Trump is a narcissistic, psychopathic bully. But a weak one.
I started listening to Trump’s speech at Davos with anger and outrage. But as he went on and on, I slowly felt a growing sense of relief. I realised that all his bullying, taunts and threats reflected weakness. He sounded like a needy, spoilt child frustrated that he could not get his own way.
His deranged tendencies were on full display with repeated hints at all the damage he could cause to those who did not bend to his will – like a mafia boss threatening to cut off a former partner’s fingers if he did not cooperate. “I really like you, actually. I don’t want to hurt you. It’s a shame. I tried my best to be nice. But, I gotta do what I gotta do.”
His neediness was on full display with his repeated mentions of how much everyone loves him, and appreciates his achievements. Only someone unsure of his popularity needs to keep claiming he has lots of friends.
His childishness was on full display with his petty taunts and jibes at other global figures – such as French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Premier Mark Carney, California Gavin Newsom, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell, even as he simultaneously claimed that they were “great guys, actually” and that he liked them.
His vanity was on full display with his repeated boasts about how brilliant he was, and how great America had become under his leadership.
His insecurity was on full display with his continued need to lash out at defeated foes, such as Joe Biden. A truly self-confident person would not need to repeatedly big up his own alleged achievements in office, rather than letting them speak for themselves.
His self-delusion was on full display with his claims that he really cares about Europe and NATO, respects the people of Greenland and Denmark, and is only trying to do what’s best for them. A genuine friend does not bully and threaten allies.
His dishonesty was on full display with his claim that he is only motivated to end the war in Ukraine because he is concerned about how many young men and women are dying there, when what he has actually been doing since returning to office is trying to extort Ukraine’s natural wealth and force it into an unjust peace deal.
His bullying tendency was on full display with his repeated reminders of the strength of the US military and economy. Trump is not a man to “speak softly and carry a big stick” – but a schoolyard bully who inadvertently reveals weakness by over-emphasising his physical attributes. “Yah, boo, I’m bigger than you. I could beat you up if I wanted to.”
His greed, and cavalier disregard for the fate of the planet, was on full display with his attacks on Europe for pursuing its “scam” green agenda, exhortations on the UK to do more more to extract oil from the North Sea, and boasts about how much oil the US was going to pick up from Venezuela.
His whiny tendency was on full display with his complaints about how NATO has treated the US “unfairly” and that he personally never gets enough credit for his achievements – such as allegedly ending eight wars – an obvious reflection of his continued frustration at not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
His ignorance, or is it deteriorating mental health, was on full display with his repeated reference to Iceland, when he meant Greenland, and his false claims that the US “gave back” Greenland to Denmark.
However, the ultimate hollowness of his threats was revealed when he effectively made a climbdown on Greenland, by suggesting that he would not use military force to seize it.
Though he repeatedly tried to play down the outrageous nature of his claim – dismissively describing Greenland several times as just a “piece of ice” – and though he tried to run the argument that in fact the US deserved to own it, given its role in defending Denmark in World War 2, he was tacitly admitting that he could not just take it.
In this sense his entire speech was like the self-indulgent tantrum of a spoilt child not being allowed one more scoop of ice-cream.
The danger of this man remains real. The damage he has already caused to the transatlantic alliance is real. The potential for him to cause even more harm both at home and abroad is real too.
But, even Trump may secretly be starting to recognize that simply demanding “I want, I want, I want”, stamping his feet, and issuing dire threats, will not always result in him getting his own way.
We can all at least take some comfort in that.
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