Trump Derangement

I guess it's fitting that my last post was a song called "Bill of Goods" (emotional 'goods' in that case) on the weekend that trump signed his unjustified, illegal and punitive tariffs on Canadian exports to the US. I didn't watch the political talking heads trying to make sense of it this weekend. But I did have the misfortune of listening to Dan Senor's interview with someone named Walter Russell Mead on his podcast Call Me Back. Senor's podcast is my go-to source for a coherent perspective on Israeli current events. It has gotten me through this past year. I usually really enjoy his guests, especially Haviv Rettig Gur, journalist Eyal Nadav, Yossi Klein Halevi and recently the brilliant Tal Becker. But lately, especially when he talks about US foreign policy, his right-wing slip begins to show underneath his fair-minded skirt. Senor is a Republican who served in the highly successful (sarcasm) GW Bush administration. So this past week he had on this Mead fellow, and the moment the guest mentioned 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' I knew it was going to be a rough ride. The episode was generously entitled 'Decoding Trump's Foreign Policy' and Mead essentially proceeded to make the argument that trump is playing some sort of sophisticated 3D chess. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, and had to look this guy up because he seemed so out to lunch. I was shocked to read his long list of credentials and publications, which included publishing articles in Foreign Policy. He sounded like a partisan, not an academic. I guess it could be expected that Senor was deferrential to his guest, but he failed to challenge even the most blatant and obviously flimsy points Mead was making. 

Admittedly, I'm feeling particularly sensitive this weekend because the madness of the orange king is now directed at my country. But it seems obvious to even the most casual observer that trump derangement, is not a syndrome of his 'haters', it's a mental illness emanating from the man himself. If there is any decoding needed, it's a basic ASCII (read: DSM - The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) of psychotic, malignant narcissism, as follows:

Code 1: He is only capable of thinking about his personal needs and caring about himself.

Code 2: He needs constant attention and will say anything and do anyting to get it and keep it.

Code 3: Only appearances matter, and the most important thing to him is to appear 'strong' (because he knows deep inside that he is intellectually and emotionally extremely weak.) Everything he says and does is meant to promote and burnish that appearance.   

Trump is a deeply damaged individual, who attracts emotionally damaged supporters and promoters. He understands foreign policy about as much as an impetuous 5 year old with a constant need for validation and attention can understand foreign policy. Anyone who believes otherwise understands little, or is engaged in wishful thinking. That's what I would call 'trump derangement'.  

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After last night's press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu a post script is required. Derangement is an understatement. Incredibly, surpassing for irresponsibility, trump's suggestion that 'injecting disinfectant' might be helpful against covid, and reminiscent of trump standing next to a smiling Vladimir Putin as the US president took the side of the Russian dictator over his own intelligence agencies. It was a breathtaking public moment tonight, with Netanyahu barely containing his glee, as trump announced US intention to clean-out (ie. displace the 1.8 million Palestinians) and 'own' and redevelop Gaza. He said he has been thinking about it for a long time and has had extensive discussions 'and everyone he spoke to thinks it's a great idea' to turn Gaza in the Riviera of the Middle-East. Of course this morning the media is bamboozled, many talking like trump may be playing 3D chess. More likely this is a distraction from Elon Musk dismantling the US government to turn it into trump's fiefdom. I guess that's diabolical in its own way. Two weeks into this regime and trump has threatened the sovereignty of Denmark, Canada and Panama, launched a trade war with Mexico, China and Canada, handed the keys to the US Treasury to Elon Musk, and now set the entire Middle-East on fire with talk of an invasion and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Madness.