Donald Trump, the Dark Triad, and Defining What’s Crazy

After Donald J Trump was sworn in he was immediately met with a level of vehement dissension and hostility that have not been seen in recent American history. First, his opponents pushed the Russian collusion narrative which is struggling under the cumulative weight of its own scandals.  As the investigation flounders, they have swiftly moved on to the “unfit for service” narrative, or 25th amendment method, to either impeach or remove the President from office. Backed by a leftist media, this line of attack has gained steam.

According to this pervasive narrative, Trump's mental health has always been a concern just slightly hovering under the radar. The subject was brought front and center by excerpts of Michael Wolff's latest book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” which includes White House staffers supposedly telling all of Trumps' erratic and irrational behavior. Further investigation reveals a host of inaccuracies and even outright lies.

So what is Irrational Behavior?

Pathological behavior has an objective basis and is easily ascertained.  “Irrational” is dependent on observer and context.  The fact that many consider his Tweets “irrational” is belied by the fact that a large portion of his voter base enjoys the direct communication and his incessant taunting of liberals.  How is that “irrational” for Trump to do?  His supporters appreciate the accessibility it offers. It might not be presidential to leftists, but it is damn good politics.

To those who follow the leftist media without question, President Trump’s calling them “Fake News” may sound outrageous (never mind that CNN has been caught lying on numerous occasions). Yet many are aware that the media often distorts the truth and is the left's faithful cheerleader. Certainly, they will be cheering over the recent “official diagnosis” from Dr. Bandy Lee, MD of Yale.

Dr. Lee recommends that Trump undergo a neuropsychiatric examination as he is (in her opinion) becoming more delusional and thus dangerous to America. The Goldwater Rule, promulgated by the American Psychiatric Association, states that it is unethical to give an official diagnosis without meeting with the person in question.  Lee has violated the Goldwater Rule with her recommendation.

Furthermore, her recommendation has little basis in fact. What she calls “dangerous and delusional” are just matters of policy with which she disagrees.  It seems clear that Dr. Lee has never heard of the Dark Triad.

The Dark Triad is the observation that highly successful individuals in our society have three particular traits in common in a benign constellation: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sociopathy. This is NOT a negative for a President, but could almost be considered a requirement of the job. Presidents Obama, Bush Sr., Nixon, Johnson, and Kennedy all were examples of men who shared the Dark Triad.

Many successful CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies share this triad.  Swimming with business sharks his whole career; President Trump necessarily shows the same characteristics.

Responding to his base on Saturday morning, Trump took to Twitter to deal with concerns raised about his mental health:

Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who speaks with Trump regularly, downplayed claims last week that Trump has become prone to repeating himself. "No more than every other President I've talked to," he told reporters on Capitol Hill. "Presidents get good lines, and they repeat them."

Counselor to the President and former Trump campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway also issued statements regarding her Boss’s mental health:

“The partisans on Capitol Hill consulting with psychologists should reorient their spare time: Support the president’s positive agenda of middle-class tax cuts, rebuilding infrastructure and the military, investing in our workforce.”

“The never-ending attempt to nullify an election is tiresome; if they were truly ‘worried about the country,’ they’d get to work to help it.”

Time to Reconsider

Prior to Trump’s presidential run, very few people seriously questioned his mental acuity or balance.  Nor are there any confirmed examples of what would be considered pathological behavior.

When we look at some of the accomplishments of Trump's first year in office including the Dow reaching over 25,000, unemployment numbers down, Neil Gorsuch in the Supreme Court, job creation, ISIS decimated, and lower tax rates for the middle class… you've got to admit he's kept a plethora of his election promises. Trump even kept his word that he would raise taxes on the rich including himself. Changing tax laws so the rich can no longer write off property taxes makes a huge difference in taxes owed for someone like Trump who has major real estate holdings.

Perhaps it’s time for people to start looking at things beyond the veil of their own personal experience. Many appear to have lost sight of what a president should be doing. If keeping his word and showing determination for our nation is truly America's idea of “crazy,” then we need to rethink our definition of the word.