Jersey case is pure conjecture at this moment. There certainly is reason to believe Smith could have empaneled one. But he may have chosen not to, for reasons that are known only to him and his team.
I can see the meme now: T as a pack rat surrounded by « stuff, » admiring himself in the mirror where he perceives instead a glamorous member of the Rat Pack
Trump spent his whole life lying right to your face. Loudly and emphatically lying to whoever is in front of him, and each lie is for the benefit of only one person - himself. It's the path he always takes, it's all he knows , and it has worked for him.
I still think calling him a bullshitter (in the Frankfurtian sense) is more useful than calling Trump a liar. It's not that he chooses to cause people to believe things that are false, so much as that he has absolutely no relationship with the truth. What he says relates only to his opinions and desires, not to any sort of fact on the ground. This framework puts narcissism at the center of his behavior, rather than greed, and I think that's the correct approach. It also dissolves the questions motive and intent that otherwise swirl around him.
It's one time I'm happy he can't keep his big bragging mouth shut. That said, I am a bit interested in his team of lawyers, such as they are. I'd love to know what they are charging. How much would one charge to defend, or keep defending this egotist? I mean, if it's supply and demand, they could charge whatever they want (not that Trump pays his bills, we all know that.) I guess my point is why would anyone want to defend this guy? What kind of morals and ethics do they have? I's mindboggling.
If the lawyers are bright, they'll insist on a retainer up front equal to the expected total cost. When that runs out, stop until it is reloaded . . . "Bill me later" is laughable with Cheetolini's track record.
A classic example of why almost every lawyer in NYC hasn't represented Trump in years: He won't listen, he won't shut up, and he won't pay.
That about sums it up, right?
I saw on the news last night that the judge had ORDERED him to STFU, and he still won't. Cut off his gab, he'd bust a gut. (That's a quote from a book I read long ago, can't remember what it was, but it's definitely apropos here). He is incapable of believing he isn't right about everything all the time, no matter what he's told by people who actually know things.
That is how narcissistic personality disorder works. Which of these criteria for diagnosis does not fit Trump?
Overview
Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism.
A narcissistic personality disorder causes problems in many areas of life, such as relationships, work, school or financial matters. People with narcissistic personality disorder may be generally unhappy and disappointed when they're not given the special favors or admiration that they believe they deserve. They may find their relationships troubled and unfulfilling, and other people may not enjoy being around them.
Treatment for narcissistic personality disorder centers around talk therapy, also called psychotherapy.
Narcissistic personality disorder affects more males than females, and it often begins in the teens or early adulthood. Some children may show traits of narcissism, but this is often typical for their age and doesn't mean they'll go on to develop narcissistic personality disorder.
Symptoms
Symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder and how severe they are can vary. People with the disorder can:
Have an unreasonably high sense of self-importance and require constant, excessive admiration.
Feel that they deserve privileges and special treatment.
Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements.
Make achievements and talents seem bigger than they are.
Be preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate.
Believe they are superior to others and can only spend time with or be understood by equally special people.
Be critical of and look down on people they feel are not important.
Expect special favors and expect other people to do what they want without questioning them.
Take advantage of others to get what they want.
Have an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others.
Be envious of others and believe others envy them.
Behave in an arrogant way, brag a lot and come across as conceited.
Insist on having the best of everything — for instance, the best car or office.
At the same time, people with narcissistic personality disorder have trouble handling anything they view as criticism. They can:
Become impatient or angry when they don't receive special recognition or treatment.
Have major problems interacting with others and easily feel slighted.
React with rage or contempt and try to belittle other people to make themselves appear superior.
Have difficulty managing their emotions and behavior.
Experience major problems dealing with stress and adapting to change.
Withdraw from or avoid situations in which they might fail.
Feel depressed and moody because they fall short of perfection.
Have secret feelings of insecurity, shame, humiliation and fear of being exposed as a failure.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20366662
In psychology you diagnose whatever the disorder as being a problem when it interferes with your functioning socially, or in work.
Linda, thanks for compiling that information. Very helpful. Take care - stay safe...
If the pay was good I wouldn’t care if he listened or not-I figure getting paid for having a mentally deficient client is part of the package. It’s getting stiffed that’s the deal breaker.
Yeh, but lawyers want/need to WIN. And if they have a client that refuses to participate as directed, it makes the lawyer look incompetent. That doesn't help their case or their win record.
This is just colossally stupid, but Trump is so psychologically impaired that he will never understand or accept the consequences of his actions. It remains to be seen whether Republicans will just shrug it off and continue to support him.
I’m going with shrug it off and continue to support. They live in an alternate reality.
Brilliant. He could invoke the temporary insanity defense. I'm already sold.
Psychologically impaired? Are you a Psychologist? if not you have no reason to make such a diagnosis. If you are you should know that you can't make such a diagnosis based on public display alone.
A 5 year old could observe he is psychologically impaired.
You got it right!!!
Oh, really? After 8 years of public exposure to The Defendant' you are going to play the 'what do you know, puny layman' card here? Ok. Surely you have observed - shall we say - his 'aberrant' psychological characteristics over that time: the incessant lying, the narcissism, the grandiosity, the boorish & callous sociopathic behavior, the solipsistic detachment from shared observable reality. Right?
Psychiatrists over this time, conceding that they have not been able to examine him directly (as if that could ever happen) have observered that The Defendant displays public behavior consistent with several personality disorders presented in the DSM. For a widely available book, see Dr. Brandy Lee's 'The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President'.
After observing the behavior of 'The Defendant', I - as a puny layman - think there is serious and dangerous psychological dysfunction there. You may not. But please, don't imply that someone can *only* be, say, a Stanford trained psychiatrist with 'The Defendant' as a patient to reasonably think that - especially considering the danger "The Defendant' now poses to the nation at this time.
I read the book too. You got it right. No one had to read the book to know & observe what a mentally disturbed person trump is. HE WAS DANGEROUS & still is!!!!
Exactly. What does that fool think that trump is anywhere near normal? 🤣😳🥴🥱🤣🤣🤣🤣
Would it matter if I agreed based on 36 years in healthcare with people with similar ego issues?
Are you qualified?
It is built into our ability to survive to make judgements about people. We could use layman's terms to say we recognize his personality defects. Some choose to use commonly understood psychological terms. Normal people do not need to be practicing therapists or psychiatrists in order to recognize that something is wrong with someone. In fact, it is the people around the impaired person that are usually convincing them or others that the person needs help. Perhaps Donald Trump is in therapy. Who knows. His therapist certainly would not be telling us. What I do know is that it should be okay for us to analyze the behavior of someone who behaved terribly as our president and is running again. I do not need to have one on one sessions with him because after teaching hundreds of children over the years, I have a good sense of human behavior and where things end up, as well as studying psychology. I have had abnormal psychology classes, and know how a diagnosis is made. Still, words like psychopath are commonly used to express personality disorders of behaviors that Trump has exhibited like grandiosity, and lying. We have seen him disparage people when he does not get his way, and act in ways that do not come across as emotionally mature or balanced. This is what we are going on when we diagnose him. I would be glad to not have enough evidence of Trump's personality flaws to make a diagnosis, but unfortunately he is inserting himself into too many dangerous things for me to not use my common sense to try to figure out what is going on. Know thy enemy!
Psychologically impaired is a description not a diagnosis.
Also, no reason??? Lols. 🤦♀️
When the safety of “someone” is at stake, it is necessary for experienced, well educated in their field, professional mental health experts take immediate action to protect the safety of that “someone.” To not take action is a dereliction of duty. It became the “Tarasolf” (spelling?) law. Namely, because “someone” died because of no disclosure to the injured party & measures of safety were not enforced. Replace “someone” with all people living in the USA (even the world, maybe) & you have the professional responsibility to speak out. Trump has destroyed the reputation & good will of the USA. IMO, he killed many by his dereliction to take Covid seriously—many, many died. If you don’t see trump as a psychologically disturbed individual it is because you know little about psychopathology!
So what? It sounds great rolling off the tongue.
And your point? ... is it "so what?"
"So what" means "it doesn't matter."
But that's 💯 % untrue.
Trump and his gang's criminality matters!
Richard you are taking my words out of context. Read my other comments and writings and you will surely see that I am a warrior against the orange one and his MAGAT hordes.
My bad, brother Al! I dropped a note to Carol, too. We all are good!! I will trudge the Road of Happy Destiny with you as two warriors, shoulder to shoulder!! (We too old for this?)
You were loud & clear. Go back & read your comments!!! You might not like trump (as many say they don’t), but defend him you certainly did.
True, Carol. BUT, Al clearly is one of us, so I fully accept his note was worded in a way he didn't intend. I reacted to "who cares?" Bad choice of words because we all have to get everyone to care. But, he's on our team. "Democrat 2024 !!!
(Biden? Dunno ... but hope he's healthy enough to run for a year and a half. (And what do we do about Kamala?)
As much of a crazed hoarder he may be, I think the reason he has to maintain the records are **his** is because he's sold some of them. No matter what, Trump's obsession is money.
I will await evidence of such a sale before I join you in this belief. In my view, Trump is vain enough that he wants all the trappings of being a president, including possessing top secret materials, and wants to have leverage over his enemies, and that alone is enough to explain his behavior. If he did more than that, of course we should follow the money, and I believe Smith has looked into it.
Right. This case is fundamentally about his inability to distinguish between himself and the office of the Presidency, not (necessarily) his mafioso LARPing.
Would love to see the inventory lists that show that those boxes contained little if any personal items let alone clothes and other things he lists
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/64911367/116/1/trump-v-united-states/
We have that, from round 0.5 of this clownshow. From the inventory, intermixed with the classified stuff (and folders that should have contain classified stuff but didn't) was (1) Trump's usual hoard of random news articles, (2) maybe three dozen or so undescribed "books", and (3) about two dozen items listed as "Article of Clothing/Gift Item". That last set could easily be traditional diplomatic gifts exchanged between heads of state (fancy pens, a watch, a scarf, some jars of honey...). Such things traditionally belong to the Presidency rather than any particular office holder and sit in the White House or with the National Archives before perhaps making their way to a Presidential Library, but it wouldn't be even slightly out of character for Trump to have grabbed the ones he liked and shoved them into his luggage on January 19.
(For those interested in the docket as a whole, please enjoy the numerous cameos of Raj K Patel, a crazy pro se litigant with no particular connection to the case.)
Money and puffing himself up. If he's not hearing how great he is from his circle, he says it himself. The example of waving around papers to people screams of "Look! I'm so important I have these war plans! I had them drawn up, too. Wanna see them?"
I automatically thought of a middle school student boasting about stealing answers to a future exam. This is such juvenile behavior!
See also the discord leaks.
Yes. Money and winning. So much winning.
Surely this case will result in a jail sentence. Trump obviously can't be trusted to not run his mouth, even when it's in his own best interest, so any secrets that may have lodged in his tiny, delusional brain are far from safe. There's no guarantee he hasn't squirreled away more secrets or copied those secrets and handed them to others in an effort to inflate his own importance. He needs to be put away where there is no chance he can do any (further) damage to our national security.
And furthermore, he had 'stuff' in those boxes he wanted to get out before returning secrets pertaining to our national security and the 'stuff' he cited is shirts, pants and so forth? Since when are those things more important than our national security? He obviously doesn't need them if they've sat in boxes all this time without him needing to retrieve them. How can he possibly think his shirts and pants outweigh classified documents?
Doesn't really sound like a "billionaire" does it? More like an impoverished hoarder . . .
That’s a feature of his disorder.
I mean think of all the ketchup packets in there! They have to be saved!
LOL
I still say check that coffin in the golf course. Why do you need to bury a huge coffin when the person was cremated?
I imagine the Feds would need a lot more than supposition to dig up a grave. Remember, Trump's motivation behind almost everything he does is to convince others how wealthy and smart he is, so an ostentatious casket is very much in character., whether or not it's needed. And burying her on a golf course means he didn't have to pay for a cemetery plot (and can afford a bigger casket). I can't imagine he'd stuff it with classified document because he wouldn't have easy access to them. It would be more than obvious if he tried to retrieve anything from that gravesite. I just don't see it.
Agreed, however the casket would not need to be digged up to be probed:
~
Law enforcement agencies can use ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology when looking for buried or hidden evidence. Forensic investigators can use GPR to find and retrieve delicate material without causing damage; allowing for more detailed searches. Other uses of GPR for law enforcement include:
Forensic Investigation with GPR
Since ground penetrating radar is non-destructive, it has the potential to assist law enforcement in time-sensitive crime scene investigations. Using GPR eliminates the need for digging or hauling multiple pieces of equipment. Most of our systems, for example, can fit inside a small SUV with ease. They are easy-to-use as long as the battery is charged and the wires are connected properly.
Ground penetrating radar can be used in locating clandestine graves, human remains and skeletal remains. One notable case includes the 2010 discovery of a missing Delaware man who was buried six feet underground. Here, GPR detected a patch of disturbed soil in a wooded area, and police later confirmed it as the body’s location.
Buried Caches
Ground penetrating radar can also help law enforcement with finding buried caches, such as weapons or other evidence. In many cases, criminals quickly bury this type of evidence to hide proof of their activities. Unlike metal detectors, GPR can detect non-metallic structures and items, such as drugs and money as well as soil disturbances caused at burial sites.
~
I read somewhere that you don't have to pay inheritance tax on a cemetary, so burying her at Bedminster was a way to leave it to their children without having to pay.
I would almost pay money to see a judge throw his behind in jail, if even for only 24 hours, for violating either protection order.
I think jail time is impossible, given the judge he drew and all of the complications associated with incarcerating a former president. I think the most we'll see is a brief home confinement, that is if Cannon doesn't just dismiss the charges altogether.
"...because it's mine..." I heard better arguments from my second-graders.
I would so love to be a fly on the wall when Biden reads about this or watches Danger Yam & Co. tear themselves apart. I bet he would have some fantastically biting quips to offer.
"Danger Yam." heheh...
I do t remember where I first heard that one, but it’s my favorite. 😂
*don’t
I believe it was right here on Jay's Substack. Because I saw it too and had a big chuckle over it. Perhaps? ;)
I'm chagrined to say I don't know who Danger Yam & Co refer to...?
Color of a yam is approximately = to TFG...
Of course!! Thank you.
Ok, when I'm wrong - I'm wrong. I was upset that Trump did not remain in custody, but apparently being free to talk and move around provides more material for the prosecuting team. So - go right ahead, Donald!
Jay, your point about the Fox inquisition is THE salient one. Bret Baier pulled off the Trump-colored glasses, and Brit Hume found his spine. This is a turning point, you watch!!
It might be a turning point on their support of Trump but they will just find another God for people to worship that will continue to push their agenda. Fox is never going to be anything but a propaganda machine for Fascists and White Supremacists.
Agree with you. However, we need to slay one dragon at a time here to preserve democracy. Trump is the immediate threat.
Ignorance of the law, or bad advice is not excuse. Every time he opens his mouth he sounds like a 3 y/o spoiled brat! For someone of his "education(?)" he talks like a 6 y/o.
He supposedly paid others to take his tests and prepare his homework all his life so he is anything but educated. In fact he can barely read the teleprompter.
AFAIK, that particular struggle (and related issues like the sharpie obsession, the Carroll/wife confusion, and maybe even his addiction to capslock) are plausibly caused by a stubborn refusal to wear glasses, rather than being definite indica of illiteracy. I mean he clearly isn't interested in words from other people; I doubt he could be bothered to read much of anything even if it was easy for him. I just think that at some point in the last seventy years, he was probably more or less able to read.
And regardless of whether he possesses or possessed that particular skill, it's important to note the fundamental point that he's gone just about his entire life without ever having to process having made a mistake.
“He isn’t interested in words from other people.” and “ ...never had to process making a mistake. As well as refusal to wear glasses. To me those observations are highly astute.
Can't take credit for the glasses thing; that was the Washington Post. Possibly Philip Bump? For some reason I'm associating him with that story.
It is well documented that he would not read the PDB and his staff had to make a visual presentation for him….and even then he would lose interest before it was completed.
Like I said, I totally believe he *doesn't* read; I just don't think that means he literally does not have the skill (and that, ultimately, the question of whether he can is irrelevant unless it changes the answer to whether he does). Same with Elon "why is this a book and not a blog post" Musk. Both of them are more anti-literate than they are illiterate, and conflating them with people who are, whether through circumstance or disability, truly *unable* to read risks insulting the illiterate and confusing the issue.
There are people who can read the words, but are functionally illiterate because they cannot comprehend what they are reading. My mother worked for a man who had her read contracts out loud to him even though he owned a chain of more than 10 supermarkets. He wasn’t a stupid man, just functionally illiterate. Trump also appears to have ADHD along with his narcissism. The man is a total mess. Admit it.
Whether or not Trump's behavior is caused by ADHD is beside the point and, as someone who actually struggles with ADHD, more than a little insulting. Once again: the relevant problem here is his belief that nothing outside his own thoughts could possibly be worth extending his awareness. I am not defending Donald Trump. I am emphasizing the importance of correctly stating the nature of his malice.
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but yep, all it takes is one. One juror with the red hat, arms folded across their chest, refusing to hear reason and facts, tRump's own statements admitting his guilty behavior... just one. And we'll have a hung jury, and off he'll skate.
Let's talk about something else for a moment. What if a guilty verdict comes down, and Cannon, totally within the law, decides that she loves tRump so much and she wants out of the judge business and vacates the verdict. What that means, if I'm not mistaken, is that he can skate free, and due to double jeopardy, he can't be tried again. Maybe Jay can clarify that possibility and the consequences.
Or what if he's found guilty and all of his proudly brainless supporters decide it's go-time? Does anyone think we won't see January 6th-level violence or worse? I live in a deeply-red part of a blue state (NJ) and when I tell you that I'm surrounded by neo-nazis and KKK, I'm not exaggerating in the very least. This will not end well, either way. This morning I voiced these concerns on a FB post, and I was ridiculed and told that the 'GOP has succeeded,' that they've 'had their way' with me, and made me 'fearful,' which is 'exactly what they want.' So being afraid of the craziness that occurred on January 6th is somehow a flaw in my character. Check. With two octogenarian parents with serious health issues of whom I am the caretaker. Check. And the GOP made me into a coward. Check. *eyeroll*
Let's be realistic here: Either outcome, guilty or not-guilty, will come with its own ramifications. Neither will be sunshine and rainbows. YES, we all want to see tRump *finally* held accountable, especially for behavior that may have placed all of us, including our allies, in danger. Absolutely. But we know that his supporters will, pardon the French, go apeshit. There WILL be violence. People may be injured. Property may be destroyed. People may die. Yes, it will pass. Yes, he'll be held accountable. But it's that post-verdict craziness that I fear. Once we get through that, it's time to make repairs. To heal, and hopefully, move forward, a lesson learned. And the GOP will die off.
I wrote up my concerns about what Judge Cannon could do, from delaying the case to issuing a directed verdict that is non-appealable. There are reasons to think she will not do this, with so many legal eyes upon her and the rest of her life to consider, but it’s a bit of a crapshoot.
We can’t control what one juror might do. Such a juror might or might not get into the pool and onto the panel. What we can do is use the trial to show, irrespective of whether Trump is found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of fellow Floridians with all their potential MAGA biases, why Trump should not be the next president. He cannot be trusted with the nation’s secrets. We need to use the trial to peel away his support, even if it’s just a few percent.
I appreciate your comment, but I shudder to think of him skating away. I feel sick thinking about it...all he's put the nation though--all the covid dead...all the letting loose the hounds that bark racist bs. I can't think about he just walking.
Agreed. However find solace in that this is just one case. Think Indiana Jones traversing the dangerous traps at the end of 'the Last Crusade' - except 'The Defendant', with his incessant sphincter mouthed jabbering, is laying more traps for himself as he traverses the legal perils he *doesn't* believe he is in...
I think violence is inevitable. Many Trump supporters are heavily armed and are itching for a fight. Some may be hesitant because of all the convictions and jail sentences from January 6, but they still want their turn to "save" America. I don't wish there to be violence, but it might be the thing that inspires people to actually recognize that our Democracy is in danger and act accordingly.
There was a Trump supporter on the E. Jean Carroll jury.
I don’t think the post verdict craziness will happen. Trump may be *their* hero but I believe they know he is not a true hero. I’m sure to get disagreement on that notion.
Yeah, well this is part of why Ford pardoned Nixon, just to avoid all the crap that would come along with it. If Biden truly cared for the country he'd pardon Trump, afterword specifically announce that he did it to save the nation from violence, and then resign, or at least promise not to seek nomination for 2024.
So again trump gets a level of justice that is inaccessible to the common man? Just because his sycophants threaten violence? I believe each state has a national guard to stand in the way of such an insurrection.
Ford's pardoning of Nixon is part of the story that has led us here. There need to be consequences when presidents break the law or the next one will know they can get away with it.
I can hardly find the words to say how much I disagree with you. Biden pardoning Trump would be a colossal mistake, just another way of saying Trump gets special treatment. Not to mention letting him loose to spew his lies, hatred, and idiocy all over again. No thanks.
Trump’s crime is FAR worse than Nixon’s. So, what does he have to do? Shoot someone on Fifth Avenue?
Plus each admission can be used in the upcoming NJ case to establish intent to break laws.
He will be the first US President in history that is taken down for being a pack rat and a hoarder.
I want to caution, the idea of a New Jersey case is pure conjecture at this moment. There certainly is reason to believe Smith could have empaneled one. But he may have chosen not to, for reasons that are known only to him and his team.
I can see the meme now: T as a pack rat surrounded by « stuff, » admiring himself in the mirror where he perceives instead a glamorous member of the Rat Pack
Trump spent his whole life lying right to your face. Loudly and emphatically lying to whoever is in front of him, and each lie is for the benefit of only one person - himself. It's the path he always takes, it's all he knows , and it has worked for him.
Until now.
I still think calling him a bullshitter (in the Frankfurtian sense) is more useful than calling Trump a liar. It's not that he chooses to cause people to believe things that are false, so much as that he has absolutely no relationship with the truth. What he says relates only to his opinions and desires, not to any sort of fact on the ground. This framework puts narcissism at the center of his behavior, rather than greed, and I think that's the correct approach. It also dissolves the questions motive and intent that otherwise swirl around him.
I like this one too, G.
“...absolutely no relationship with the truth.”
Id just like to just say, “Woo hoo!!”!! Keep talking traitor and make it easier to be rid of you.
A lawyer who defends Trump has a fool for a client.
I suggest watching an episode or two of Hoarders. You may recognize the behaviors.
It's one time I'm happy he can't keep his big bragging mouth shut. That said, I am a bit interested in his team of lawyers, such as they are. I'd love to know what they are charging. How much would one charge to defend, or keep defending this egotist? I mean, if it's supply and demand, they could charge whatever they want (not that Trump pays his bills, we all know that.) I guess my point is why would anyone want to defend this guy? What kind of morals and ethics do they have? I's mindboggling.
If the lawyers are bright, they'll insist on a retainer up front equal to the expected total cost. When that runs out, stop until it is reloaded . . . "Bill me later" is laughable with Cheetolini's track record.