If he would have just coasted and chilled, they would have re-elected him. The nation's expectations of the Trump presidency was so low that so long as he did not break anything major it would have been a success. The unsuccessful convictions following the impeachments and the toothless Muller probe created the perfect backdrop for the Deep State story that would explain away all Trump's failings and given his followers all the fuel they needed for him to come back in 2024. It would have been the greatest comeback that had ever been told. It was all in Trump's hands and he purposely dropped the ball, the bat and the glove. It's almost like he had to blow himself up when he had it all. This is because Trump thinks that an authority figure's (daddy) negative attention or disapproval is what makes him important, matter and appear noticed. My self-study on serial killers led to this clearer understanding of Trump and the bizarre followers who are locked into self-destruction with him.
Mindhunter and the FBI special agent John Douglas defines the serial killer's "signature" as the "overkill." Overkill is all the extra the serial killer along side the killing. This is the serial killer's mental fingerprint. Unlike a soldier that kills the enemy with a gun, the serial killer needs to something more, like eat the victim, leave the victim barely alive, wash the body or whatever. This is more than just killing. It is not necessary for killing, it is not about getting away with the killing, it's the private obsession that calms the serial killer's inner tension restoring his chill. The Serial Killer's signature style of killing is what reveals what the inner tension is all about.
Yet, this overkill theory applies to everything else too so it is not really that innovative. Someone's particular style in "overdress" that goes beyond the function of covering up. Whatever colors, cuts, etc. that are part of someone's wardrobe is the "extra" part and that part really tells you something about them. Often what they think they are communicating is not what is actually there inside the style or overdress. We all know that at the gut level even if we cannot find the actual words to say it.
The third indictment of Trump reveals that Trump has an obsession with failing and fears success. He fights with his own employees and hires because he lacks the inner assurance to fight real enemies abroad. Everyone hoped that the gravity of leading the most powerful country in the world would force Trump to change from his immature campaign rhetoric. He never changed. Those republican and military leaders around him had to confront that even the awe generated by the power of the United States has its limits, it cannot derail a committed self-saboteur from his self-imposed meeting with his own destruction, at his own hands.
With all the powers of the government and his appointees Trump could not lock Hillary up, or even pull some compelling evidence against her. He was not able to really build the wall or get Mexico to pay for it. He half-heartedly dealt with the pandemic. He hated Dr. Fauci but also kept him around. He had helped get the vaccination out in record time (he can't take all the credit but he was the President at the time) and yet, he could not allow himself to accept that success. For a guy who routinely brags with extreme exaggeration, he seemed to have real trouble marshalling any credible wins he had in such a way that would have elevated him beyond the status of a blowhard, a child or a fake savior do his equally self-sabotaging followers.
That is the only explanation that makes sense because Trump taunted the federal authorities and dared them to prosecute him. He openly said he could kill someone in the street and would not go to jail. He made fun (and it was funny) of the act of being presidential. He claimed that President Obama was not born in this county. His brand was to blow up the elite political establishment. His posture was to proclaim that despite his carnival act and garish style that he was just as good as any of them. After all, he proved it was not that hard to be elected President. Yet, he seemed to lack the sense that if you rub your enemies face in their mess and pour salt in their wounds you must be very careful. Creating these kinds of enemies means that you cannot make any missteps because they will be waiting to get their revenge. Any normal adult understands this and moderates their gloating or stays away from making bone head moves. This is strategy 101.
However, instead, Trump became more reckless. He kept "the human hand grenade" alcoholic Rudy Giuliani in his inner circle. He lost the entire support of the very sober minded generals. He said stupid things on recorded calls. The third indictment quotes numerous, high level Republicans that Trump brought into his own inner circle telling him that there is no evidence of election fraud. He refused to listen. He greenlit the Giuliani stupid train to file a slew of totally unsuccessful lawsuits. He called officials in their home states to threaten them to throw the election for him. He jerked around the federal government for an entire year about classified documents that he could have just given back. He created a dopey brain-trust of bootlickers who would turn on him when the police came knocking. Everything he did was not careful, not planned and loud. He painted a target on his own back and then ran right into the shooting range. None of these self-inflicted wounds can be explained by any deep state conspiracy because they all flow from Trump himself. His moves were "extra." His moves were unneccesary. Like the serial killer, Trump was compelled to be this specific version of extra. That is why Trump had to destroy any success he had. His career is a list of bankruptcies, failed steak businesses, failed airlines, and a reality show where he was a fake boss of a fake company where he fired fake employees.
Generally, the literature about self-sabotage psychology is riddled with theories, a lot of which are unsatisfying. Trump's tells are very obvious though. His attention seeking has a strange twist, he needs attention but it has to be disapproval. He needs to be seen an illegitimate, unproven, not measuring up. He cannot stop himself from wrecking everything he has long enough to let his success actually validate him. He must fight with his own team mates instead of taking on the real enemy. Trump needs negative attention the same way a child that acts out in class does. Internally he must stay ahead of the inner feeling that floods him from time to time which is that he does not really matter. Somehow positive validation does not make him feel important or real. The obvious reason is that his Father showed his love through constant disapproval. However, the "wealth" also contributes to his sense of worthlessness. People sought Trump out because of his perceived wealth. Most of the people would not make him a partner if they did not think he was rich, including his current wife. Thus, any positive reception he gets does feels fake because people do not want him, they want only what they think they can get from him. These relationships appear transactional to him and likely are. The odd thing is, if only negative attention appears real to him, then he acts out in ways that make people dislike him. This only reinforces the notion that anyone who puts up with him does so only because they want something from him, and thus, their approval is not real. Trump never believed that his Presidency was real.
The only thing that seemed real to Trump is disapproval. So long as he provokes the authority to criticize him and punish him that he is important or of some value. Being dangerous to the established power means that he has a real potential to "threaten" which means that he is important. For this reason he could not allow himself to just be the President, or not flagrantly and loudly toy around with the US election system. For 180 years there has not been a problem until Trump. He can finally say that he must matter because US had to punish him. That's the only way to understand Trump's "look-at-me" posture coupled with his brazen law breaking. A serious criminal is like the mob boss who prefers to remain invisible so that he can actually get away with his crimes.
This also explains his appeal to his followers. They too need to be disapproved of, hated and cast out. That's the only way you can explain the loudness of their support. Political support does not need wacky clothes, giant signs or outrageous statements. Yet, the followers must be seen as crazy, nut jobs or fanatical. It's the disapproval they crave. This is how they know they matter because we cannot stand them. It makes sense because so many people feel powerless and irrelevant and this political phenomenon has brought them media coverage and familiar fights. This is why the hats had to be red, to draw anger towards them. The reason why Hillary Clinton's phrase "basket of deplorables" was so upsetting to an entire social movement that lives for disapproval. Hillary Clinton's comment was dismissive and by placing them in a "basket" made them feel irrelevant. Baskets hold yarn, baskets hold sandwiches, cookies, kittens and even babies. Baskets are containers that hold non-lethal things, irrelevant things, things that can be set aside, things that are decoration or ancillary to the main action, baskets are made of wicker, they are set on the floor, they hold dirty clothes, baskets are domestic accessories. It was not the deplorable part that upset the cult of negative attention seekers, it was the basket part.
The Trump phenomenon wasted a lot time and energy from all of us. For those who cast their lot with him, for those that were against him and for those that tried to get along with him. This is time we will not get back and we should look for leadership that is more about direct conflict with actual threats to our futures, instead of electing people that attack us and directly threaten our future. The good that comes out of this is that the American People will see that Jack Smith and rule of law will finally deal with the elephant in the room. Perhaps if we pay more attention to all the signatures or extra's proposed leaders exhibit we can make healthier choices in our next elections.
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