Donald Trump: A Narcissist or Full-blown Sociopath?

The labels “whack job,” “unstable,” “unhinged,” “unfit,” and “malignant narcissist” have all been attributed to President Donald Trump by a significant number of journalists, members of Congress, and medical doctors over the past two years. These descriptions and similar opinions are also held by a substantial number of American citizens. If true, these sentiments do not instill confidence in this president and paint a frightening portrait of a man with authority over deployment of nuclear weapons.

Into name-calling and public humiliation, Trump’s self-centered bickering and boasting is unique for an American president.

Never admitting to wrong doings, President Trump arrogantly treats any and all fact-based criticism as untrue or fake. He concocts figures and messages, many ambiguous or mysterious to American citizens and the world.

Instead of being principled, it appears that Trump elects to propagate false, often malicious stories while using his time-honored high office to blame and squash high level public servants, judges, and his own subordinates. Finding it difficult to let go of personal feuds, Donald Trump’s favorite targets have included both previous presidents. The New York Times listed 382 people, places, and things Trump has insulted on Twitter.

Appearing more like an intimidating school-yard bully rather than a leader, he commonly tries to crush professional journalists and the free press. He labels reporters “bad people,” or “the enemy” which served to encourage assaults on anti-Trump protesters. Trump actually tweeted a video depicting a cartoon of himself beating up a CNN reporter. Another tweeted video illustrated a “Trump bus” killing CNN reporters, terrorist-style. He carries on with juvenile personal condemnations which attract global attention and concern.

Is the president a narcissist, a sociopath, or both?

The Mayo Clinic defines a narcissistic personality as a “mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and lack of empathy for others. But behind the mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that is vulnerable to the slightest criticism.”

The medical term “sociopath” is defined as: “a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.” Medical studies approximate that one out of twenty-five people in the population is a sociopath.

Is President Trump the ranking member of four-percent of society?

According to renowned psychologist, Stanley C. Loewen, a sociopath will exhibit many or perhaps all of the following personality traits:

“Lack of Empathy – Sociopaths have an inability to feel sympathy for others or to understand the emotional consequences of their actions.”

Having no sense of shame, Trump’s words are very often degrading, disingenuous, or sarcastic. Gaining satisfaction from mocking people, he feels that his toughness is measured by mercilessly degrading opponents. He casually brags about forcing unwanted sexual contact against women, generating a dozen denied but uncontested complaints.

“Cold Calculating Nature – They have the ability and willingness to use others around them for personal gain.”

Hundreds of merited law suits against Trump are met with his high-priced battery of attorneys leaving little chance for plaintiffs to prevail. During the 2016 campaign this candidate relied on his personnel to surreptitiously deal with Russian operatives. He is now willing to do or say anything to keep support of his base. He generally uses Twitter to chastise and divide, rarely posting uplifting words, except when praising himself.

“Shallow Emotions – Sociopaths lack real emotion in response to events and have a limited capacity to feel love.”

Only Donald Trump and his associates know if he falls into this category. Anyone can fake normal emotion to people who don’t really know them. The Trump spouses and children would know whether or not he is capable of experiencing normal love.

“Narcissism – Narcissism is a personality disorder in itself in which the individuals feel strong love and admiration toward themselves; often a defense mechanism for deep-seated low self-esteem.”

Trump brags about how he is able to sexually assault women because he is a “star.” This president often speaks about how handsome, smart, and wealthy he is. Trump has compared the plain looks of other women to his wife and daughter. He also talks about how women, Muslims, Hispanics, and African-Americans love him. He is unable to admit to having faults or shortcomings. His speeches are generally self-adulating. He generally grades himself "A+" or "10" on his accomplishments, good of bad. He makes statements such as: “No other president has accomplished what I have.”

“Grandiose Self Image – Sociopaths might see themselves as someone superior to others and sometimes they even experience delusions, seeing themselves as a fitting ruler of a country or even the world.”

All consumed by himself, Trump made the following statements captured on TV cameras and shown on CNN, NBC, and CBS: “I can kill someone in Times Square and get away with it.” “I know more about ISIS then the generals!” “I am the least racist person.” “I have accomplished more than any president.” “Mexico will pay for the wall.” “I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” With the desire to place his brand (Trump) on everything possible, he constantly brags about the masses of people who come to hear him speak. Trump labels all of his dealings as “amazing,” and pats himself on the back for positive accomplishments even when their outcomes are beyond his control. He exaggerates and dramatically sensationalizes his works and deeds, often talking about himself in the third person.

“Charming - While the sociopath is unable to fully understand the emotions of others, he is capable and highly adept at mimicking others and might appear to be charming and normal at first.”

Being born into wealth, Trump likely noticed that people were easily influenced by his upper-class status. He uses affluence, superficial charm and celeb star-power to draw an audience. Some of these people will eventually see less of the persona and more of his true personality emerge.

“High IQ - Often sociopaths exhibit a high IQ which they can use to manipulate others.”

Trump brags about having a very high IQ. He commonly distorts truth and facts to con Americans because he knows people want to believe and will believe their American president. Trump was smart enough to dodge the draft, skate out of most civil lawsuits, and get himself elected.

“Manipulative - Sociopaths also use their superficial charm and high IQ to manipulate for the goal of achieving their ends. Their lack of empathy allows them to do this with no sense of guilt or remorse.”

Trump does not feel a need to apologize for unwarranted and demeaning verbal and Twitter attacks on countless public servants and other professionals. His loyal supporters want to believe his promises and fabrications while he has his staff and others try to awkwardly spin diversions. “The Donald” gets his press secretaries and senior advisers to try to explain his unique un-presidential tweets, falsehoods, and White House chaos.

“Sensitive to Criticism - Sociopaths will desire the approval of others and will be highly sensitive to criticism. They desire adoration and admiration and feel victimized.”

Trump generally announces news unfavorable to him as false or a hoax. His obvious animosity towards reporters who are the “fabricators” of stories is manifested by his thirst for taunting them. He uses hit-&-run tweets to demean, embarrass, and attack all who criticize him, lacking courage to hold Q&A press conferences for fear of being criticized over his wild assertions. His staff is also afraid to criticize him. He likes to brag, but projects blame for his failures on others.

“Paranoid - Sociopaths lack of emotional understanding along with their incongruous self-view means that they feel lack of trust and paranoia.”

Trump has stated: “The media is the enemy!” “The news is fake!” “Obama bugged Trump tower.” “There were three to five million illegal votes; none of them for me.”

“Despotic/Authoritarian – Often sociopaths will see themselves as a necessary authority and will be in favor of totalitarian rule.”

Trump has difficulty getting along with senior advisers and is swift to fire those who don’t agree with him. He often makes egotistical comments such as: “I know more about ISIS than the generals. Believe me!” Using intimidation and fear-mongering tactics, this feuding president has verbally attacked judges of the federal courts, the FBI, the CIA, and U.S. generals. He likely feels a menacing sense of confidence thinking he can alienate government experts and run the country primarily with advice from family members. Attacking the free press on a daily basis, Trump actually expressed a desire to deny NBC News a broadcast license for reporting news he does not like. In his recent attempt to flex his muscles, he took on the NFL in an attempt to quash the players’ constitutional right to free speech. These are similar actions of known dictators.

“Lawfulness - Despite popular belief, sociopaths are not likely to be a problem to the law but rather will seek to find loopholes to rise to the position of power – or, to move to another area so that their behavior is tolerated.”

Trump has stated his passion to undo all of former President Obama’s executive orders. Trump brags about his overzealous treatment of beautiful women because he is a “celebrity.” He used money and attorneys to find loopholes to bail himself out of several lawsuits generated from the infamous Trump University scam. Investigations are currently deciding if Trump or his campaign worked illegal deals with the Russian government regarding possible tampering with the 2016 campaign.

“Low Tolerance to Boredom - Sociopaths require constant stimulation and get quickly bored.”

Trump likes to place himself in the limelight and be the center of attraction. Trump seems most proud when he publicly lambastes journalists and politicians with different political views or criticisms.

“Impulsive Behavior - A lack of regret and empathy means sociopaths are more likely to make sudden rash decisions based on current facts.”

Trump delivers immediate attacks, usually vicious, on those who criticize him. He threatens to sue people, then doesn’t. Often undermining his high-level specialists, Trump is fast to speak without knowing the facts. He has transmitted juvenile anti-media cartoons to the world exhibiting an impulsive nature unbefitting his stature as president.

“Compulsive Lying - As part of their façade, sociopaths are compulsive liars and will rarely speak truthfully, making them hard to pin down.”

As in his real estate world, lying and faking also seem to define the Trump presidency. He stated that Obama was not born in the U.S. and that Ted Cruz’s father was involved in the assassination of President Kennedy. According to The Washington Post fact checkers, Trump has chalked up over 1,100 false or misleading claims in the first ten months of his presidency including outrageous lies about Obama bugging his phones and the crowd size at his inauguration. Trump has been caught disguising his identity during a business deal and is a master at falsifying information to self-serve. He often reverses himself or backs off on comments he made on important issues.

Is turmoil inevitable with President Trump’s temperament?

Most psychologists and psychiatrists agree that the above listed traits describe the personality of a sociopath and that Donald Trump displays many of these sociopathic behaviors.

Does this mean that Donald Trump is mentally ill and shouldn’t be allowed to have ultimate command and control of nuclear weapons? Is this aberrant personality a threat to U.S. security?

When unable to back up bungling or bizarre statements, Trump often recklessly fires back with theatrical, cryptic and often alarming decrees to media outlets such as: “You’ll find out,” and, “Calm before the storm.” In light of the highly contentious situation with N. Korea and Iran, these vague messages, replayed globally, only serve to ratchet-up unrest and instability internationally.

“Evil will prevail when good men sit back and do nothing.”

Months ago, renowned author/reporter, Carl Bernstein was one of the first journalists to publicly label Trump “unfit for office” while providing observable evidence of a possible antisocial personality disorder.

Former Director of National Intelligence Dave Clapper calls Trump downright scary because he has access to nuclear codes and fears he will say or do something to start a nuclear war with N. Korea.

Trump’s storied behavior has left members of the House and Senate shaking and scratching their heads in bewilderment, and they will only talk off the record. Although congressmen appear to be afraid to publicly criticize Trump out of concern for their own futures, recently a few members of Trump’s own party have had enough. They have had the courage to place country over party when it comes to Trump’s constant personal attacks, lies, threats, and the damage he is doing to presidential credibility and American democracy:

Republican Senator Jeff Flake calls Trump’s behavior “reckless, outrageous, and undignified.” Republican Senator Bob Corker said Trump hasn’t demonstrated stability or competence, branding the White House “an adult day care center” with the president “on the path to World War III.”

Trump’s own Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently referred to President Trump as a “moron” after witnessing Trump’s ideas on increasing U.S. nuclear weapons. Trump’s response was “That’s fake news!” He then challenged Tillerson to an IQ testing contest.

This month former president George W. Bush found it necessary to make a rare political speech which was interpreted as a critique of Trump’s divisive leadership practices, the descending direction America is now heading, and Trump’s questionable moral fiber.

What about the future?

If push comes to shove over military strategy, will this aggressive president who dodged the draft also duck the advice of generals?

Along with considering the possibility of the Trump campaign’s criminal liability regarding obstruction of justice or election tampering, should Congress also consider enforcing the 25th Amendment to impeach President Trump for an incapacitating and possibly dangerous mental disorder?