Donald Trump: A man without pathos.

[Caliman73]

4. Your reaction is understandable.

I do think that there is something deeper. Narcissism is typically accompanied by an extremely fragile sense of self.

When someone has confidence in their worth as a person, they do not typically need reassurance from the outside and they are not self aggrandizing.

The grandiosity and generally ugly way in which narcissist act is real and very off putting, and they may even believe it, but they are also extremely vulnerable.

I suspect that Trump's upbringing was pretty horrible. Given how his father has been described, the fact that he was sent away to military school, and the general lack of empathy and humanity that he displays, which are traits that unless there is some kind of organic brain damage, are typically learned through attachment, reciprocation of affection, and building trust in caregivers and the world.

Even given all of that, it is difficult for me to muster up any true feelings of sadness at Trump's situation. He is too destructive to merit that level of consideration.

Stalin, Hitler, and many other people who are considered monsters, had extremely abusive childhoods and traumatic experiences. While I am not putting Trump in their league at this point, generally I would say that we can examine the lives of individuals who did horrific things, and we will likely not find people who truly had love, connection, and genuine self esteem in their lives.