When Does A Narcissist Become a Megalomaniac?

The American people are about to find out after January 20th in casting the majority of votes for Donald Trump to reclaim the White House. Unfortunately, so are America’s allies, neighbours, and friends.

Trump has always exhibited narcissistic behaviour with his exaggerated sense of self-importance and the need to see his name in the press. He seeks the adoration of the crowd and relishes being the centre of attention, particularly when engaging others.

Trump, the megalomaniac, is a different kettle of fish. Megalomaniacs are delusional and impulsive. They seek power and prefer being feared versus loved. They tend not to listen to even those closest to them. They take credit for others’ work and assign blame to them if the results are bad. They see themselves as separate from the rest of humanity. Megalomaniacs tend to hold extreme beliefs and see themselves as invincible, infallible, uncontradictable, and god-like.

Narcissism and megalomania often referred to as grandiose narcissism are manifestations of the same disorder. The latest DSM classification used to measure mental disorders, last revised in 2013, doesn’t include a definition of megalomania. It does reference grandiose narcissism instead and describes them as individuals who deny their weaknesses and use intimidation, threats, and anger as tools to get their way. It notes that grandiose narcissists have diminished awareness between expectations and reality. Where narcissists are not classified as extreme antisocial personalities, grandiose narcissists are.

Now compare Donald Trump’s behaviour to the description that follows:

“Grandiose narcissistic individuals expect another’s immediate and undivided attention and are oblivious to the effect their direct demands of entitlement have on others.

By virtue of their ability to maintain the grandiose self through self-enhancement, grandiose narcissistic individuals are less susceptible than their vulnerable peers to the chronic emotional consequences of threats to their entitled expectations (distress, lowered self-esteem, interpersonal fearfulness).

When provided with the opportunity, these individuals will say positive things about themselves and dismiss any potential weaknesses.”

Another term that appears in the DSM-5 spectrum is malignant narcissistic personality disorder. Malignant narcissists add sadistic tendencies to grandiose or regular narcissistic behaviour. They feel the need to inflict pain on others and gain pleasure from doing so.

Although no mental health professional that I know of has been able to get Donald Trump on the couch, observers from afar believe he is both a grandiose and malignant narcissist. Some have even suggested he exhibits paranoia suggesting he masks vulnerabilities. Could Trump’s public persona be a mask for personal feelings of weakness making him overcompensate?

How does a grandiose or malignant narcissist act when put into a position of power such as he is about to take on after losing the previous election in 2020?

Here is a list of behaviours and acts that demonstrate just how dangerous Trump may become based on previous actions with implications for his second term:

1. Trump described himself as a “stable genius” and repeatedly overruled government experts far more knowledgeable than he when developing policy. How much more of this will we see for the next four years?
2. Trump handled COVID-19 without compassion. More than 400,000 Americans died from the virus while he took press conferences where he promoted quack cures. Should another pandemic emerge with people like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of public health, how many more may die from misinformation and misdirection?
3. Trump continues to demonize immigrants, opponents, the press and any who disagree with him. His labelling of people is a bullying tactic. His desire to deport millions will cause unparalleled disruptions to the country and those he targets.
4. His violation of norms and laws and attempts to delay trials demonstrates his sociopathic nature. This continues with the latest appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the sentencing on a verdict where he was found guilty in the State of New York.
5. At rallies, Trump called for people to be beaten up confirming his sadistic tendencies. At the January 6, 2021 rally, he remained silent for several hours during the assault on the Capitol Building by a mob that he invited to Washington and told they needed to fight. Will he resort to mob rule at some point in this second term? Or will he weaponize American law enforcement and the military against Americans he sees as enemies?
6. The high staff turnover in his first term in office reflected impulsive poor judgment and actions. When he faced opposition that told him he was wrong it undermined his need for praise and admiration and exposed his paranoia and underlying fears and weaknesses. Hence, lots of people quit or were fired. Now the people he is putting into his administration are screened for loyalty to him above country.

That describes Trump in domestic terms. What about Trump on the international stage?

Even before he returns to the White House, Trump is exhibiting through his “America First” strategy several sociopathic tendencies aimed at allies and neighbouring states. Here are some examples:

• The current kerfuffle involves the emergence of a new America First doctrine somewhat reminiscent of the Monroe Doctrine of the 19th century and American Manifest Destiny that led to the country’s expansion to the Pacific coast and the 49th parallel.
• In the past two weeks, Trump has begun to bully Canada, Panama, Denmark and Greenland. He talks about erasing the 49th parallel to make Canada the 51st state. He talks about America’s need to acquire Greenland, if necessary by force if persuasion doesn’t work. He needs Greenland for hemispheric security. I guess the acquisition of Canada would serve the same purpose.
• As for Panama, he wants to undo a 1977 treaty that relinquished control of the Canal to a sovereign country and ally by 1999.
• He talks about leaving NATO, which assured the nations of Europe and North America common mutual defence against an aggressor.
• He calls climate change a hoax and will pull the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
• He claims based on his relationship with Vladimir Putin, Russia’s head of state, that he can end the war which began with the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
• His Middle-East policy is more about the power of oil economics and military might than it is about conflict resolution among warring parties including Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.
• His Korean policy to cozy up to Kim Jong Un during his previous time in office has not stopped that country’s reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons, and ballistic missiles, and now providing its troops to help Russia.
• He previously tore up the North American Free Trade Agreement and substituted a replacement that was similar but with a different name. Now he wants to tear that one up and draft something new all while threatening to impose tariffs on the countries that signed the pact.
• In dealing with the other global superpower, China, his policies other than import tariffs and complaints about China stealing American high-tech are almost non-existent.

Trump’s Second Coming will bring out the malignant narcissism in him even more. On the international stage, his foreign policy and unpredictability will impact existing alliances and trade relationships.

The world hasn’t seen this level of instability in leadership and uncertainty for the future since the late 1930s when Adolph Hitler, another malignant narcissist and megalomaniac began his march to attempt world dominance. We all know how that ended with a world war and the death of tens of millions.