Trump’s Conundrum

President Trump faces a profound conundrum. When he was sworn in as POTUS, he took and oath to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The Constitution provides for protection of free speech and freedom of the press. Of his opponents, he insists that they should be locked up — hardly the history of the manner in which we treat political opposition in this country. We respect peaceful dissent in this country — at least we once did. Now Trump takes every criticism as a personal affront. A clue: it comes with the job.

With regard to the press, he takes offense at every critical article, and there is much to criticize, including is meandering, stream-of-conscience rages about whatever seems to cross his tiny mind at the moment. Freedom of the press is also protected in the Constitution. One would not be a fool to believe that he does not respect or understand the Constitution.

He is uniquely incurious among contemporary presidents. He claims not to read and says he gets most of his information from television. The people who brief him have complained that he pays little or no attention to their briefings but trust his prodigious gut.

Mental health professionals once abided by the “Goldwater Rule” — don’t diagnose without a personal examination of the patient. That was long before the internet and the near instantaneous transmission of news available to almost everyone. And Trump,more than most, is quick to express his views to anyone and everyone and does so with great regularity. He loves theater, or seems to.

Most of the opinions of mental health professions I have read have diagnosed him as a sociopath with at least a touch of narcissism. Of this much I am pretty certain: if he is defeated in 2020, he will not likely surrender the office with dignity and grace. And that is a terrifying thought. And it is also a profound conundrum.