Assessing Trump and his Movement The rise of Donald Trump and the behavior of his followers should prompt an interest in political ponerology, a framework for understanding how pathological leaders can gain influence, distort moral standards, and polarize societies. From the lens of political ponerology, that is, the study of “evil” in political systems, Donald … Continue reading “Ponerology and the Pathology of Leadership:”
Tag: Trump
President Trump should be submitted for a Psychiatric Evaluation
The assassination of the Iranian general Soleimani is almost certainly not because of some geopolitical strategic calculus by Trump. Two reasons will back up this observation. One, Trump is according to many mental health professionals not capable of such reasoning anymore and, two, according to many geopolitical analysts the risks far outweigh the advantages … Continue reading “President Trump should be submitted for a Psychiatric Evaluation”
On Trump: Some Thoughts on the Anonymous NYT Op-ed
On September 5 The New York Times took the unprecedented step to publish an anonymous opinion piece titled “I am a Part of the Resistance in the Trump Administration“. According to the NYT the op-ed was written by a “senior official in the Trump administration“, who claims that there is an organized ‘resistance’ operating at the … Continue reading “On Trump: Some Thoughts on the Anonymous NYT Op-ed”
Trump crossed the Rubicon, but let’s stay positive
About a year ago I thought it very probable that Trump would vacate his position before 18 months of his presidency would have elapsed. I did not make a big announcement of that combined prediction and hope, but still shared it with a few friends. Many times I thought it was getting close but then … Continue reading “Trump crossed the Rubicon, but let’s stay positive”
On Trump: The Ruling Pathocrat
Last summer I read many contributions to the anthology The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, written by 27 professional mental health care workers.[1] One paper caught my attention, which was “Who Goes Trump?” by Elizabeth Mika. She is a psychologist with a Polish background and the only contributor referring to the very important study … Continue reading “On Trump: The Ruling Pathocrat”
On Trump: The Tasaroff Doctrine Trumps the Goldwater Rule
For those who are concerned about the appropriateness of using psychiatric diagnostic tools to assess the mental fitness and dangerousness of President Trump the following: It apparently is totally legitimate, even legally required, for mental health professionals to warn targeted people and society at large for the dangers a troubled person or group of … Continue reading “On Trump: The Tasaroff Doctrine Trumps the Goldwater Rule”
On Trump: Towards An Understanding Of Why Republicans Have Switched Off Their Critical Faculties
At the average rate of 4.88 lies a day [1] the current US president during his first 100 days in office has disgraced his office and further besmirched the international reputation of the US. Lie by lie he has walled himself in and lost credibility in the eyes of most sane and rational people. … Continue reading “On Trump: Towards An Understanding Of Why Republicans Have Switched Off Their Critical Faculties”
Trump and the Deep State / The Koch Brothers’ New Brand
Just read new and updated forewords to two important book-length studies about power in the US. Both were updated to put their considerable investigations in connection with the new Trump administration. The first book is by Prof. Peter Dale Scott, co-founder of the Peace and Conflict Studies program at UC Berkeley. He wrote a … Continue reading “Trump and the Deep State / The Koch Brothers’ New Brand”
On Trump: Against Normalization: The Lesson of the “Munich Post” by Ron Rosenbaum
I consider Ron Rosenbaum as one of America’s best and most entertaining journalistic writers. For me memorable articles include the ones on Watergate, the CIA mole-hunt and a few articles about Yale’s semi-secret senior society Skull and Bones.[1] He also wrote a fascinating study, Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil, … Continue reading “On Trump: Against Normalization: The Lesson of the “Munich Post” by Ron Rosenbaum”
On Trump: “Trump’s New World Order”
It is interesting to see how delusional and divided the far right is in the US. First of all I consider the far right that faction of the conservative movement which is authoritarian. This is the faction composed of people who have become intolerant of certain social and cultural differences and tend to exaggerate dangers, … Continue reading “On Trump: “Trump’s New World Order””