As the impeachment process rolls on, we now enter the second week of public hearings. While Trump has maintained an outward demeanor of incredulity at the very notion of impeachment, anonymous sources close to the president say that he is profoundly shaken by the inevitable impeachment vote.
The very media-driven president is appalled by the idea that he’ll join the very small number of presidents impeached in the House.
Many observers have pointed out that Donald Trump has spent nearly his entire life with little to nothing keeping check on his behavior. When Trump wanted to open casinos, he’s borrowed money and opened casinos. When Trump wanted his own TV show, a network put him on the air. That’s just how his life has been.
As such, the now 73-year-old former real estate mogul is likely feeling an unfamiliar sensation with the House putting his behavior in the spotlight. According to Dr. John Gartner, a psychiatrist and former professor at John Hopkins Medical School, what we’re seeing from Trump is likely a “hypomanic episode.”
Dr. Gartner explains that hypomania is a different mental state than mania, and the two have some relevant distinctions. While a manic person thinks they are invincible and does things that are nearly suicidal in foolishness, a hypomanic person is more of a force of urgency that will take no feedback.
Someone who is hypomanic simply won’t hear the word “no,” and will instead barrel ahead with any course of action they deem important at that moment. “When this will really become an even greater crisis — a crescendo in his dangerous behavior — is when Donald Trump starts making catastrophic moves internationally. He could start a war,” warns Dr. Gartner.
When asked about Trump’s tendency to tell lies during speeches to exaggerate his own importance, Dr. Gartner offered an explanation. “He has said things such as “I’m the chosen one.” It is malignant narcissism and grandiosity, which has become more extreme,” the psychiatrist explained.
Dr. Gartner warns that, as the impeachment probe carries on, Trump could lash out in more alarming ways to sate his growing frustration and fury. “It’s not that Donald Trump is the greatest danger to the world, but that he is so much more erratic and desperate, and more driven now to act out in destructive ways to feel powerful,” the professor warns.
