President Donald Trump has changed his mind about either invading or buying Greenland and so he has magnanimously changed his mind on imposing new tariffs on some of his NATO “allies.”
A new framework for American access to Greenland was presented to him by NATO’s Secretary General, which apparently meets Trump’s needs. Trump’s acquiescence in this proposal as a “win” for him fits the personality profile of a “deregulated personality,” as I suggested in another commentary earlier this month.
I received in response to that comment what I think is a better analysis of Trump’s personality orientation from a colleague who has extensively researched the contributions of personality assessment in predicting job performance. The orientation suggested is that of an egomaniacal narcissist.
Egomaniacal narcissist describes someone who embodies both, taking narcissistic traits to an extreme, out-of-control level, where they manipulate and abuse others relentlessly
“An egomaniacal narcissist is someone with an extreme, pathological self-obsession, combining the grandiosity and lack of empathy of narcissism with the all-consuming self-focus of egomania, leading to inflated self-importance, manipulative behavior, a sense of entitlement and treating others as objects to serve their needs, often beyond what’s seen in typical self-centeredness. They believe they are superior, exploit people without guilt and are intensely preoccupied with power, success or admiration, often unable to see beyond their own desires.”
Key Characteristics:
- Grandiosity and Entitlement: Exaggerated achievements, fantasies of unlimited success and an unreasonable expectation of special treatment.
- Lack of Empathy: Unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others; seeing people as tools.
- Exploitative Behavior: Uses and abuses others to achieve their own ends, claiming credit for others’ work.
- Need for Admiration: Demands excessive praise and attention, becoming angry when it’s not given.
- Arrogance: Behaves in haughty, conceited ways; looking down on those they deem less important.
- Fragile Self-Esteem (underneath): Despite the outward arrogance, there’s often a fragile self-esteem that reacts poorly to criticism.
Egomaniac vs. Narcissist:
- Egomaniac: Focuses heavily on self-promotion, boasts excessively and dominates conversations to prove superiority.
- Narcissist: Centers on self-admiration, needs constant validation and lacks empathy, often defined by the clinical term narcissistic personality disorder when severe.