How I built a scale for Trump’s weaknesses–and why the one at the top should keep you up at night. (And, I had a personal conversation with a former KGB agent about this)
His hunger for praise was instilled in him during his childhood due to his parent’s never giving him any. A needy child looking for affirmation from his father, he learned from watching his father’s treatment of his brother, Fred Jr’s refusal to mirror himself to their father’s image. Donald then wanted Fred Sr’s attention so much he learned to be a bully and get attention that way. His mother basically ignored the children and left them with nannies and to their own devices, as niece, Mary Trump, wrote in her book.
A needy child who was always seeking attention and praise forever more, which all other foreign and domestic players have used to their advantage. A needy man who is still seeking praise and glory even though he has done nothing to earn it.
In fact, they’re so deeply entrenched…already…it’s hard to even begin to imagine the Trump family trust ANYONE in the Oval Office…other than…another Trump.
Yes, I agree A! I think they are trying to breed children who appear ‘educated’ but are functionally lacking necessary skills for a compassionate human being to emerge. Stupid breeds stupid and then some more.
I think for the most part you are spot on. TheI feel that currently his impulsive reactions will continue to increase due to his mental illness from his front temporal lobe disease. I am not sure it will overshadow his need for continued flattery as if he is not receiving that on a daily basis it's like he is not getting his fix like a drug addict.
Teri, I’m afraid he will escalate as his mental capacity deteriorates. I’m concerned he will see using a ‘tactical nuke’ as his last resort to save his ego.
I will never forget his performance at the Helsinki press conference. He had such a hangdog look as if he had been defeated. And I never forgot the words coming out of his mouth--he believed Putin more than the US intelligence services--back when our services were robust. Meanwhile Putin was glowing like a peacock.
Something went down. I wondered. A threat, kompromat? Wonder if we'll ever know.
Carlye…great question, and it's the ENTIRE chart in one line.
Weak is about HIM.
Easy is about THEM.
A WEAK man can be broken by ANYONE who pushes hard enough…BUT…pushing COSTS something: money, a secret, a threat, and the risk he resents you and bolts.
An EASY man doesn't need to be pushed at all. You tell him he's WONDER and he walks toward you on his OWN…and thanks you for it.
Plenty of people are WEAK. Very few are EASY. Weak gets you a target. Easy gets you a VOLUNTEER.
Gotcha, thanks much! Makes total sense and I'd feel dumber about not knowing, except I guess it means I haven't explored the finer points of extortion and turning an asset 😅🤭
No, there was no slip-up on your end. I take responsibility for not making two of the most important factors in my article as crystal clear as they should have been.
So, thank you for the question...and the nudge to correct my error!
And that’s why Trump is an asset, not an agent. An asset is someone the intelligence agent can easily steer. An agent is someone the intelligence agent can actually trust to do whatever task is assigned to him.
Trump is definitely a Russian asset, but NO WAY would he ever be trusted enough to be useful as an actual agent. The same weaknesses that make him such a wonderful asset are the very personality flaws that would keep him from ever being an actual spy.
When you said you were ranking his weaknesses, I stopped reading and considered what I thought to be the 10 out of 10 you referenced…. and I chose the flattery. With his particular psychology, my feeling is that is what opens the bottomless pit. Money is a ‘hard’ tool whereas the flattery is a ‘soft’ tool. The door to everything if you will….
I think you’re spot on. It’s simply too damn bad he wasn’t subjected to a battery of tests that revealed his strengths, weaknesses, degree of psychopathy, level of anti-social behavior and motivation, etc…. then again, that’s likely a slippery slope…
Elizabeth Graham has had some very interesting things to say about him over time and a lot of the women in his life…. Her dad was CIA and she also worked for them, lived in Russia (20 yrs, I think) so there have been people that were aware…. I’m not sure just how it all fell through the cracks and…. without hard proof….. It gets super tricky.
On a related note…. I still REALLY want to know what went down at the Alaska summit when the US delegation all came out ashen faced and looking shellshocked….. did Putin inform them all of just what the operation was and how things WOULD go down from there on out…? Very curious minds want to know…
I think Trump could have walked away from anything they offered except for the kompromat. Blackmail can only be walked away from if you feel suicidal. I do believe that the hook was back in the 80’s because of his vulnerability to the charm of making him feel important on a world stage. Good piece.
I have been conducting court ordered behavioral risk assessments (largely on criminal defendants) for the last 15 years. With respect to the timeline part of your analysis I don’t have any data one way or the other so I will accept yours.
Just for grins I did my own risk assessment on donny (based on what I could glean from various publicly available sources) back in 2015. I concluded that he likely had both narcissistic personality disorder and anti-social personality disorder. The two together have been called malignant narcissism and I think that’s an accurate description. He is definitely *not a person who should be in a position of power over anyone. One of the features of a malignant narcissist is the constant, unrelenting need for external validation. Flattery will get you everywhere - without regard for legality, morality, or the effect on anyone else.
In short, you have correctly identified the hook that keeps on giving. The weakness is his psychopathology and whomever keeps giving him the flattery cookie will get whatever they want. How that might affect the rest of us isn’t anything that would enter his head.
I think that eight out of ten times money would beat out flattery, but Trump is "special." He never had to make money,so flattery, which I'm sure was much more elusive is rarer and therefore more valuable to him. I think your analysis is probably very close to reality.
Excellent analysis - which makes total sense both regarding his obvious psychological vulnerability and regarding the behaviors we have witnessed (without even needing to go into the reporting on specific interactions).
Specifically psychologically consistent with what I co-wrote in 2017 (with so much more confirmatory data now):
May 27, 2017: Eternal Emperor in His Own Mind: The Distorted Reality of Donald Trump
So, trump and Epstein were friends in the latter half of the 1980s. So, did Epstein come first or did trump?.
Jack, your chart is right on the money. They dangled what anyone else would consider a throwaway compliment, and he bit like a salmon on an anchovy. The rest were just padding.
Doubtful the truth will filter through before he becomes worm food, but I have faith that it will at some point. And the people better demand that every candidate provide not only tax returns (he has admitted they aren't worth the paper they are printed on or he wouldn't be trying so hard to get his get out of tax audits card), but a full background check. Never again should we have a president that hasn't passed a security clearance.
First thoughts. On flattery, loyalty, and even admiration for strongmen, I think the hold is not as strong as shown. He will turn on anyone at all, in a heartbeat, if they don't flatter him or demonstrate loyalty. Or if they do the opposite. The strongmen, IDK he maybe pushes them further away or pulls them closer depending how they treat him and what he needs. Good work!
His hunger for praise was instilled in him during his childhood due to his parent’s never giving him any. A needy child looking for affirmation from his father, he learned from watching his father’s treatment of his brother, Fred Jr’s refusal to mirror himself to their father’s image. Donald then wanted Fred Sr’s attention so much he learned to be a bully and get attention that way. His mother basically ignored the children and left them with nannies and to their own devices, as niece, Mary Trump, wrote in her book.
A needy child who was always seeking attention and praise forever more, which all other foreign and domestic players have used to their advantage. A needy man who is still seeking praise and glory even though he has done nothing to earn it.
#HOLDFAST #OUTLAST #STANDFAST
CC….thank you.
You’re right about where it came from. You are.
I kept the piece on who NOTICED the hunger…not what caused it.
A recruiter doesn't care why a man needs praise…only that the need is BOTTOMLESS…and nobody ELSE is filling it.
If Mary Trump is right…that was true before he was TEN.
The 1986 visit wasn't a discovery. It was a CONFIRMATION.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Excellent comment Concerned Citizen!
Compelling. Probably understates the facts. Trump associates may want to avoid hotel balconies.
Douglas…yes.
Those balconies don’t have a great safety profile where Vlad is concerned.
-Jack
It doesn't end w/ him. He raised his kids the way he was raised. They are susceptible to the same things because they have the same faults/weaknesses.
A…..they are.
In fact, they’re so deeply entrenched…already…it’s hard to even begin to imagine the Trump family trust ANYONE in the Oval Office…other than…another Trump.
-Jack
Yes, I agree A! I think they are trying to breed children who appear ‘educated’ but are functionally lacking necessary skills for a compassionate human being to emerge. Stupid breeds stupid and then some more.
I think for the most part you are spot on. TheI feel that currently his impulsive reactions will continue to increase due to his mental illness from his front temporal lobe disease. I am not sure it will overshadow his need for continued flattery as if he is not receiving that on a daily basis it's like he is not getting his fix like a drug addict.
#HOLDFAST
Teri
Teri…I think you may be right, and "may" is the honest word.
Behavioral-variant FTD fits what we can see: disinhibition…no empathy…the word salad…a father with dementia.
BUT…it looks like plain…old age from a TV screen…and…the REAL difference….is on a SCAN.. nobody has RELEASED.
What matters…for the chart…FTD wouldn't overshadow the flattery hook.
It would FEED it. The disease strips the brakes…not the appetite. He gets easier to steer..not harder.
So glad you’re here, Teri…always!
#HOLDFAST
-Jack
Teri, I’m afraid he will escalate as his mental capacity deteriorates. I’m concerned he will see using a ‘tactical nuke’ as his last resort to save his ego.
Possibility for sure!
I will never forget his performance at the Helsinki press conference. He had such a hangdog look as if he had been defeated. And I never forgot the words coming out of his mouth--he believed Putin more than the US intelligence services--back when our services were robust. Meanwhile Putin was glowing like a peacock.
Something went down. I wondered. A threat, kompromat? Wonder if we'll ever know.
I saw that too Ellen! I think that’s when Vlad became his Vladdy Daddy.
Ok, I'll bite: what's the difference between weak and easy?
Carlye…great question, and it's the ENTIRE chart in one line.
Weak is about HIM.
Easy is about THEM.
A WEAK man can be broken by ANYONE who pushes hard enough…BUT…pushing COSTS something: money, a secret, a threat, and the risk he resents you and bolts.
An EASY man doesn't need to be pushed at all. You tell him he's WONDER and he walks toward you on his OWN…and thanks you for it.
Plenty of people are WEAK. Very few are EASY. Weak gets you a target. Easy gets you a VOLUNTEER.
Hope that helps, Carlye!
-Jack
Gotcha, thanks much! Makes total sense and I'd feel dumber about not knowing, except I guess it means I haven't explored the finer points of extortion and turning an asset 😅🤭
Bwahahaha! True.
No, there was no slip-up on your end. I take responsibility for not making two of the most important factors in my article as crystal clear as they should have been.
So, thank you for the question...and the nudge to correct my error!
-Jack
And that’s why Trump is an asset, not an agent. An asset is someone the intelligence agent can easily steer. An agent is someone the intelligence agent can actually trust to do whatever task is assigned to him.
Trump is definitely a Russian asset, but NO WAY would he ever be trusted enough to be useful as an actual agent. The same weaknesses that make him such a wonderful asset are the very personality flaws that would keep him from ever being an actual spy.
When you said you were ranking his weaknesses, I stopped reading and considered what I thought to be the 10 out of 10 you referenced…. and I chose the flattery. With his particular psychology, my feeling is that is what opens the bottomless pit. Money is a ‘hard’ tool whereas the flattery is a ‘soft’ tool. The door to everything if you will….
I think you’re spot on. It’s simply too damn bad he wasn’t subjected to a battery of tests that revealed his strengths, weaknesses, degree of psychopathy, level of anti-social behavior and motivation, etc…. then again, that’s likely a slippery slope…
Elizabeth Graham has had some very interesting things to say about him over time and a lot of the women in his life…. Her dad was CIA and she also worked for them, lived in Russia (20 yrs, I think) so there have been people that were aware…. I’m not sure just how it all fell through the cracks and…. without hard proof….. It gets super tricky.
On a related note…. I still REALLY want to know what went down at the Alaska summit when the US delegation all came out ashen faced and looking shellshocked….. did Putin inform them all of just what the operation was and how things WOULD go down from there on out…? Very curious minds want to know…
Great article and expose! Thanks!!
I think Trump could have walked away from anything they offered except for the kompromat. Blackmail can only be walked away from if you feel suicidal. I do believe that the hook was back in the 80’s because of his vulnerability to the charm of making him feel important on a world stage. Good piece.
Accurate knowing what we know now. Surprising is that it dates back to 1986. If only our intelligence officials knew this
Yes, Deb I agree! If only our intelligence services had PAID ATTENTION!
I have been conducting court ordered behavioral risk assessments (largely on criminal defendants) for the last 15 years. With respect to the timeline part of your analysis I don’t have any data one way or the other so I will accept yours.
Just for grins I did my own risk assessment on donny (based on what I could glean from various publicly available sources) back in 2015. I concluded that he likely had both narcissistic personality disorder and anti-social personality disorder. The two together have been called malignant narcissism and I think that’s an accurate description. He is definitely *not a person who should be in a position of power over anyone. One of the features of a malignant narcissist is the constant, unrelenting need for external validation. Flattery will get you everywhere - without regard for legality, morality, or the effect on anyone else.
In short, you have correctly identified the hook that keeps on giving. The weakness is his psychopathology and whomever keeps giving him the flattery cookie will get whatever they want. How that might affect the rest of us isn’t anything that would enter his head.
Awesome work, Jack.
I think that eight out of ten times money would beat out flattery, but Trump is "special." He never had to make money,so flattery, which I'm sure was much more elusive is rarer and therefore more valuable to him. I think your analysis is probably very close to reality.
Excellent analysis - which makes total sense both regarding his obvious psychological vulnerability and regarding the behaviors we have witnessed (without even needing to go into the reporting on specific interactions).
Specifically psychologically consistent with what I co-wrote in 2017 (with so much more confirmatory data now):
May 27, 2017: Eternal Emperor in His Own Mind: The Distorted Reality of Donald Trump
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5929abfee4b07d848fdc0429
So, trump and Epstein were friends in the latter half of the 1980s. So, did Epstein come first or did trump?.
Jack, your chart is right on the money. They dangled what anyone else would consider a throwaway compliment, and he bit like a salmon on an anchovy. The rest were just padding.
Doubtful the truth will filter through before he becomes worm food, but I have faith that it will at some point. And the people better demand that every candidate provide not only tax returns (he has admitted they aren't worth the paper they are printed on or he wouldn't be trying so hard to get his get out of tax audits card), but a full background check. Never again should we have a president that hasn't passed a security clearance.
First thoughts. On flattery, loyalty, and even admiration for strongmen, I think the hold is not as strong as shown. He will turn on anyone at all, in a heartbeat, if they don't flatter him or demonstrate loyalty. Or if they do the opposite. The strongmen, IDK he maybe pushes them further away or pulls them closer depending how they treat him and what he needs. Good work!