Quote:
Originally Posted by Rococo
TS, since we are on the topic of Trump's relationship with the media, what do you make of reports that Trump in his younger days frequently called the media and pretended to be his own publicist for the purpose of bragging about what a great person/businessman/boss/cocksman he was? Which of the answers below most closely reflects your view?
[ ] -- I believe the president when he says that he never did such a thing.
[ ] -- I have no idea whether to believe the president when he says he never did such a thing.
[ ] -- I believe the numerous reporters who claim to have received such calls (or claim that Trump admitted to them that he made such calls), and by extension I believe the president's denial is a lie, but I think it's all good, clean fun.
[ ] -- I believe the reports, and by extension I believe the president's denial is a lie. This is all consistent with a larger pattern of disturbingly narcissistic behavior by the president.
Somewhere between C & D. He clearly did this, it's obviously good clean fun, and it also indicates a narcissism inherent in many good self promoters. Trump clearly has a number of narcissistic tendencies to the point of it affecting optimal functioning. None of that precludes a big heart, a good brain, brilliant business savvy, effectiveness, or anything else. It's just a wart he has.
I also believe he groped/uninvited kissed the women that came forward he claimed he did, although not all of them (lots of women provably lie about this in high profile cases).
Here's my view on Trump since you're asking:
- Clearly a pig/playboy/rich chauvinist, although with a soft spot and manners
- Clearly quite narcissistic, although not to a level I'd call a serious pathology. He's not that different to any normal successful businessman/negotiator from his era. It comes with the territory
- Extremely high interpersonal intelligence. Multiple levels above Clinton
- Extremely shrewd business/strategic mind. Gets the right answers to complex, data overload tough questions that involve strategy. A deep wisdom here that most can't see.
- Low verbal intelligence for someone of his stature.
- Impulsive/decisive but with powerful deep well-honed restraints and caution. Which is why people were going hysterical about him pressing the nuke button when he was elected; they see the first but not the second.
- Not highly intellectually curious; merely average and far below average compared to the average modern politician, which is why he comes across as an anachronism among other politicians, and why he seems unintelligent to people who are themselves unintelligent/unworldly.
- A big heart and not at all racist, but also a product of his generation and believes that Western culture is superior to all others (which it is, but only because the West is the only culture to ever reach the Enlightenment in philosophy).
- The experience of decades of being a high level businessman makes him very good at listening to people and understanding.
I think that's a reasonable take on his personality and mind.
Last edited by ToothSayer; 04-30-2019 at 11:58 AM.