How disordered is Donald J. Trump?

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2021

Anne Applebaum's assessment: At this point, with two weeks to go, how disordered is President Donald J. Trump?

You're asking a very good question! For what it's worth, here is Anne Applebaum's assessment of the commander's recent midday phone call to Georgia, as published in the Atlantic:

APPLEBAUM (1/5/21): If you can spare an hour, do listen to the full tape of the conversation between the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger. Whichever adjective you use to describe Trump—delusional, demented, narcissistic—this recording shows that he is unwell. His grip on reality is loose. He is by turns insulting (“They’re going around playing you and laughing at you behind your back, Brad. Whether you know it or not, they’re laughing at you”) and wheedling (“So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break”) and threatening (“You know what they did and you’re not reporting it. That’s a criminal offense.”)

He has weirdly specific, made-up numbers. He cites stories of “fraud” that have been thoroughly debunked. He never explains why the people who allegedly stole the presidential election didn’t steal the two Senate seats in Georgia while they were at it. He is unable to face the fact that he has comprehensively lost. He is grasping at conspiracy theories that offer him a false vision of the future—and yet he sounds completely convinced that they are true.

The commander-in-chief "is unwell," Applebaum writes. "His grip on reality is loose." When he makes his various crazy claims, "he sounds completely convinced that they are true."

So how unwell is Donald J. Trump? Aside from such concerns as derive from basic human decency, the question strikes us as very important. 

Yes, he only has two weeks to go—but he remains the most powerful person on earth. Depending on how unwell he may be, what actions might he decide to take as he sees the end approach?

Applebaum doesn't address that question in the rest of her essay. Instead, she offers a fairly standard assessment of the people who enable Trump—the political leaders who know better, the regular people who don't.

Basically, there's nothing new about the behavior of those elected officials. Decades ago, Williams Shakespeare described some of the ways we human beings will pursue power. (He even described the growing madness of an aged king, though one who lacked nuclear codes.)

By way of contrast, the behavior of the rank and file may well seem surprising. The limits of our human discernment may well come as a surprise.

We're constantly told, by political pundits, that we the people "are pretty sharp"—and that isn't exactly always the case, even over here in Our Town. At any rate, for some remarkable footage of us the people as we heckle and badger Mitt Romney, we'll suggest that you peruse Elliott Hannon's offering at Slate.

How "unwell" is Donald J. Trump? The question strikes us as important. But right to the end, the tribunes we trust in Our Town have agreed that they must never consult any medical specialists about that important question. 

We can see the flaws of the folks over there. But how sharp are we here, in Our Town?


37 comments:

  1. "We shouldn't look down our noses at Trump supporters." Do you see what they are now doing, storming the capitol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We eagerly await the disapproving column from Andrew Sullivan, eagerly quoted here by Somerby, comparing the conservative protesters to the Taliban as he was so quick to express that sentiment about BLM protesters.

      Delete
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  2. "At any rate, for some remarkable footage of us the people as we heckle and badger Mitt Romney, we'll suggest that you peruse Elliott Hannon's offering at Slate."

    Those are Trump supporters heckling and badgering Mitt Romney, not liberals. Somerby is confusing who he means by we and us. WE have not heckled Romney, the only Republican to vote for Trump's impeachment and one of the few to take a principled stand on anything Trump-related. It is incorrect to refer to those heckling him as US, when it is clearly The Others, who have lost their tiny minds.

    Somerby tries to make it sound like liberals are heckling Romney and behaving badly, when it is just more conservative business as usual. I do not understand why the pilot permitted those Trumpies to be on the plane without masks, much less harassing another passenger, as the video shows.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TDH doesn't say or imply at all that our 'liberal' side is heckling Romney. As usual, your all in a dither about something that doesn't exist.

      Delete
    2. What do you suppose Somerby means when he says "us the people" and "we heckle"? And he says this after telling us that we liberals are no better than those on the right.

      Yes, he is telling us that "we" and "us" are doing this.

      I know and you know that it was Trump supporters doing this, but Somerby's vague language implies that it is the left harassing Romney, not the right.

      Delete
    3. Somerby is dishonest.

      Delete
  3. "How "unwell" is Donald J. Trump? The question strikes us as important."

    No, it is not important at all.

    Somerby loves to speculate about when Trump will start a world war. This is extremely unlikely to happens because Trump is not mentally ill at all -- he is a narcissist and a conservative. That means that he will reliably not engage in behavior that might cost him money or interfere with his own self interest, or that might diminish his public stature in the eyes of those he admires (e.g., other dictators and strongmen, Putin). That means that he is acting rationally, just not normally (the way other people do). He is not out of control and his actions are deliberate.

    Somerby doesn't understand anything about mental illness or even psychology. That's why he feels free to throw terms around and apply labels and speculate in ways that make no sense whatsoever to an educated person, in order to scare liberals into backing off their own beliefs and causes.

    Trump is a criminal. End of story. And Somerby is an asshole.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. anon 4:23 - I agree, whether Trump is "mentally ill" is not important at all. What does TDH want - for someone to sent the men in white coats after him? There's all kinds of people in the world, and Trump is a remarkable phenomenon in the US, our own fascist demagogue. Whether he somehow starts a war in the next 2 weeks - quite unlikely, but we'll have to deal with it if it somehow happens, and cross that bridge when we come to it. And I suspect that even experts on mental illness have a lot to learn on the subject. It's true that the more you know, the more you know that there is more that you don't know. And your oft repeated comment about TDH being an 'a-hole' reflects poorly on your judgment.

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    2. Yes, that is certainly your opinion.

      But, the more you know, the less there is that you don't know. Every finding leads to more questions but that doesn't mean you know less. It means you know more and also have leads to figure out even more after that.

      Experts on mental illness know more about it today than they have every known at any previous time. Discounting their expertise so that you can cling to your preferred beliefs is a mistake akin to the way climate deniers and anti-vaxxers and other science-deniers behave. Don't be that guy.

      Delete
  4. As I listen to accounts of what is happening in Wash DC today, people are wondering why the police let the protesters into the Capitol building, forcing legislators and staff to flee (and scaring them), and why there was insufficient advance preparation for a riot that Trump himself has incited.

    We understand why Trumpies are violent. They are anti-social, like their leader who has set such a bad example for them. Why are the police doing nothing and why wasn't the national guard mobilized?

    Does Trump (and his cronies) believe that he can scare congress into keeping him on as president? That isn't going to happen. But there are lots of cameras and Proud Boys and other Trump supporters will be going to jail after they are tracked down and arrested.

    ReplyDelete
  5. How disordered is Somerby? Inquiring minds want to know...

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  6. Josh Marshall says:

    "This is the first time in going on 250 years of American history that the peaceful transfer of power and the constitutional processes to accomplish that have been disrupted by force. The first time. The Civil War was obviously a vastly graver breakdown of constitutional order. But the secessionists didn’t try to prevent Lincoln from being inaugurated. They just left. What we are seeing here has never happened before. Biden will still be inaugurated. The process that was underway will happen later today or tomorrow. But this has never happened before."

    ReplyDelete
  7. "Teargas has been deployed and gunshots are being fired in the House chamber as Trump supporters appear to be trying to overthrow the government.

    Trump terrorists are shooting into the House chamber:"

    There are now calls for Trump's immediate impeachment and removal from office.

    This is a coup being attempted by armed Trump supporters. Republicans and Democrats are calling on Trump to call off his supporters, but Trump is refusing, saying nothing to put an end to this armed insurrection.

    Somerby doesn't need to speculate about what Trump will do...it is already happening. He is trying to take over the government by force.

    ReplyDelete
  8. "David Graham: “Armed assailants are attacking the seat of American government in an attempted coup, urged on by the president of the United States. Saying that feels melodramatic, ridiculous, and overwrought, but there’s no plainer way to describe what is currently unfolding.”

    “Tens of thousands of supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump gathered in Washington, D.C., where he encouraged them to attend a rally as Congress began to ceremonially certify the Electoral College victory of President-elect Joe Biden. After a speech by the president, protesters overran security at the Capitol building, which seemed unprepared for the onslaught. They knocked over barricades, pushed past cordons of officers, and broke windows. Some carried Confederate battle flags as they got much closer to the heart of the U.S. government than any Confederate troops ever did.”

    “Certification was halted. The Senate and House chambers were locked down, Vice President Mike Pence was whisked away, and demonstrators roamed the halls of Congress. Tear gas was reportedly released inside the Capitol Rotunda, and members were told to don gas masks under their seats.”

    “This attempted coup is Trump’s fault.”"

    ReplyDelete
  9. There are photos of those armed protesters, who were let into the building by the police, with plastic ties used as restraints and there is a hanging scaffold with noose erected on the West side of the Capitol building. There are photos of these things on twitter.

    These protesters didn't come to protest. They came to take hostages, conduct mock trials and execute prisoners. They have already recovered a pipe bomb from RNC headquarters. These are violent people trying to overthrow the government on behalf of Trump.

    Minimizing treason is not a good look for Somerby.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Somerby has been chiding the left for calling for Trump to be locked up. Today, Trump crossed the line by inciting terrorism:

    https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/1/6/2006392/-Trump-s-Stochastic-Terrorism-becomes-Actual-Terrorism-as-defined-under-US-law

    ReplyDelete
  11. Every liberal blog has been posting about this attempted coup this evening.

    Crickets from Somerby.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Can we expect a scathing commentary about Rachel Maddow in the aftermath of the insurgency yesterday? For all his concern trolling of liberal media, Somerby rarely if ever glances at the nonstop propaganda spewed by Fox to its viewers that was the root of this. There is undoubtedly a reason for this as well as his misappropriating the pronoun “we” in reference to the behaviors of unlawful, anti-American thugs. A little transparency about who pays the bills on this website would be interesting.

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  13. This past summer a board member of Newscorp resigned his post, later stating in an interview that he could no longer serve on the board of a company whose business model is disseminating misinformation. That was James Murdock, Rupert’s son. The frequent criticism of liberal media outlets on this site is all the more interesting in light of yesterday’s insurgency propagated at Fox.

    ReplyDelete
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  15. Ezra Klein says:

    "Trump’s legions are still out there, and now they are mourning a death and feeling yet more deceived by many of their supposed allies in Washington, who turned on them as soon as they did what they thought they had been asked to do.”

    “The problem isn’t those who took Trump at his word from the start. It’s the many, many elected Republicans who took him neither seriously nor literally, but cynically. They have brought this upon themselves — and us.”

    ReplyDelete
  16. "Federal law enforcement officials say the devices found near the RNC and DNC headquarters on Wednesday were actual explosive devices, not phonies, Fox News reports."

    ReplyDelete
  17. Peter Wehner: “The scene that unfolded at the U.S. Capitol yesterday—an insurrection in all of its ugliness, all of its violence, and all of its kaleidoscopic horror—is the responsibility of Donald Trump. But it doesn’t stop there.”

    “It is also the responsibility of countless of his aides and supporters, those in right-wing media and Trump’s evangelical backers, “intellectuals” and pseudo-historians, Republicans in Congress and outside it, all of those who have stood with Trump at every moment in his corrupt and corrupting presidency. It is the responsibility of Trump allies who attacked those who warned that Trump was malicious and malignant; who said that he was an institutional arsonist who would do grave damage to the nation; who warned about his race-baiting, his constant provocations, the psychic delight he took in dividing Americans and stoking grievances; and who raised concerns because Trump’s sociopathic tendencies might lead him, and those who followed him, to very dark places.”

    “President Trump is the architect of this insurrection, but so are his acolytes.”

    This list also includes Somerby who has been an apologist for Trump and his deplorables since before Trump's election.

    ReplyDelete
  18. The FBI is seeking to identify individuals instigating violence in Washington, D.C. We are accepting tips and digital media depicting rioting or violence in and around the U.S. Capitol on January 6. If you have information, visit http://fbi.gov/USCapitol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All I saw was snowflakes.

      Delete
    2. From Digby's blog:

      "With few exceptions, the overwhelmingly white extremist mob received very different treatment at the hands of police than largely peaceful Black Live Matter protesters had in the summer. Black and brown Americans watching could not miss it. White insurrectionists posed for selfies with Capitol police inside the building."

      Delete
  19. Liberal blogs have been writing about this all morning (Thurs).

    Crickets from Somerby.

    ReplyDelete
  20. "15 hrs ago - Rioters have ripped an American flag off of a flagpole outside the United States Capitol building and replaced it with a Trump flag as thousands of pro-Trump agitators descended on the Capitol Wednesday protesting his loss in the 2020 election."

    ReplyDelete
  21. From Cannonfire:

    "In the days to come, we will learn many more details about Trump's plan to overthrow the American government. Clearly, it was Trump -- no-one else -- who rendered the Capitol Building relatively defenseless, endangering the lives of the ill-equipped Capitol Police. As Colin Powell noted on today's Morning Joe, the security lapses at that building are very suspicious.

    Frankly, I suspect that there were Trump-friendly forces within the ranks of the Capitol Police. Something was clearly amiss.
    The police force, which numbers about 2,000 officers and has sole jurisdiction over the Capitol’s buildings and grounds, was clearly outnumbered and unprepared for the onslaught, even as it was openly organized on social media sites like Gab and Parler.
    One policing expert said there should have been a heavily manned perimeter sealing off the entire Capitol grounds and a second around the building itself given that extremist groups with a history of violent confrontations were involved.
    Another video shows officers appearing to move the barricades aside and let the protesters in.
    One thing is certain: Donald Trump incited this mob. "

    ReplyDelete
  22. From Business Insider (via Daily Kos):

    "Multiple European security officials told Insider that President Donald Trump appeared to have tacit support among US federal agencies responsible for securing the Capitol complex in Wednesday's coup attempt.
    Insider is reporting this information because it illustrates the serious repercussions of Wednesday's events: Even if they are mistaken, some among America's international military allies are now willing to give credence to the idea that Trump deliberately tried to violently overturn an election and had help from some federal law-enforcement agents.
    "We train alongside the US federal law enforcement to handle these very matters, and it's obvious that large parts of any successful plan were just ignored," one source told us."

    ReplyDelete
  23. Cowardly Somerby has nothing to say to us today.

    Here is what his buddy Drum said, which is closer to media criticism than anything Somerby has ever written:

    "In the aftermath of yesterday’s insane quasi-coup attempt, a number of Republicans have stepped up to condemn Donald Trump’s actions. That’s great. But it’s nowhere near enough. They have a lot more work to do if they want to be taken seriously.

    I’m going to skip the entire laundry list in favor of one single thing: Fox News. That mob on Capitol Hill didn’t show up on its own. It didn’t even show up because Donald Trump wrote a few tweets. It showed up because Fox News has spent every day since the election spewing conspiracy theories about Democrats stealing the election. More to the point, it’s spent every day for the past couple of decades making money on pillows and gold scams and reverse mortgages by scaring the hell out of old, white people with fever swamp reporting about liberals and “illegals” and political correctness and Benghazi and a long, long list of other Democratic perfidies.

    Is it any wonder, then, that polls show half of all Republicans believe the 2020 election was stolen? You’d believe it too if you spent your evenings watching Fox News. Rupert Murdoch’s network is a bleeding, open wound on the politics of America. It’s fundamentally why half the country hates and fears the other half."

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