Trump's Over-riding Pathology Is Psychopathy

He’s a liar. He’s a conman. He’s a cheat. He’s a narcissist. Or a “malignant narcissist.” He’s broken. He has no shame. He has Antisocial Personality Disorder.Everyone has an opinion about what’s wrong with Donald J. Trump. 

But as Vince Greenwood, Ph.D., argues in a recent Medium article, too many opinions have become the problem. It’s like when Rick Perry called Trump a “cancer on conservatism” and every other Republican countered with their own assessments: “Con artist.” “Kook.” “Insane.” “Pathological liar.” “A textbook racist.” “A national disgrace.” 

We discussed all the other diagnoses. And the cancer grew. Dr. Greenwood believes that clinically diagnosing Trump as a Psychopath, based on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist — Revised (PCL-R), renders all other diagnoses obsolete—and allows us to focus on the real problem. Seriously. 

We saw what four years of a cancer on conservatism did to the GOP. The cancer has metastasized. Stochastic terrorism is the new norm—we’ve seen the party shrug at the MAGA bomber, the El Paso shooter and now the Kenosha killer. We’ve seen the President exchange love letters with dictators, defend wife beaters, endorse pedophiles, and hail the success of QAnon candidates. 

Imagine what four more years led by a psychopath who no longer has to worry about getting himself re-elected would do to the country and the world. With less than 10 weeks to the election, America is facing a choice: Divorce Trump. Or renew its vows. If America was your friend, and you knew it had married a psychopath, wouldn’t you urge it to get the divorce?