Narcissists are people who
love themselves. They are at the center
of their own universe. They are certain
that they are better than others and are capable of great things. As they see it, they always know best.
We have had more than a few
narcissistic chief executives. Bill
Clinton was one. Barack Obama is
another. Franklin Delano Roosevelt also fit
this category. On the other hand, Harry
Truman and Dwight Eisenhower did not. Neither
did John F. Kennedy. Although he had a
sense of entitlement, his Addison’s Disease kept him humble.
During the past year, if has
been widely recognized that Donald Trump is a narcissist. Obviously, anyone who praises his own
accomplishments so effusively, while flaunting his name at the top of so many
buildings, could be nothing less. The
question is, is Hillary Clinton also a narcissist?
To me, the answer is
obvious. A person who congratulates
herself so frequently on phantom achievements is demonstrably preoccupied with
her own wonderfulness. She certainly
believes that she always knows best and has done more to serve others than
almost anyone on the planet.
The issue is, therefore, not
which of these presidential candidates is a narcissist, but what kinds of
narcissist they are. Hillary, in my
estimation, is a selfish and mean-spirited one.
She has no compunctions about hurting people. If they get in her way, she does not hesitate
to destroy their careers and/or reputations.
As a result, her political
path has been strewn with the wreckage of many innocent lives. This occurred early on when she got a felon
off for raping a young girl. She did it again
when she protected Bill from Bimbo eruptions.
Private investigators were literally dispatched to discover information
that would discredit the women with whom he had liaisons—whether consensual or
not.
Moreover, Hillary does not
work well with others. She must be the
Queen Bee. This was why HillaryCare went
down in flames. Although members of a Democratically
controlled Congress were sympathetic to public health care, they resented her for
the disrespect they experienced at her hands.
They wanted to be consulted, whereas she felt this was unnecessary.
What then of Trump? What sort of narcissist is he? By most accounts, he is genial in
private. He listens to people and is gracious
in how he treats them. Although he
unquestionably wants to be the star, he apparently has no desire to make all
the decisions.
It must be remembered that
Trump has been a businessman, not a politician.
If he could not put up buildings under budget, he would have gone
bankrupt. Politicians, on the other
hand, deal in promises. If these go aglimmering,
they simply issue updated promises.
Like many observers, I have also
been impressed by Trump’s children. They
are obviously strong personalities who dearly love him. Hence I have no doubt that he loves
them. What is more, he clearly did not
quash their independent spirits. He even
allowed them play on his office floor as he conducted business.
Contrast this with
Clinton. Her daughter Chelsea seems to
be a nice woman, but she is evidently not as assertive as the Trump kids. Indeed, her description of her mother during
the Democratic National Convention sent chills down my spine. Chelea sought to demonstrate how loving her
mother is, whereas, for me, her testimony did the opposite.
What I heard was that when
Hillary went away on business trips—which was apparently often—she left behind
a series of notes for her daughter. Each
was labeled to be opened on a different day and purportedly offered
encouragement. I, however, was struck by
the impersonality of this procedure.
When I put these pieces
together, I find Trump to be a nicer person.
Hillary boasts about how compassionate she is, but does not seem to live
this in her personal life. Meanwhile, he
seems to be caring on a human level.
This leads me to suspect that, narcissist or not, his instincts will
prompt him to make better decisions as president.
Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University
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