'The Greatest Psychiatric Emergency in the History of the United States'

 
    So, let's you and I diagnose Donald Trump right here and now to determine if he is a sociopath or psychopath. One mental health expert came out -- again -- warning us Trump is at least a sociopath, if not a psychopath. (They are much the same, though the psychopath carries the characteristics to a deeper level.)

   Dr. John Gartner, he's the guy warning us. You might remember in 2017 he collected signatures from 25,000 mental health professionals and everyday people who certified that Trump was certifiably mentally ill. The signatories on that petition increased to 41,000 by the time it was sent to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office. While, yes, everyday people surely must have made up the greater portion of those signing the document, it is significant that a host of mental health professionals signed it.
   At the time, Gartner said Trump represents "the greatest psychiatric emergency in the history of the United States."
   Gartner says Trump is sinking into dementia. He notes the substitution of non-words that sound much like the real words they are replacing is something that is not seen until the patient is entering into the moderate to severe stage of Alzheimer's. Gartner notes that with Trump, beneficiaries becomes "benefishes," Renovations becomes "renoversch," privotal becomes "pivobal," Obama becomes "Obamna," missiles becomes "mishiz," Christmas becomes "Crissus," and bipartisan becomes "bipars."
    But, we said you and I are going to evaluate this Mr. Trump to determine if he is a sociopath/psychopath. So, let's lay aside Gartner's citations on his slipping into Alzheimer's, open up a source that lists the symptoms of a sociopath, and see for ourselves if Trump presents "the greatest psychiatric emergency in the history of the United States." Turn to a website called choosingtherapy.com if you want to follow along.
   1.) Hunger for power and dominance. Isn't that trait obvious to us?
   2.) They are caught telling lies, exaggerating, distorting the facts, and misrepresenting the truth. When caught, they use denial and project the fault to others (projecting it Biden and gang, in this case).
   3.) They are ruthless in pursuit of their goals.
   4.) They are more inclined to be racist and sexist, and are hostile towards others, including towards certain portions of society at large. 
   5.) They are easily angered.
   6.) They are impulsive and rash.
   7.) They charm their listeners. They are highly persuasive people who get people to like them, believe in them, agree with them, and help them. Forgive, but that is Trump and his followers to a T. 
   8.) They have a broken moral compass and show little regret.
   9.) They have a difficult time bonding with others, usually not having a lot of real close friends.
  10.) They are manipulative. 
  11.) They have a sense of entitlement and feel they should be exempt from the rules. In this case, think of Trump's insisting he is entitled to presidential immunity. That's a classic case. 
  12.) They are social deviants, including being lawbreakers. How many criminal counts has Trump been charged with? Did we say 91?
  13.) They are cheap thrill seekers, even when it puts themselves or others in jeopardy. Trump has said many outrageous things that could be seen as thrill-seeking. He has said he would be a dictator the first day. He has said he would not stand in Putin's way if he punished other NATO nations. He has said he could kill someone in broad daylight and people would still love him. The cheap thrill of saying something outrageous is completely part of who Trump is.
  14.) They attempt to gain advantage from the misfortune of others. On this one, perhaps many of you will disagree, but I cannot help but thing of the misfortunes of the migrants.
  15.) They can be cool, callous and emotionally absent about things others are emotionally charged about. When Alexei Navalny died, the world was upset. Trump, though, was busier using the event to suggest his own life was being mistreated than he was at expressing concern for Navalny or calling for sanctions against Putin and Russia.
   Well, there you have it. I didn't skip an item. To me, Trump fits the mold on all 15 counts. You can elect this guy if you want. But my thought is that if you do, this will be just what Gartner warned us against. It will be the greatest psychiatric emergency in the history of all the presidents we have had. Facts speak, and there are the facts, but they don't speak to those who won't listen.
   Please, listen, please. For the sake of America, please listen.