His obsession with revenge and his fatalism are endangering the nation.
Throughout the coronavirus crisis, critics of Donald Trump have repeatedly referenced his profound and outrageous narcissism. It was partly this pathology that led Trump to downplay the threat and resist widespread testing for weeks. An honest acknowledgement of the mounting problem and a rising number of positive tests would inconvenience his reelection prospects.
For a narcissist, the most immediate personal need is the most important one. So Trump viewed the burgeoning crisis as a threat to him, not the nation, and he took the steps he usually does in so many circumstances: He denied the threat, claimed he knew better than the experts, and relied on bluster and BS. He did all that instead of adopting early measures that could have slowed the transmission of the virus.
More disturbing, Trump has applied his get-even rule to his dealings with governors confronting the crisis. After Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in late February said, “Our work would be more successful if the Trump administration stuck to the science and told the truth,” Trump struck back. While visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he huffed, “I told Mike [Pence] not to be complimentary of that governor because that governor is a snake. So Mike may be happy with him but I’m not, OK?” That was Trump getting even.
And when Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York noted that the federal government only sent his state 400 ventilators when it needed 30,000, Trump responded with a threat. He told Fox, “It’s a two-way street, they have to treat us well also.” Here Trump was suggesting that complaints from Cuomo would be met with vengeance, presumably the withholding of assistance.
