With just over three months as President of the United States, Donald Trump has shown the country and the international community defining characteristics of his personality. Every President seems to have a trademark style. For Barack Obama, it was a cool confidence that earned him the nickname “No Drama Obama.”
Usually, that defining characteristic is a strength that the President builds on to create their legacy. But when it comes to Donald Trump, it is the opposite.
Jamelle Bouie at Slate says that Trump’s insecurity has emerged as his defining characteristic, and that could have disastrous consequences. It all starts with the election cycle, and especially how impressive he believes his Electoral College win was. Bouie writes:
“Harping on difficulty of an Electoral College victory is a way of saying that he accomplished the hard part of an election and of creating an excuse for any potential future failure. Which is tied to another aspect of Trump’s insecurity: his childlike need for constant affirmation.”
Another example of this insecurity is the President’s obsession with the press and the coverage his administration gets. He’s often criticizes the media for calling out his lies, claiming that they are somehow against him:
“I have learned one thing, because I get treated very unfairly, that’s what I call it, the fake media… I get treated so badly.”
For Trump, perception is more important than reality. But being President isn’t just about PR. This insecurity has shown itself to be the driving force behind his decision making as a world leader, which is more than worrying. It’s scary. Bouie explains:
Presidential insecurity isn’t harmless, especially for a commander in chief who is obsessed with winning and who seems to see life as a dominance game, where someone or something has to be a loser. What happens when the insecure president can’t move his agenda through Congress? What happens when his plans fail? What does he do to ensure that, above all, he isn’t a loser? If our recent national adventures with Afghanistan, Syria, and North Korea are any indication, we have a good, and worrying, answer for that question.
In a world of gray, we have a man who views every decision and every outcome as black and white. And that could get us into some deep, deep trouble.
Watch some of Trump’s zero-sum game-play here:
Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
