Quite a year and a half.

 MAKING A DIAGNOSIS??  This post is really my giving voice to a genuine dilemma I have, and that is making a diagnosis of D. J. Trump, currently president of the this country.   Truth in writing:  The American Psychological Association's rules of ethical behavior are very specific.  A diagnosis should not be made of a person without first-hand interaction, interviews, background data, and, if possible, the help of psychological tests.  OK, I'm retired so being in good standing with the APA is not very high on my priorities.  But I digress.

DJ Trump sharpened the problem for me when I heard the tape recording of his hour long telephone conversation last Saturday with Brad Raffensperger.  Raffensperger is the Georgia Secretary of State, and has some control over the election and reporting of it.  During the phone call, Trump repeatedly trotted out arguments that he won in Georgia though election fraud denied him the win.  He baldly asked Raffensperger to add 11,800 votes to his, Trump's. total.  Trump added that "you can do it.  There's nothing wrong with it.  You can say it's a recalculation" (or words to that effect.)  Now, here's, the dilemma:  Did Trump believe what he was saying, and hence was deluded--one of the key symptoms used to make a diagnosis of psychosis?  Or, was he continuing his almost constant lying in order to influence events--a key symptom of a Psychopathic Personality Disorder?  The way in which he argued made it difficult to know, makes it difficult to decide.  His voice quality was level and reasonable, for the most part, like a person who was presenting their honest viewpoint of reality.   Towards the end of the call, he very clearly made a threat to Raffensperger that the Secretary of State could face criminal charges if he didn't comply--which is not the mark of a person who believes they are presenting facts.  It is the way of a bully who is acting to maximize the impact of their tactics in a calculating way.  

If we are to believe Mary Trump, his niece and a clinical psychologist, his aversion to facing the fact of his defeat is the result of his training by his father, for whom the worst failure was losing.  Trump's father, she claimed, trained his son to never, never, accept losing.   To admit defeat even in the face of overwhelming evidence is totally unacceptable.   If true, is this stubborn refusal to face reality a sign of his psychopathic behavior?  Or a sign of a genuine delusion bred of a twisted upbringing?  

A genuine psychopath has other characteristics as well.  They tend not to care about others in any genuine way (check.)   They never admit mistakes--it's always someone else's failing (check).  They have no sense of conscience (check.)  They can be charming when it suits their purposes, ruthless when they conclude it benefits them (check.)  They sometimes have a great gift of gab (though that's not a universal characteristic) which they use to advance their interests (check.)  they lose interest in their endeavors when they don't get instant gratification (check.)  They tend to have exaggerated egos (check) and  extremely high--unrealistic--opinions about their abilities and talents (double-check.)  

A genuine psychosis usually involves a loss of connection with reality, such as chasing unceasingly after an unattainable goal (check.)   Misperception of what is happening to them (check.)  Often paranoid interpretations of events surrounding them (check.)  Embracing ideas that are delusional (check) and working to get others to  embrace them also (check.)  Not conforming to social or vocational role expectations (check,)   Little or no self-perception with regard to their behavior (check.)   Emotional outbursts suggesting little or no self-control (check,) often, though not always, chronic anger and hostility (check).  But, with little or no control over the actions of others (definitely NOT a check here.)  

 So, you can see the "why" of my dilemma.  Perhaps you would be willing  to share your conclusion or point of view.  Perhaps you have a different take altogether.  Let me know, and thanks. .