I’m a clinical psychologist.  If I can see the psychological issues surrounding Trump, don’t you think psychologists working for the Russians and the KGB can?

Don’t you think the Russians and the KGB have done a thorough analysis of Donald Trump’s psyche?  Of course they have.  And the psychology of Donald Trump is so simplistic and self-evident.

The Russians have absolutely been working Trump for a decade or more, just on the chance that he might run for President.  Trump is 100% an unwitting asset of the KGB.

“In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation,” Morell wrote.

Former CIA chief: Putin recruited Trump as an ‘unwitting agent’ of Russia

And the thing is, Trump likely knows it – albeit unconsciously.   Trump doesn’t likely consciously know he’s an unwitting asset of the KGB, but unconsciously he probably realizes it, and that’s what scares him about the Russia investigation.  He’s scared it’s going to uncover the financial shenanigans that the KGB used to recruit him, and that this will then expose that he’s been recruited as a KGB asset. 

Being exposed as an unwitting KGB asset will eviscerate the grandiose achievement of his climb to the presidency.  He’ll become a hollow tool rather than the magnificent Donald Trump of his self-perception.  So, he must stop the Russia investigation.

It’s not about the money shenanigans that are going to be uncovered surrounding Trump-world and the Russians.  The money shenanigans are the means by which the KGB recruited him.  He’s afraid about the exposure that he is an unwitting asset of the KGB.

I’m a clinical psychologist, so I am prohibited from commenting about the psychological characteristics of the President unless I have conducted a direct examination of the President.

But based solely on the President’s behavior, I wonder – just a thought – I’m just wondering – if Trump has major-major daddy-issues?  I’m struck that in his childhood Donald reportedly “acted out” to a degree that led to his being placed in a military school.  Hmm, sounds like there might have been – might have been – significant parent-child love deficits within the family that created Donald’s “acting out” behavior – or maybe not.  Who knows why a child “acts out” to such a degree that the child is sent away to military school.

Hmmm, I wonder what sort of psychological impact being sent to military school had on young Donald?  I wonder if he felt rejected?  Poor little guy.  Or maybe he enjoyed being sent away to military school?  Who knows how a child will respond to being sent away to military school because he is acting out.  It’s just a mystery.  If only I could interview Donald and ask him.  I’m sure that whatever he told me would be the actual truth of how a young Donald felt about being sent away to military school for acting out at home, because people are always self-insightful, self-aware, and honest in their reporting.

If only I could interview Donald, then I’d be able to comment on his psychological characteristics.  Instead, I’m simply left to wonder.

But you know, if he did feel rejected by his family when he was sent away to military school – and there’s no telling if that’s true because I haven’t actually interviewed Donald directly and had him tell me that this was true – but if he did feel rejected, I wonder if this might create feelings of his being fundamentally unlovable and inadequate as a person?  How might a person who feels unlovable and inadequate respond?  No telling, I guess.  Who knows.

But still, I’m left to wonder if a rejected child might one day grow up to present a superficial external veneer of grandiose self-confidence as an all-wonderful and magnificent person to compensate for deep-seated feelings of self-inadequacy?  Who knows.  Maybe yes, maybe not.

But still, I’m left to wonder if the young Donald desperately wanted his parent’s approval, maybe from his father, so that he might strive to please daddy – become a successful real-estate magnate like daddy so daddy would approve of him (not reject him)?  Can’t tell.  Maybe yes.  Maybe no.  There’s no way to tell unless I’ve directly asked Donald if this is true and had him tell me yes or no, because people are always self-insightful in their reporting.

But still, I’m left to wonder if Donald viewed daddy as strong and powerful, and Donald wants the approval of the strong and powerful daddy, then is there anyone like that now in Donald’s world – somebody who’s strong and powerful?  Hmm, you know, that’s curious… Vladimir Putin seems strong and powerful, and Donald appears absolutely smitten by Vladimir.  Putin is so strong… and it appears that Putin approves of Donald. 

I imagine that getting the approval of such a strong and powerful man as Vladimir Putin might feel really good to someone who desperately wants the approval of a strong-daddy figure.  But who knows if that’s Donald – can’t say yes or no on that because I haven’t directly interviewed Donald.

But you can be certain of this, the KGB and Russians have absolutely been working up a psychological profile of Donald Trump.  They absolutely know his psychological makeup and vulnerabilities.   And don’t think for a second that the Russian KGB has not been working for a decade or more to recruit Trump as an unwitting KGB asset. 

If the KGB believes that Trump has daddy-issues, Putin becomes Trump’s approving daddy.

Don’t think for a moment that Russia and the KGB don’t know this. 

The Russians have been working Trump’s psyche and psychological vulnerabilities for a decade or more.  The Trump-world financial shenanigans with the Russians that are going to be uncovered by Mueller are the means used by the Russian KGB to recruit Trump as an unwitting asset. 

That’s what terrifies Trump about the Russia probe.  That’s why he’s paranoid as hell about the Russia probe.  The Russia probe is going to expose that Donald Trump has been recruited as an unwitting asset of the KGB.

That’s also why Trump may be more willing to take the heat from firing Mueller than to allow the investigation to continue and to reveal that Trump is an unwitting asset of the KGB.

The President of the United States is a KGB operative.

Think about it, what does Russia want?  A fractured NATO.  Done.  A weakened U.S. withdrawing from world leadership.  Done.  An inert U.S. State Department.  Done.  A chaotic U.S. government that cannot function.  Done.

All of this allows Russia to progress into its desired leadership in actualizing its agendas without U.S. interference.  Done.

You don’t think the KGB has done their workup on Donald Trump’s psyche and psychological vulnerabilities? 

You don’t think the KGB has been working Donald Trump for a decade or more to recruit him as an unwitting asset?

You don’t think that Donald Trump’s psychology is so simplistic that the KGB doesn’t know exactly how to recruit him as an unwitting KGB asset? 

You don’t think that the current national security counter intelligence folks in the US don’t fully recognize this?  They just don’t yet know the specifics of how the KGB recruited Donald Trump.  But that information is on the way.

I hope that Mueller’s investigation into Russian “meddling” in the U.S. election will reveal the efforts of the KGB over the past decade (or more) to recruit Donald Trump into becoming an unwitting KGB asset for the Russians, using Trump’s psychological vulnerabilities.

The President of the United States is a KGB operative.  That’s scary.

Craig Childress, Psy.D.
Clinical Psychologist, PSY 18857

I am prevented by professional practice standards from commenting on the psychological characteristics of the President:

“Psychologists provide opinions of the psychological characteristics of individuals only after they have conducted an examination of the individuals adequate to support their statements or conclusions. ” (Standard 9.01a; APA ethics code_

I believe this Standard represents an over-broad nullification of my rights of free-speech in political discourse because I possess certain domains of knowledge.

For example, I would be prohibited by this Standard from saying that President Trump is impulsive, since impulsive is a “psychological characteristic.”  I would similarly be unable to say that President Trump has poor judgement, since poor judgement is a “psychological characteristic.”

Since I am prohibited from exercising my free speech rights in political discourse, I am merely going to present information regarding the narcissistic personality and allow the general public to determine whether or not it is applicable.

Aaron Beck is one of the leading figures in mental health.  Here’s what Beck says about the narcissistic personality’s core beliefs:

“The failure to be superior or regarded as special activates underlying beliefs of inferiority, unimportance, or powerlessness and compensatory strategies of self-protection and self-defense.” (Beck et al., 2004, p. 241)

“He or she [the narcissist] remains firmly rooted in the importance of a flawless or powerful image… Without a flawless image, core beliefs of inferiority become activated.” (Beck et al., 2004, p. 246)

“The core belief of narcissistic personality disorder is one of inferiority or unimportance.  This belief is only activated under certain circumstances and thus may be observed mainly in response to conditions of self-esteem threat.  Otherwise, the manifest belief is a compensatory attitude of superiority.” (Beck et al., 2004, p. 249)

“The patient with NPD often has a low tolerance for frustration and expects not only to have wishes easily gratified but also to remain in a steady state of positive reinforcement. Conditional assumptions may include the notions, “If I want something, it is extremely important that I get it,” and “I should feel happy and comfortable at all times,” and “If I’m not happy, no one can be happy,” and “I need to feel special to feel happy.” (Beck et al., 2004, p. 252)

Theodore Millon is one of the leading experts on personality disorder pathology:

“Narcissists are neither disposed to stick to objective facts nor to restrict their actions within the boundaries of social custom or cooperative living… Free to wander in their private world of fiction, narcissists may lose touch with reality, lose their sense of proportion, and begin to think along peculiar and deviant lines.” (Millon, 2011, p. 415; emphasis added)

“Were narcissists able to respect others, allow themselves to value others’ opinions, or see the world through others’ eyes, their tendency toward illusion and unreality might be checked  or curtailed.  Unfortunately, narcissists have learned to devalue others, not to trust their judgments, and to think of them as naïve and simpleminded.  Thus, rather than question the correctness of their own beliefs they assume that the views of others are  at fault.  Hence, the more disagreement they have with others, the more convinced they are of their own superiority and the more isolated and alienated they are likely to become.  These ideational difficulties are magnified further by their inability to participate skillfully in the give-and-take of shared social life… They are increasingly unable to assess situations objectively, thereby failing further to grasp why they have been rebuffed and misunderstood.  Distressed by these repeatedly and perplexing social failures, they’re likely, at first, to become depressed and morose.  However, true to their fashion, they will begin to elaborate new and fantastic rationales to account for their fate.  But the more they conjecture and ruminate, the more they lose touch, distort, and perceive things that are not there.  They may begin to be suspicious of others, to question their intentions, and to criticize them for ostensive deceptions…” (Millon, 2011, p. 415; emphasis added)

“Deficient in social controls and self-discipline, the tendency of CEN [confident-ego-narcissist] narcissists to fantasize and distort may speed up.  The air of grandiosity may become more flagrant.  They may find hidden and deprecatory meanings in the incidental behavior of others, becoming convinced of others malicious motives, claims upon them, and attempts to undo them.  As their behaviors and thoughts transgress the line of reality, their alienation will mount, and they may seek to protect their phantom image of superiority more vigorously and vigilantly than ever.  Trapped by the consequences of their own actions, they may become bewildered and frightened as the downward spiral progresses through its inexorable course. No longer in touch with reality, they begin to accuse others and hold them responsible for their own shame and failures.  They may build a “logic” based on the irrelevant and entirely circumstantial evidence and ultimately construct a delusion system to protect themselves from unbearable reality. (Millon, 2011, 415; emphasis added)

“Under conditions of unrelieved adversity and failure, narcissists may decompensate into paranoid disorders.  Owing to their excessive use of fantasy mechanisms, they are disposed to misinterpret events and to construct delusional beliefs.  Unwilling to accept constraints on their independence and unable to accept the viewpoints of others, narcissists may isolate themselves from the corrective effects of shared thinking.  Alone, they may ruminate and weave their beliefs into a network of fanciful and totally invalid suspicions.  Among narcissists, delusions often take form after a serious challenge or setback has upset their image of superiority and omnipotence.  They tend to exhibit compensatory grandiosity and jealousy delusions in which they reconstruct reality to match the image they are unable or unwilling to give up.  Delusional systems may also develop as a result of having felt betrayed and humiliated.  Here we may see the rapid unfolding of persecutory delusions and an arrogant grandiosity characterized by verbal attacks and bombast.  Rarely physically abusive, anger among narcissists usually takes the form of oral vituperation and argumentativeness.  This may be seen in a flow of irrational and caustic comments in which others are upbraided and denounced as stupid and beneath contempt.  These onslaughts usually have little objective justification, are often colored by delusions, and may be directed in a wild, hit-or-miss fashion in which the narcissist lashes out at those who have failed to acknowledge the exalted status in which he or she demands to be seen.” (Millon, 2011, p. 407-408; emphasis added)

This is not going to end well.

Craig Childress, Psy.D.
Clinical Psychologist

Beck, A.T., Freeman, A., Davis, D.D., & Associates (2004). Cognitive therapy of personality disorders. (2nd edition). New York: Guilford.

Millon. T. (2011). Disorders of personality: introducing a DSM/ICD spectrum from normal to abnormal. Hoboken: Wiley. 

Donald Trump is a grotesque.

He is a small and petty man, mean spirited and vain.  He’s a clown, a buffoon, yet he masquerades with bombast and conceited self-centered arrogance.  He is a liar, a braggart, and a bully.  He is a grotesque.

Policy is not the primary issue.  The United States has a right to manage immigration.  The United States has a right to protect its people from terrorist attack.  The United States has a right to protect the jobs of its citizens in a global economy of trade.

It is not necessarily the core of his policies that strike a deeply repulsive trigger in his opponents, it is his twisted and grotesque humanity, and it is his existential threat to the foundational principles of our country.

He is a demagogue, a petty dictator, stoking fears and hatred.  He is Mussolini standing on the balcony posing in his attitude of smug arrogance before adoring crowds.  He is a threat to the very liberties that are the bedrock of our country.

Our dear Lady Liberty stands in New York harbor with her words of welcome and comfort to the oppressed:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

In Trump’s words we hear the betrayal of our dear Lady Liberty; “We don’t want you here.”

He lies with abandon, undermining truth, so that he can impose his will without restriction and accountability. 

He undermines our freedom of the press who challenge him, so that he can impose his will without restriction and accountability.  He is an existential threat to our democracy and our liberties.

John McCain, a member of Trump’s own political party, a war hero and a demonstrated man of courage, says of Trump’s actions,

“If you want to preserve — I’m very serious now — if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press, and without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That’s how dictators get started.”

“That’s how dictators get started.”

Donald Trump calls a free press, “the enemy of the American people.”  No.  A free press is the enemy of dictators.  A free and adversarial press is the ally of the American People.  You, Donald Trump, are the enemy of American values and principles.

Donald Trump attacks and undermines confidence in the American justice system, a co-equal branch of government charged with providing checks and balances on the overreach of executive authority and power.

Donald trump is a liar, a fake, a fraud, a phony.  He lacks courage, he is afraid of his shadow, but presents with arrogant braggadocio.  He’s afraid his cowardice will be revealed.   He blusters and threatens, but he “doth protest too much.”  He is afraid.  He is a small man.  He has no courage.

He fears the authenticity of women, so he objectifies them to make them safe.  He fears the “otherness” of people of color, so he demonizes and expels them from the land of White America.  He fears that his weakness and cowardice will be exposed, so he blusters and threatens.

He is a weak, timid little man, trying to hide his weakness and inadequacy behind bluster and treats. 

We see it.  We see his cowardice.  We all see it.

Donald Trump is a grotesque.  A twisted and mangled example of humanity. 

Would any parent be proud of a son who acted like Donald Trump?  Arrogant, a braggart, a liar, a bully.  Is that a son a parent could be proud of?

The quintessential American hero is epitomized by the quiet strength of Gary Cooper in High Noon, the passionate humility of Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the courage and sacrifice of John Wayne in the Sands of Iwo Jima.  These are the symbolic icons of the American hero.  Not the self-conceited braggadocio, the inner moral cowardice, the liar, the bully, and the fraud of Donald Trump.

We oppose Donald Trump because he represents a threat to the very principles of our American democracy. 

He seeks to undermine our confidence in the truth so that he is not restricted in his arbitrary exercise of power and can avoid accountability.  Under Donald Trump, the truth becomes whatever he asserts it to be, millions voted illegally (not true), he had the largest inauguration crowds (not true), that the news media is fake (not true), that there were terrorist attacks that weren’t reported by the news media (not true), that our Muslim neighbors are a threat (not true), that our Hispanic neighbors are rapists and drug dealers (not true), that our African-American neighbors are a threat (not true). 

The world, the truth, and reality itself becomes whatever Donald Trump asserts it to be in an Orwellian nightmare of “alternative facts.”

No.  We will stand for truth.  We will stand for courage.  We will stand for love and inclusion.  We will stand for the rights of all Americans to live free. 

We will not be afraid of our shadow.  We are Americans. We will not cower in fear.

We will stand firm against the paranoid fears of a small and petty would be dictator.  We see his cowardice.  We see his fears.  And we are not afraid.

We honor truth, and courage, dignity, and respect.  We honor self-assured confidence,  modesty, and quiet strength.  We honor liberty, and our right to lively and vigorous debate.  We are Americans.

And as Americans, we oppose the grotesque humanity that is Donald Trump.

That this grotesque human is our President is a national disgrace.  Our shame as a nation that we present this grotesque human as our face to the world.  Lady Liberty weeps.  America’s shame.

He is not my president. 

I am a proud American.  I am proud of my country and of the principles for which we stand, indivisible, one nation, with liberty and justice for all. 

I reject this grotesque display of humanity as my President.

Craig Childress, Psy.D.

Enshrined on the Statue of Liberty:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

New Colossus, Emma Lazarus

Today our President signed legislation to prevent Syrian refugees from entering this country.  Our President said,

“We don’t want them here.”

Donald Trump

The actions of our President bring shame to Lady Liberty, to our country, and to all of us.

Today, Lady Liberty weeps.  She has been betrayed by the people she loves.  Shame is upon us all.

At what price have we purchased our serenity, if it cost us the principles of our soul.  Lives were sacrificed at Lexington, Gettysburg, Normandy, and Tarawa to defend the mighty principles of our great country which we have now betrayed for our serenity. 

We have betrayed our beloved Lady Liberty.  Shame is upon us.

Lady Liberty weeps.  Dark skies.  Shame, lasting shame.

Craig Childress, Psy.D.
Clinical Psychologist, PSY 18857

is Is the President of the United States exempt from the rule the law?

Is the President of the United States allowed to exempt himself from the requirements of laws applicable to other – ordinary – people?

“Narcissistic individuals also use power and entitlement as evidence of superiority… As a means of demonstrating their power, narcissists may alter boundaries, make unilateral decisions, control others, and determine exceptions to rules that apply to other, ordinary people.” (Beck, 2004, 251)

The President, among all citizens, is NOT above the law.  The rule of law is a sacrosanct foundational principle of our democracy.  Our government is led by an elected leader, not a unilateral strong-man dictatorship.

We have all marveled at Donald Trump’s admiration of strong-man dictators, from Vladimir Putin, to Saddam Hussein, to Kim Jong Un.   Why does he admire dictators who are unconstrained by the rule of law in the exercise of their power?

“Out of their vehement certainty of judgment, boundary violations of all sorts may occur, as narcissists are quite comfortable taking control and dictating orders (“I know what’s right for them”) but quite uncomfortable accepting influence from others” (Beck, 2004, p. 251)

It is incredibly dangerous to the foundational principles of our democracy and freedoms, for the President to believe himself exempt from the rule of law.  The very fabric of our nation is based on the rule of law applied across all Americans, including and especially our elected officials, including and especially the President.

“Another conditional assumption of power is the belief of exemption from normal rules and laws, even the laws of science and nature.” (Beck, 2004, p. 251-252)

In a Washington Post article entitled, Donald Trump’s ‘first attempt to ignore the law’ (1/10/17), Aaron Blake interviews Washington University government ethics expert Kathleen Clark, regarding Donald Trump’s appointment of his son-in-law as a senior White House advisor in seeming violation of government anti-nepotism laws.  In this article, Ms. Clark states,

“I see this as Trump’s first attempt to ignore the law, act in violation of the law, and he’s going to see if he can get away with it. We have a statute that names the president, that names the son-in-law relationship, that Congress identified a problem and enacted a statute prohibiting a president from hiring a son-in-law. President-elect Trump, in my view, is testing the waters to see if he can get away with violating what I would call this government ethics provision.” (Washington Post, 1/10/17)

As a psychologist, I am prohibited by professional standards imposed on me by the American Psychological Association from providing “opinions on the psychological characteristics of individuals” unless I have conducted an “examination” of the individual.

My questions to my professional colleagues, and to the American Civil Liberties Union, are:

As a public political figure, has the President expressly and voluntarily exposed his psychological characteristics for public scrutiny and comment, waiving the need for a personal “examination” as the basis for an opinion?

Do the public statements and public actions by the President of the United States, as a public political figure, represent a de facto “examination” on which to base opinions regarding the psychological characteristics of the President?

And if I, uniquely among my fellow Americans, am prohibited from commenting on the psychological characteristics of the President of the United States, does this violate my rights of free speech in a democracy through limiting my ability to bring full persuasive power of reasoned argument to the political discourse?

Can I say that the President is arrogant.  No.  Arrogance is a “psychological characteristic,” and I cannot express an opinion regarding the President’s psychological characteristic of arrogance without conducting a personal “examination” of the President to determine if he is arrogant. 

All other Americans can say that the President is arrogant.  I am not allowed to say that because I have knowledge directly applicable to discussion surrounding this characteristic.

Can I say that the President is thin-skinned in response to criticism?  No.  Being thin-skinned is a a “psychological characteristic,” and I cannot express an opinion regarding the President’s psychological characteristic of being thin-skinned without conducting a personal “examination” of the President to determine if he is thin-skinned in response to criticism. 

All other Americans can say that the President is thin-skinned in response to criticism.  I am not allowed to say that because I have knowledge directly applicable to discussion surrounding this characteristic.

I am prevented by my professional organization from engaging in the political discourse in a free democracy because I have knowledge directly applicable to the nature of discourse.  I am therefore prevented by my professional organization from bringing the full power of reasoned persuasive argument to my political opinions.

Since I am a psychologist with knowledge about psychopathology, I will not offer an opinion regarding the psychological characteristics of the President.  Yet as a faithful and loyal American, the dangers to the foundational principles of our democracy and freedoms are clear and demand that I speak in their defense.

I cite the professional literature.  I leave it to the reader to decide if the professional literature applies to the actions and statements of the President of the United States because I have not conducted a personal “examination” of the President, so I am prohibited from commenting on the psychological characteristics of the President.

The United States is a nation of law.  No one is above the law.  No one is exempt from the rule of law.  

According to Beck, the narcissistic personality “may alter boundaries, make unilateral decisions, control others, and determine exceptions to rules that apply to other, ordinary people.” (Beck, 2004, 251).

There comes a time when all faithful and loyal Americans must speak up in defense of our freedoms.  The evenly applied rule of law is a sacrosanct principle of our democracy and our freedoms.  Donald Trump represents an existential threat to the foundations of our democracy and liberties.

I could explain why I hold this opinion, but I am prevented by my professional organization from bringing the full persuasive power of reasoned argument to the political discourse because I have knowledge.

Yet, for me, the threat to the foundational principles of our free and democratic society is real, and time has come to speak with the full persuasive power of reasoned argument in the defense of our liberties .

Craig Childress, Psy.D.
Psychologist, PSY 18857

From Theodore Millon:

“Under conditions of unrelieved adversity and failure, narcissists may decompensate into paranoid disorders.  Owing to their excessive use of fantasy mechanisms, they are disposed to misinterpret events and to construct delusional beliefs.  Unwilling to accept constraints on their independence and unable to accept the viewpoints of others, narcissists may isolate themselves from the corrective effects of shared thinking.  Alone, they may ruminate and weave their beliefs into a network of fanciful and totally invalid suspicions.  Among narcissists, delusions often take form after a serious challenge or setback has upset their image of superiority and omnipotence.  They tend to exhibit compensatory grandiosity and jealousy delusions in which they reconstruct reality to match the image they are unable or unwilling to give up.  Delusional systems may also develop as a result of having felt betrayed and humiliated.  Here we may see the rapid unfolding of persecutory delusions and an arrogant grandiosity characterized by verbal attacks and bombast.” (Millon, 2011, pp. 407-408).