Trump’s ‘mental pathology’ means he ‘hates reality’ : Psychoanalyst says .

 Trump’s ‘mental pathology’ means he ‘hates reality’ : Psychoanalyst says .

Donald Trump is a living, breathing national emergency. Our president has repeatedly encouraged violence against his perceived enemies — and at least some of his supporters are following his lead. These are not isolated incidents. There are dozens of court cases where Donald Trump has been cited for “inspiring” acts of violence and other crimes.There are also the most odious examples such as the recent white supremacist terror attack in El Paso in which the alleged mass murderer wrote an online “manifesto” that almost verbatim channeled Trump’s threatening rhetoric towards nonwhite people.

In response to the white supremacist terrorist attack in El Paso and another mass shooting that same weekend in Dayton, Ohio, Trump specifically avoided a message of healing in a country reeling from multiple mass murders. Instead, Trump participated in ghoulish, vainglorious photo-ops at hospitals where the dying and injured were cared for after these incidents. Incapable of grace or dignity, Donald Trump lashed out at his political opponents. He even insulted the Republican mayor of El Paso during his visit to that city, calling him a “RINO” because he dared to push back against Trump’s disparaging comments about the city.

Donald Trump has publicly lied more than 12,000 times since becoming president, an average of 13 lies a day. These lies have created a cult-like alternate reality for Trump and his supporters.

And then there is the Mueller Report, which — in addition to detailing Trump’s repeated efforts to obstruct justice and his de facto conspiracy with a hostile foreign power — is a damning portrait of a president who is mentally unwell.

Donald Trump is the common denominator across these events. His mind is the unifying factor. Why are so many Americans in the general public and the news media still unable to comprehend Trump’s bad dangerous behavior? How are Trump’s mental health issues influencing his supporters?

Given his habitual breaking of social norms, disregard for the law, and other alleged criminal behavior — including sexual assault, financial corruption and extensive obstruction of justice — is Donald Trump even capable of feeling shame or guilt? Does Trump feel any empathy for the people he is hurting, especially the migrant and immigrant families being separated or abused in border facilities? What would have become of Donald Trump if he had not been born into an affluent white family?

In an effort to answer these questions I recently spoke with Dr. Justin Frank. This is our third conversation for Salon. Frank is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the George Washington University Medical Center and a physician with more than 40 years of experience in psychoanalysis. He is the author of the bestselling books “Bush on the Couch” and “Obama on the Couch.” His most recent book is “Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President.”

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length. You can also listen to my full conversation with Dr. Justin Frank through the player embedded below.

What do these recent mass shootings in El Paso, Dayton, California and elsewhere reveal about Donald Trump’s character and psyche?

There is a part of Donald Trump that has never really believed that he is president. It’s almost as if Trump does not know that he is president of the United States because he’s an actor. Unconsciously Trump is so identified with his role in “The Apprentice” that he has to have written-out parts that he recites. When he’s left to his own devices, he goes off script, as it were. Trump has always been scripted. The people who worked with him on “The Apprentice” were always very disturbed by Trump’s behavior because he would always go off script.

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Written By : Chauncey DeVega / Salon / Aug 16 / 2019