Donald Trump: Sociopath?

Blackfin

Blackfin

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Been wondering about this for a bit and did a bit of research. It certainly seems like it. Online sources list some of the traits commonly associated with sociopathy and DT certainly checks a lot of (though not all) the following boxes:


  • Glibness and Superficial Charm
  • Manipulative and Conning
  • Grandiose Sense of Self
  • Pathological Lying
  • Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt
  • Shallow Emotions
  • Incapacity for Love
  • Need for Stimulation
  • Callousness/Lack of Empathy
  • Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature
  • Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency
  • Irresponsibility/Unreliability
  • Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity
  • Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle
  • Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility

...

  • Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them
  • Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them
  • Authoritarian
  • Secretive
  • Paranoid
  • Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired
  • Conventional appearance
  • Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)
  • Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim's life
  • Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim's affirmation (respect, gratitude and love)
  • Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim
  • Incapable of real human attachment to another
  • Unable to feel remorse or guilt
  • Extreme narcissism and grandiose
  • May state readily that their goal is to rule the world

I think in order to seek higher (the highest?) office you need to have certain personality traits that most people would find distasteful in an acquaintance/friend and I have no doubt many of the other candidates including Clinton are likely pathological in their own ways but I was struck by just how many of these seem to apply to Trump.
 
Alot of those traits apply to high profile personalities like ceo or even prime minister
 
RockerGuy said:
Alot of those traits apply to high profile personalities like ceo or even prime minister
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CEO's are good for companies because it doesn't bother them to ax jobs, do nasty stuff.

Is a sociopath born that way or made into one, nature or nurture?
 
Blackfin said:
Been wondering about this for a bit and did a bit of research. It certainly seems like it. Online sources list some of the traits commonly associated with sociopathy and DT certainly checks a lot of (though not all) the following boxes:


  • Glibness and Superficial Charm
  • Manipulative and Conning
  • Grandiose Sense of Self
  • Pathological Lying
  • Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt
  • Shallow Emotions
  • Incapacity for Love
  • Need for Stimulation
  • Callousness/Lack of Empathy
  • Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature
  • Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency
  • Irresponsibility/Unreliability
  • Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity
  • Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle
  • Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility

...

  • Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them
  • Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them
  • Authoritarian
  • Secretive
  • Paranoid
  • Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired
  • Conventional appearance
  • Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)
  • Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim's life
  • Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim's affirmation (respect, gratitude and love)
  • Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim
  • Incapable of real human attachment to another
  • Unable to feel remorse or guilt
  • Extreme narcissism and grandiose
  • May state readily that their goal is to rule the world

I think in order to seek higher (the highest?) office you need to have certain personality traits that most people would find distasteful in an acquaintance/friend and I have no doubt many of the other candidates including Clinton are likely pathological in their own ways but I was struck by just how many of these seem to apply to Trump.
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That's quite the to do list. Thankfully many can be struck off by just following the popular media.
 
This is an election between two sociopaths. The reason you don't notice it with Hillary as much is because her speeches are written, rehearsed and on a teleprompter, versus Trump who just says what's on his mind. That and the media like to pick out the best of Hillary's speeches and the worst out of Trump's. The media like to make Trump look like a total despot, but he's likely the most progressive candidate the republicans have fielded in my lifetime. The total psychos on the far right like Ted Cruz are hopefully a thing of the past.
 
When it comes to Trump, I don't think there's a thing in the press you can believe about him. They hate his guts. They're out to get him any way they can. The latest speculation he made about a muslim mother of a dead soldier not being allowed to speak because of her religion is a good example. The press quickly latched onto it, calling him ignorant, then Hillary went off the cliff and accused him of "attacking" the mother.

It's like it was with Rob Ford. Lies, sensationalism and anything but the truth.
 
The press and internet, smh. I've heard insider "stories" about what an awesome dude Trump is with family and in his personal life. I'd be more inclined to give those stories more credence over anything coming from the general press or web based progressives about his character. I mean given what politics, especially super high stakes national politics, entails you'd have to be a super sized caricature of a flim flam artist to successfully run for office anyway. I think he's nailing it.
 
smc said:
This is an election between two sociopaths. The reason you don't notice it with Hillary as much is because her speeches are written, rehearsed and on a teleprompter, versus Trump who just says what's on his mind. That and the media like to pick out the best of Hillary's speeches and the worst out of Trump's. The media like to make Trump look like a total despot, but he's likely the most progressive candidate the republicans have fielded in my lifetime. The total psychos on the far right like Ted Cruz are hopefully a thing of the past.
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Can you give us an example if a good Trump speech. Even just a not terrible one?
 
fastar1 said:
Can you give us an example if a good Trump speech. Even just a not terrible one?
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From 34:00-39:00. I don't think you'd hear much from the old guard republicans about getting black youths jobs or defending gays.

[video=youtube;4CVTuOyZDI0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CVTuOyZDI0[/video]

Now the speech is full of fear mongering and Trump has trouble saying how he'll actually fix anything that isn't financial. But the other choice is this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58rLBBpCE2M
 
Perhaps they'd be doing the US (and the world) a favor by helping to keep the ignorant, dangerous, racist sociopath Trump out of the Oval Office.
 
Blackfin said:
Perhaps they'd be doing the US (and the world) a favor by helping to keep the ignorant, dangerous, racist sociopath Trump out of the Oval Office.
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I don't know how serious Trump is with all of his rhetoric but it is not just the unwashed Republican diehards that are listening. Even if he is not racist or xenophobic others believe he is which puts America's already tarnished reputation in an even more tenuous situation worldwide. If he wins I'm sure ISIS and the other Islamic terrorist groups will gladly play his ill advised anti-Muslim speeches in their recruitment videos.

I really do not understand what has happened to the Republican party. When I was old enough to grasp what was going on in the world Reagan had already courted the Evangelical Christians and Crazies had already infected the party. When you look at their party as a totality though there have been progressive elements in it through their history. What today's Republican party has in common with the party of yesteryear is beyond me. Even long time Republicans I have met in my travels are at a loss and feel that the party has left them more than they have left the party.

Also, despite all of Trump's rhetoric in this campaign he has historically been more of a Democrat. This is one weird campaign. Clinton is kind of sterile and is also a hawk. I am more than a little concerned with her running the show as well. We need a Brewster's Millions choice: "None Of The Above".
 
smc said:
From 34:00-39:00. I don't think you'd hear much from the old guard republicans about getting black youths jobs or defending gays.

[video=youtube;4CVTuOyZDI0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CVTuOyZDI0[/video]

Now the speech is full of fear mongering and Trump has trouble saying how he'll actually fix anything that isn't financial. But the other choice is this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58rLBBpCE2M
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Good clip, thanks. Nice to see him make the connection between economic opportunity and crime, and support the gay community. And you're right, I see a lot of coverage of Trump but never heard about that bit.

Hillary may be problematic but not for anything reflected in that video you linked. She seems to be very late in understanding that the circles of power all greasing each other's wheels may be the way things get done but it's also the way regular people get the shaft. I think she may be clueing in though, after the Bernie movement came so close to toppling her.

I don't see how Trump gets that at all BTW. He seems like the type who you want to get on his good books, or else you'll feel his wrath. Plus there's his overall ignorance about public affairs. I just don't see the upside if Trump, and massive downsides. That's why I cut the media more slack than I probably should for reporting his failures so much, but the heart of it is he's totally undit for office, that I can see.
 
If so many people have an issue with how the media is covering or portraying Trump, how about ignoring the media and drawing one's own conclusion instead?

This would, however, mean that it would be essential to draw an objective conclusion based on the facts, which one would have to educate themselves about. We know that the average American Trump fanatic (and lets just consider the fanatics) are not interested in education (Remember, he "loves the poorly educated!"), they're just interested in closing the borders, kicking out immigrants, building a wall, and "making America great again" despite the fact that just seems to be a catchphrase without a whole lot of actual plans (real, of fantastical) on how to accomplish such...but that doesn't matter, he could threaten to start World War 3 by dropping a nuke on China in the first day of his presidency and a lot of whackjobs would still vote for him.

Personally, I think the persecution he's getting in the media is perfectly well deserved. It's interesting that some of the coverage is now questioning his mental well being - I think that was the elephant in the room that needed to be part of the conversation - I really think he is unwell and certainly not someone we need as the most powerful man on the planet, with his fingers on the buttons that could theoretically end the world as we know it.
 
PrivatePilot said:
If so many people have an issue with how the media is covering or portraying Trump, how about ignoring the media and drawing one's own conclusion instead?

This would, however, mean that it would be essential to draw an objective conclusion based on the facts, which one would have to educate themselves about.
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We are largely dependent on the media for the facts.

Most of us are not economists, lawyers or psychologists and able to sort the available facts.

Is Trump like the person in the YouTube video making a fool of him/her self with the video getting millions of hits because it went viral? Most of the time the person isn't the moron portrayed in the clip.

There are thousands of experts trying to figure out our public figures. What chance do we have?
 
nobbie48 said:
We are largely dependent on the media for the facts.
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To some extent, sure, but not entirely - the facts are out there, provided by sources other than the traditional media. So long as you're looking at factual sources, not biased, slanted. "Newstainment", or sensationalized (*cough*, Fox News, for one great example) there ARE sources for just the facts. Finding facts on Trump is not difficult.

But people need to draw the conclusions from more than the 20 second news clips they are being spoonfed. Sit down, do some reading, educate yourself, draw a (hopefully educated) opinion accordingly. That is unfortunately too much work for a lot of people however - the "I believe everything I heard on the 20 second newsclip" people will base potentially life altering decisions based on the Onion article they mistook for fact.
 
Roadghost said:
When it comes to Trump, I don't think there's a thing in the press you can believe about him. They hate his guts. They're out to get him any way they can..
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Yea by like Quoting him and stuff!!!
 
Roadghost said:
The latest speculation he made about a muslim mother of a dead soldier not being allowed to speak because of her religion is a good example. The press quickly latched onto it,
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Yea again they quoted him, really not the media's fault that what he says is so damn stupid that when you hear it coming out of his own mouth is so wrong that you as trump defender must think is a setup or some kind of media bias.

Honestly, human behavior is got to be the most interesting thing in the world, it amazes me that so many people in this world actually support and defend him, anyone else that said 1 of the hundreds of things he had said would be finish.

Imagine if Hilary called for a ban of all Muslims from entering the US, she would have to quit her campaign the very next day.
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