"The second interpretation purports to be more hardheaded and sensible, wiser and world-weary after so many years of watching Trump at work. Isn't this always how he negotiates? Stake out an absurd-sounding position, freak out all the institutionalists and keepers of consensus, rattle the markets and then use the madman's leverage to induce other countries to accept an advantageous-for-America deal?"
"My own conclusion, deep in the Trump era, is that you need to blend these readings to understand the situation. Trump is an unstable narcissist with a bottomless appetite for attention and a defective moral core, and if you think he's merely playing a negotiator's part, you misunderstand him: There is a perfect sincerity to his most absurdist whines and boasts."
"At the same time, he also has a certain degree of self-awareness and a strong instinct for the ways of power in the world, neither of which is immediately apparent from just listening to him brag and bully. He wants to be the center of attention, not to destroy the world, and he has spent a lifetime turning his own personal defects into strengths"
Two plausible readings of the behavior appear: either malignant narcissism and unfitness amplified by age and interventionist excitement, or a performative negotiating tactic that shocks institutions to extract concessions. Both readings are necessary. The behavior contains a genuine, sincere core of absurdist boasting and attention-seeking, alongside a pragmatic instinct for power and leverage. The individual seeks attention rather than global destruction and repeatedly transforms personal defects—impulse control failures and low character—into negotiating tools that unsettle opponents, rattle markets, and sometimes produce advantageous outcomes for American interests.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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