Donald Trump won't stop using a technique psychologists associate with narcissists

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

For years, mental health professionals have argued that President Donald Trump’s behaviors, which some have called “malignant narcissism,” are a detriment to the nation.

Much has been written about the president’s tendency to gaslight ― a form of psychological manipulation weaponized by narcissists to make victims question their own reality, memory and perceptions.

Most recently, some have said that Trump has tried to gaslight the American people into believing that there is no real affordability crisis (he’s called it a “hoax” cooked up by the Democrats), despite widespread concerns about the rising cost of living and his running on a platform heavily focused on bringing down prices. (In spite of that, energy bills have increased as much as 13% since Trump took office.)

But psychologists say there’s another classic narcissist tactic that Trump appears to employ with alarming frequency that’s less talked about: DARVO: Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/donald-trump-won-t-stop-using-a-technique-psychologists-associate-with-narcissists/ar-AA27JM7W

Outside of the hardcore MAGA I don't think Trump will be able to gaslight anyone into thinking affordability is not a problem.

[OGBuzz]

1. Ridicule him at every opportunity, a fate worse than death for a malignant narcissist. There is plenty of

material to work with.

[snot]

2. Wouldn't it be easier

to list the narcissistic &/or sociopathic tactics that he hasn't used?

[rampartd]

4. here is the list below

[littlemissmartypants]

3. Helpful infographic

[FadedMullet]

7. PESI stands for "Professional Education Systems Institute" (I had to look it up). I wondered who might offer......

........such a course. Makes one wonder if society really disintegrating and people are truly getting worse, or at least the numbers of sociopaths among us is increasing. Can't imagine seeing a poster like this forty years ago.

[littlemissmartypants]

8. It's possible that the number of studies on the topics have increased.

Considering that the concept of "IPV" (intimate partner violence) wasn't even a thing in the 80s.

Gaslighting makes up one of the spokes on the power and control wheel under minimizing, denying, blaming.



And psychopathy (genetic) antisocial personality disorder (APD) and sociopathy (societal) APD exist as a block of spectrum disorders and are very common.

Approximately 30% of the population exhibits some degree of APD, aka sociopathy/psychopathy.

The explanation and references are in my DU journal.

I also created a post that's somewhat comprehensive on the history of the wheels that's here somewhere. There are two wheels. Here’s the companion wheel. Equality:



Characteristics of Psychopaths
1. Aggressive, callous, and cunning
2. Completely void of conscience and empathy
3. Adept at manipulating others
4. Willing to engage in immoral, criminal conduct
5. Willing to take what they want and do as they please, regardless of who is hurt or wronged
6. Deceptive ability to appear outwardly benevolent
7. Deceptive ability to behave in superficially charming ways to hide purely selfish motives
8. Willing to use force, intimidation, and violence to control others in order to satisfy their own needs
9. Willing to intentionally violate the basic inherent human rights of others
10. Completely lacking any sense of guilt or remorse for the harm their actions cause
11. Rationalize their own immoral behavior
12. Attempt to lay blame upon someone else for their own bad conduct
13. Will deny their own wrongdoing outright
14. Display utter contemptuousness toward the feelings and desires of others
15. Exhibit pathological lying, will compulsively say anything without any concern for the truth to advance their own agendas
16. Able to fake normal human emotions and empathy with the exception of joy, laughter
17. Have a distorted sense of the consequences of their actions
18. Totally fail to accept any responsibility for their own socially irresponsible ways
19. Strongly believe that they will never be brought to justice for their criminal behavior


❤️

[Brother Buzz]

5. The Six Dark Lessons Roy Cohn Taught Trump (That He Still Uses Today)

Roy Cohn taught Donald Trump the six rules of managing and dominating situations and people. These are those rules and you can see them being utilized to this very day by the man to brutal ends (this is excerpted from the book, The Last American President):

1. Never apologize or admit wrongdoing, ever. Cohn viewed contrition as weakness and would rather die (literally, as it turned out) than acknowledge error or fault. As journalist Ken Auletta, who covered Cohn extensively, noted, “The idea that you can admit a mistake is not part of Roy’s genetic code.” This principle would become so fundamental to Trump’s approach that even faced with irrefutable evidence—a recorded confession of sexual assault on the Access Hollywood tape, for instance—he would deny, deflect, and attack rather than offer the slightest acknowledgment of impropriety.

2. Always counter-attack, and always with greater force than you received. When criticized or accused, Cohn’s response was invariably to hit back harder, to escalate, to make the accuser regret ever mentioning his name. As Cohn himself explained to a reporter: "I bring out the worst in my enemies, and that’s how I get them to defeat themselves.” This tactic became Trump’s signature move, whether attacking Gold Star parents who criticized him, mocking a disabled reporter who questioned his claims, or threatening critics with lawsuits and retribution.

3. Use the legal system as a weapon, not a recourse for justice. Cohn taught Trump that lawsuits were instruments of intimidation, not vehicles for dispute resolution. He filed cases not to win—though winning was nice—but to punish, to harass, and to silence. The expense and stress of litigation was the point, not the legal outcome. Trump would eventually be involved in over 3,500 lawsuits—an unprecedented number for any American businessperson or politician—using the courts not to seek justice but to exhaust opponents with fewer resources.

4. Manipulate the media ruthlessly. Cohn was a master at planting stories, cultivating journalists, and creating controversy to serve his ends. He understood that perception trumped reality, that bold claims often went unchallenged, and that most people would remember the accusation but not the retraction. Trump elevated this approach to an art form, calling reporters using pseudonyms like “John Barron” to plant favorable stories about himself, staging pseudo-events to attract coverage, and later, using Twitter to bypass media filters entirely and inject his unfiltered messages directly into the public consciousness.

5. Use fear as both shield and sword. Cohn understood that people who are afraid—of communists, of crime, of social change, of the “other”—are easier to manipulate and more willing to accept authoritarian solutions. He helped McCarthy weaponize the Red Scare, stoking paranoia about secret communists undermining America from within. Trump would adapt this tactic to the 21st century, stoking fears about immigrants, Muslims, “inner city” crime, and later, a “deep state” conspiracy, always positioning himself as the only solution to these terrifying threats.

6. Build a fortress of loyalty around yourself. Cohn demanded absolute devotion from his clients and associates, and he repaid it in kind, at least until they were no longer useful. He created a network of mutual obligation and fear that served as both sword and shield in his battles. Trump’s infamous demand for loyalty—from James Comey, from his cabinet members, from Republican legislators—and his swift punishment of perceived disloyalty, all echo Cohn’s approach to power.

[dlk]

6. From one malignant narcissist and Machiavellian psychopath to another

Roy taught Donald well.

[multigraincracker]

10. Perhaps a Pee Wee Herman response.

I know you are but what am I?

[bmichaelh]

11. Another Roy Cohn tactic

Roy Cohn was chief counsel of Joe McCarthy.

Accusing Americans falsely of Communism.

Seems Trump is doing it now.

Trump lacks any originality of thought.

[multigraincracker]

9. Always true. When you hear him, just

remember this, every accusation is a confession. Every time.

[BaronChocula]

12. DARVO

Though few people refer to that by name, it's pretty much what people are talking about when they say every accusation is a confession.

"The corrupt Democrats are trying to steal the upcoming election."