Donald Trump's political success cannot be understood without examining the psychology of the American nation, according to Josef Braml, a German political scientist and U.S. expert. In his latest book, “The Narcissistic Nation”, Braml argues that Trump embodies a particular form of narcissistic leadership that has found a receptive audience among Americans who fear losing their country's global dominance and their own social status. The result, he says, is a dangerous dynamic in which a vulnerable population projects its hopes onto a strongman who, in turn, depends on their adulation to sustain his oversized ego.

Key facts from the analysis

• Trump displays all the hallmarks of a narcissistic personality, but the new element is the community that worships him.
• Many of his supporters have experienced social decline or fear being overtaken by minorities or China, making them receptive to Trump's image as a strongman.
• Co-narcissists in his inner circle feed his megalomania by relaying only flattering information.
• Racism and fears of demographic change are central to opposition to the welfare state and to Obama's legacy.
• Braml says Europeans should stand up to Trump, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has done, rather than hope to wait out his presidency.

A narcissistic president and his followers

Braml, who has worked as a consultant to the U.S. House of Representatives, the Brookings Institution, the World Bank and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, argues that narcissistic traits can be found in every nation. In the United States, however, the phenomenon has become particularly pronounced. “Everyone's eyes are fixed on Trump, the narcissist par excellence. What is new is that he is met by a community that venerates him as a leader and follows him blindly,” he says. This community includes so-called co-narcissists who reinforce his delusions of grandeur.

Who are these co-narcissists? They are the people who rallied to Trump once it became clear he would win, Braml explains. By placing themselves in his service and feeding him information that flatters his ego, they secure their own position of power. “How else could the president claim that he won the war against Iran?” Braml asks, pointing to the sycophantic environment that shields Trump from inconvenient truths.

The psychological dimension is important, says Braml, because narcissism almost always originates in childhood neglect. There are two ways to compensate for such a wound: becoming a “Big Ego” or a vulnerable narcissist—a “Hascherl”, as they say in Bavaria: a person who allows themselves to be mistreated and runs after a leader.

Fear of decline and social humiliation

The United States has developed a collective anxiety, Braml argues. On one hand, there is the fear of decline. Residents of the old industrial belt, long since transformed into the “Rust Belt”, saw their economic foundations collapse. Many have resorted to selling scrap metal from the factories that once sustained them. “It is not just about income, but also about dignity,” Braml says. Hillary Clinton failed to understand this during her campaign against Trump and lost. Trump, by contrast, promised to roll back globalization: through tariffs and nationalist policy, life would become as good as it once was, he told those who felt left behind.

Trump's support, however, is not limited to the left-behind. The rich and powerful also back him. “Wealthy opportunists benefit from the deregulation and tax cuts implemented by Trump. But their greed is increasingly giving way to fear of him,” Braml notes. Many middle-class Americans, who have not themselves experienced downward mobility, fear that African Americans, Latin Americans or China could take their place. “I have never met an American who is indifferent to the possible rise of China to the status of the world's leading power,” he says. The United States, according to its self-image, must remain the world's number one; many Americans can hardly accept anything else. Merely acknowledging the relative decline of the United States in the world order is considered anti-American.

Institutions, race and the welfare state

Respect for democratic institutions such as Congress has rarely been high, and trust in the Supreme Court has also eroded. Trump's supporters venerate him as a guide sent by God, placing him above institutions. The only institution that still commands some respect is the military. Braml says he is convinced that only the army prevented a coup on January 6, 2021. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who lacks the expertise for his position, is carrying out a purge within the armed forces on behalf of Trump, the commander in chief, to act more resolutely against the “enemy within”.

Braml also addresses the argument that Trump's election was a reaction to Barack Obama's eight years as president. Beyond policy differences, he says, racism is a major factor. “One of the main reasons the United States does not have a real welfare state is the racist perception that welfare benefits would increasingly go to African Americans, Latinos and other minorities.” Obama was the first in decades to expand the welfare state. Many white Americans resented this and also feared losing their hegemony in a changing demographic landscape. “Many white people are afraid of becoming a minority themselves. The Trump revolution is precisely about preventing that.”

Trump is not a puppet

Braml rejects the notion that Trump is a puppet of oligarchs seeking a weak state and maximum freedom for business. “Trump is the undisputed leader,” he says. Even Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, had to realize that he is no match for Trump. After their split, Musk wanted to found his own party; a few months later, he crawled back to Trump. The president holds the plutocrats at his mercy. With J.D. Vance, things could be different: behind him is a powerful elite that aspires to a kind of rebirth in which a small circle would exercise absolute power.

Political entrepreneurs have also profited from polarization. They exploit vulnerable narcissism by deliberately appealing to people who compensate for their inferiority feelings by rallying behind a strong leader. Alternative-right media personalities are both a product and a catalyst of Trump's success, Braml says. Without Trump, they would hardly have reached such prominence; at the same time, they have channeled, radicalized and politically exploited the resentment on which Trump feeds. They provide these vulnerable narcissists with the narrative that it is not they who have failed, but that others have taken something from them.

Electoral manipulation and the future of democracy

With Trump's approval ratings at historic lows and many observers expecting Democratic victories in the midterm elections, Braml expects the president to do everything to avoid a defeat. “A narcissist cannot lose,” he says. The Trump administration is interfering in the electoral process at several levels, even though elections are primarily the responsibility of the states under the Constitution. He appoints election deniers to government posts and tries to dismantle existing safeguards for fair elections. Immigrant voters are also being discouraged from voting through intimidation tactics.

Will this be enough to avoid defeat? Braml does not know, but he observes that the administration is working at all levels to escape democratic control.

What Europe should learn

For Europe, the lesson is urgent. Braml notes that he has not yet researched narcissism in Europe, but he assumes that similar mechanisms could emerge there with a time lag. The more pressing question, he says, is how other states should respond to Trump's narcissistic policies. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offers a model: “When faced with narcissists, there are only two possible reactions—flight or fight. Carney understood that Canada would gain nothing by giving in, so he resists. Trump only understands force.”

Europeans have much greater economic weight than Canada, but so far they have mostly groveled, Braml says. The one exception was when Trump demanded Greenland. The Europeans brought out the bazooka and made clear: “It stops here.” Trump understood and accepted it. Trying to simply survive the Trump years with minimal damage is not a good strategy, because the narcissistic nation will outlast Trump. The United States lives beyond its means and has accumulated around 40 trillion dollars in debt. As early as 2008, the global financial crisis showed the consequences. Those who still invest in U.S. government bonds are investing in illusions and end up paying the “idiot tax”.

It also makes no sense to pay for protection or tribute. “Who still believes that the United States would protect Europe?” Braml asks. A country that does not dare to deploy its ground forces against a fourth-rate army like Iran? Even the U.S. vassals in the Middle East understand that Pax Americana is dead. Ukraine, abandoned by the United States, now helps Middle Eastern states defend themselves against Russian drones launched by Iran.

If Europe continues to rely on the American protective power, that is a vulnerable narcissism—the hope that “daddy” will make everything right, Braml says. “One can no longer count on that. Families dominated by a narcissistic tyrant are usually the last to realize it. The global village has known it for a long time.” The transatlantic community must admit that the United States is no longer a reliable guarantee, even if NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte still hopes that “daddy” will not abandon his children.

On Swiss neutrality, Braml is skeptical. “I have rarely encountered such strong trust in God as in Switzerland, nourished by the historical luck of being spared by both world wars.” But neutrality is not a shield against power politics. Narcissists—and Trump is not the only head of state—are not held back by it.

Source: bluewin.ch News