President Truman famously said “The buck stops here.” But for Trump, it seems to be “I take no responsibility.” He said at the Republican National Convention in 2016 the following: “The most sacred duty of government is to defend the lives of its own citizens. Any government that fails to do so is unworthy to lead.” I believe that since he failed the task with his covid-19 response, he is therefore unworthy to lead.

Someone with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) — a condition recognized by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — would never take responsibility (since he or she deems himself/herself to be perfect) for anything that goes wrong, only those things that go right. If something goes wrong, then, it’s always some other person’s fault. For Trump, we hear him blame President Obama, the governors, China and more. Since nothing is ever his fault, there is never any need to say he is sorry or apologize. Besides, that would be a sign of weakness. In my opinion, Trump’s mendacity, the incessant lying, also has a psychological basis.

To me, he “checks all of the other boxes” for NPD: exaggerated feeling of self-importance, persistent grandiosity, demeaning others, fragile ego, excessive need for admiration and lack of empathy toward others people. A number of psychoanalysts have reviewed his behavior. Why doesn’t he wear a mask — because it would be a sign of weakness? He supposedly took hydroxychloroquine — probably to cover the fact that he pushed something dangerous and stupid. Someone with NPD can never show any sign of weakness, cowardice or stupidity.

Lawrence Josephs

Penn Township, Westmoreland County

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