The Dangerous Insecurity of Donald Trump

[applegrove]

The Dangerous Insecurity of Donald Trump

By Eugene Robinson at Truth Dig

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_dangerous_insecurity_of_donald_trump_20160516

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He’s the son of a wealthy developer who expanded his father’s empire. In his younger days, he was a rich and well-connected man about town. It is no surprise that he enjoyed the company of beautiful women. But that, apparently, wasn’t nearly enough for Trump. He had to be widely seen with such women on his arm, and he had to be both envied and admired.

When he decided to trade a woman in for a newer model—I know that sounds crude, but this was his modus operandi—he used fake names to call reporters with his side of the story. Was he too cheap to hire a real publicist? Did he believe he was so much more clever than the journalists that they wouldn’t know it was really him? (They knew.) Was he obsessed with being portrayed in the gossip columns as “a good guy,” which is what “John Miller” calls him in the recording?

And why deny it now, given the clear evidence of the tape? Why not just laugh it off as a youthful or perhaps middle-aged indiscretion? Why not just say he was having a little fun at the media’s expense? “It wasn’t me” is only an effective defense absent proof beyond a reasonable doubt that, you know, it was.

I’m taking this seriously because Trump is asking to be taken seriously—which means he wishes to be taken at his word. Someone should explain to him how this works.

He has built a remarkable career on bluster, branding and relentless self-promotion. Self-regard bordering on self-worship and a willingness to bend the truth may have been assets that helped his rise. Insecurity and a need to be loved could have given him motivation. For a vainglorious mogul who lives to plaster his name across the New York skyline—and whose most consequential decision is whether to use travertine marble or Carrara—these are useful traits.



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