"I enjoyed that. I'm a recovering evangelical and that world is indeed fertile ground for a conspiracy salesman. I also can't help but think that he saw millions arbitrarily decide to disbelieve scientific consensus they were told to disbelieve, he knew those were his people." - @NoToDonCarryOn - 6/29/21
"This is fascinating. Every trump supporter I personally know is/was a child of a narcissist or is a narcissist themselves. So that theory holds true for me. Amazing." - @RhondaDelilah · 7/27/21
"“Excellent article on how #Trump took hold, pretty similar to what's happening here in #Britain with #BorisJohnson” – bookworm / @readerbythesea - 8/21
"This article nails the core problem with today's GOP but until we put a priority on mental health and preventing trauma and abuse and bar narcissists and sociopaths from running for office, nothing will change." - @orangepeel18 - 5/1/23
"This is great analysis. It got me thinking of MAGAS I know personally; They all came from dysfunctional families. It explains why otherwise educated, "normal", adults would be drawn to Trump. His behavior is similar to a parent." - @Hepcat62 - 5/2/21
"This is some award worthy writing with penetrating psychosocial insight into our mess. Thank you and very well done. 🙏💚" - Dennis🏳️🌈🐝🧘☸️ @BuddhistNoBody - Feb 7, 2022
"My favourite paragraphe (in part II) This formative grooming also explains why silly little things like facts, logic, and reason don’t work on them. They were trained and conditioned to blindly follow a narcissist, just like trump was by his sociopathic father. To donny and his submissive followers, being arrogant, greedy and manipulative is just what a “smart, normal and good leader” does."
(Talking about children of narcissists and other psychologically broken parents) - @Madison_Daylee - Jul 25, 2021
"This is my family pathology pattern as well and excruciatingly reinforced and stuck in the dominance toxicity to the bitter end no matter how painful and destructive" - @LKellenbarger - Jul 25, 2021
Your paragraphs describing the psychology of the trump cult are soooo accurate and blessedly clear. I’m an escapee of the cult! Patting myself on the back (a little bit) for self-deprogramming before trump came along, thank God, bc I really cannot say with certainty that I wouldn’t have gone at least part of the way down the road with trumpism had I not had one foot already out the door when he showed up. What I can truthfully say is that I still considered myself 100% Republican in 2015 but I never for one second considered supporting trump. ‘Course, I also believed there was a 0% chance trump would be elected, then the kidney stone would pass and the GOP would return to “normal.” Ha!
In many ways I am personally grateful for the painful, sustained, daily revelations since the rapid descent began on that down escalator in June 2015. Because otherwise I might not have truly re-evaluated everything (still a work in progress). I’ve realized I was raised in the cult and was manipulated by professionals for decades. I do not hold myself blameless, not for a second. I have confessed my own experience, mistakes, callousness and naïveté to others and tried to open their eyes. It’s the one tool I always have in my pocket, and also an important means of contrition for me. That, plus my vote (which will never again be cast for any Republican) is all I got.
Thank you for your kind words and apologies for the delay. Been busy in good ways. Certainly a mantra at CNI could be “sooo accurate and blessedly clear” because we are all about bringing clarity to complexity to help more people understand the dangerous disorders we are all up against.
You should definitely pat yourself for escaping a cult and self-deprogramming. Those are no easy feats for anyone. My Dad was also a Republican up until trump but thankfully he had a natural aversion to overt narcissists. He did get taken in by covert ones a few times and I myself have not been completely immune to the covert ones.
While I am sad my friend suffered as I learned about the sociopath playing them like a puppet in the 2000s, I am also personally grateful I had the motivation and opportunity to learn all about narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths to rescue them, long before trump came along, so I understood exactly what he was from the beginning and how the GOP was using pathological narcissism as political strategy long before trump showed up.
It is also a huge sign of maturity, growth and humanity to have contrition and to share your experiences to help others escape their programming. Obviously these are things pathological narcissists are not capable off beyond faking it in court in an attempt to escape justice. I assume you know of Steve Hassen who is often the go to guy on cults. Abigail of @postcultlife also writes very eloquently and honestly about her cult experiences, escape and progress so definitely worth checking out. However, please don’t be too hard on yourself. It was shocking to discover how many good and smart people are tricked by these psychologically programmed and often hidden in plain sight manipulators.
Narcissism is bad enough. Malignant narcissism is even worse. Worse yet, if I may advance a concept, is hubris-nemesis narcissism, especially when it afflicts a leader like Trump.
The two dynamics — hubris and nemesis — are from ancient Greek myth and tragedy. Hubris is the pretension to be godlike — the capital sin of vainglorious pride. In contrast, Nemesis is the goddess of divine vengeance and retribution. Her purpose is to strike down mortals who display hubris.
That is the classic dynamic. The myth of Narcissus is the classic example. It is also expressed in the Christian saying that “Pride goeth before a fall,” the fate of President Nixon being a standard example.
Hubris and nemesis normally exist separately. But sometimes leaders arise who embody both forces. They not only have hubris, but they also want to be the Nemesis of an external force they accuse of greater hubris. In brief, they have a hubris-nemesis complex.
Modern exemplars include Hitler, Mussolini, and Castro. Today it’s Trump. For literary examples, think of Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost, and Captain Ahab in Melville’s Moby Dick.
In this extraordinary modern dynamic, hubris and Nemesis no longer oppose and contradict each other. They become compatible contradictions, fused in a single psyche — mutually feeding on each other in ways that generate enormous energy, ambition, dynamism, and charisma, plus a thirst for absolute power. This complex is more malignant, and dangerous than is standard narcissism. For, to be as powerful as their hubris requires, such leaders must act as the nemesis of an outside power; it is part of their hubris to want to play Nemesis.
Trump exemplifies this condition nearly every time he speaks. Woe unto us that so many Americans are being “owned” by it and him.
I don’t know whether you allow commenters to post reference links, but if you do, here a couple I use:
Thanks for sharing your perspective David. I know Rand did/does? pioneering work in the psychology field and have had the hubris/nemesis concept presented to me before. It certainly has many valid aspects but a main part of the CNI mission is to make narcissism spectrum psychology less complex and more clear for the general public because that is what we need to get out of this mess imo. Unfortunately, many folks have enough trouble with the abstract/multi-meaning Greek generated term of "narcissism" and many psychological concepts just don’t stick in most people’s minds unless it can be made memorable.
In fact saying, “Narcissism is bad enough. Malignant narcissism is even worse” has issues. When you say the ambiguous narcissism at the start, it’s a straw man for malignant narcissism to knock down. Obviously if you add malignant to anything, by definition it is worse, and no one has any idea what your definition of narcissism is right there. I don’t think you are trying to do it but that is almost a psychological manipulation in the sense people see what they want to see and the meaning they want to see in it, which obscures and confuses whatever point you want to make right off the bat.
Additionally, I may be missing it (and never mind being wrong because that means I learned something) but I don’t really see much of a separate category for an HB narcissist from what already exists, and considering this goes back at least as far as the early 90s, it doesn’t seem to have caught on much no matter how accurate it is. So much of it if not all of it was either already there in the psych or perhaps has been co-opted by more user friendly terms like Dark Triad/Tetrad/Malignant Narcissist?
If it works for you I say more power to you but after Elizabeth Holmes, corps have asked how to keep out “Machiavellian narcissists.” I used to fight the terms but now I try to embrace them all. At least for my purposes regardless of merit, the hubris/nemesis concept is too abstract and not different enough to distinguish from better known and popular terms.
As long as it is related, links are currently fine. We are all here to gain knowledge and if you contribute to that as you have done in this case with your entire post, it is appreciated. Perhaps others will find the hubris/nemesis dynamic helpful in their greater understanding of narcissism, and that is more important than where it comes from, my opinion or whose terms are preferred.
I use the term "sadonarcissism" to characterize this condition, and I consider Trump to be the epitome of a sadonarcissist. He appeals to other sadonarcissists & sadomasochists.
"I enjoyed that. I'm a recovering evangelical and that world is indeed fertile ground for a conspiracy salesman. I also can't help but think that he saw millions arbitrarily decide to disbelieve scientific consensus they were told to disbelieve, he knew those were his people." - @NoToDonCarryOn - 6/29/21
"This is fascinating. Every trump supporter I personally know is/was a child of a narcissist or is a narcissist themselves. So that theory holds true for me. Amazing." - @RhondaDelilah · 7/27/21
Or were in a relationship or marriage with a Narcissist
"“Excellent article on how #Trump took hold, pretty similar to what's happening here in #Britain with #BorisJohnson” – bookworm / @readerbythesea - 8/21
"This article nails the core problem with today's GOP but until we put a priority on mental health and preventing trauma and abuse and bar narcissists and sociopaths from running for office, nothing will change." - @orangepeel18 - 5/1/23
"This is great analysis. It got me thinking of MAGAS I know personally; They all came from dysfunctional families. It explains why otherwise educated, "normal", adults would be drawn to Trump. His behavior is similar to a parent." - @Hepcat62 - 5/2/21
It is
"This is some award worthy writing with penetrating psychosocial insight into our mess. Thank you and very well done. 🙏💚" - Dennis🏳️🌈🐝🧘☸️ @BuddhistNoBody - Feb 7, 2022
"I have just been re-reading Sam's excellent article "Narcissism is Trumpism Pt 1"
Every single American should be required to read this in seeing how serious our country's lean toward fascism is becoming & the cause!
Americans need to take action!!" - Jeanne @jeanneeber - 3/22/23
"My favourite paragraphe (in part II) This formative grooming also explains why silly little things like facts, logic, and reason don’t work on them. They were trained and conditioned to blindly follow a narcissist, just like trump was by his sociopathic father. To donny and his submissive followers, being arrogant, greedy and manipulative is just what a “smart, normal and good leader” does."
(Talking about children of narcissists and other psychologically broken parents) - @Madison_Daylee - Jul 25, 2021
Great new stuff coming soon!
"Great read about Trumpism." - @GirlCodetoMS - 5/20/21
"This is my family pathology pattern as well and excruciatingly reinforced and stuck in the dominance toxicity to the bitter end no matter how painful and destructive" - @LKellenbarger - Jul 25, 2021
Your paragraphs describing the psychology of the trump cult are soooo accurate and blessedly clear. I’m an escapee of the cult! Patting myself on the back (a little bit) for self-deprogramming before trump came along, thank God, bc I really cannot say with certainty that I wouldn’t have gone at least part of the way down the road with trumpism had I not had one foot already out the door when he showed up. What I can truthfully say is that I still considered myself 100% Republican in 2015 but I never for one second considered supporting trump. ‘Course, I also believed there was a 0% chance trump would be elected, then the kidney stone would pass and the GOP would return to “normal.” Ha!
In many ways I am personally grateful for the painful, sustained, daily revelations since the rapid descent began on that down escalator in June 2015. Because otherwise I might not have truly re-evaluated everything (still a work in progress). I’ve realized I was raised in the cult and was manipulated by professionals for decades. I do not hold myself blameless, not for a second. I have confessed my own experience, mistakes, callousness and naïveté to others and tried to open their eyes. It’s the one tool I always have in my pocket, and also an important means of contrition for me. That, plus my vote (which will never again be cast for any Republican) is all I got.
Thank you for your kind words and apologies for the delay. Been busy in good ways. Certainly a mantra at CNI could be “sooo accurate and blessedly clear” because we are all about bringing clarity to complexity to help more people understand the dangerous disorders we are all up against.
You should definitely pat yourself for escaping a cult and self-deprogramming. Those are no easy feats for anyone. My Dad was also a Republican up until trump but thankfully he had a natural aversion to overt narcissists. He did get taken in by covert ones a few times and I myself have not been completely immune to the covert ones.
While I am sad my friend suffered as I learned about the sociopath playing them like a puppet in the 2000s, I am also personally grateful I had the motivation and opportunity to learn all about narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths to rescue them, long before trump came along, so I understood exactly what he was from the beginning and how the GOP was using pathological narcissism as political strategy long before trump showed up.
It is also a huge sign of maturity, growth and humanity to have contrition and to share your experiences to help others escape their programming. Obviously these are things pathological narcissists are not capable off beyond faking it in court in an attempt to escape justice. I assume you know of Steve Hassen who is often the go to guy on cults. Abigail of @postcultlife also writes very eloquently and honestly about her cult experiences, escape and progress so definitely worth checking out. However, please don’t be too hard on yourself. It was shocking to discover how many good and smart people are tricked by these psychologically programmed and often hidden in plain sight manipulators.
"Important read" - @mkathrynorourke - 8/4/21
"Excellent article. Very interesting and pretty spot on. Most MAGA I know meet this definition nicely." - @suavemoose - 12/6/21
"A great read. Succinct in every way." - @ICentralian1 - 5/2/21
Narcissism is bad enough. Malignant narcissism is even worse. Worse yet, if I may advance a concept, is hubris-nemesis narcissism, especially when it afflicts a leader like Trump.
The two dynamics — hubris and nemesis — are from ancient Greek myth and tragedy. Hubris is the pretension to be godlike — the capital sin of vainglorious pride. In contrast, Nemesis is the goddess of divine vengeance and retribution. Her purpose is to strike down mortals who display hubris.
That is the classic dynamic. The myth of Narcissus is the classic example. It is also expressed in the Christian saying that “Pride goeth before a fall,” the fate of President Nixon being a standard example.
Hubris and nemesis normally exist separately. But sometimes leaders arise who embody both forces. They not only have hubris, but they also want to be the Nemesis of an external force they accuse of greater hubris. In brief, they have a hubris-nemesis complex.
Modern exemplars include Hitler, Mussolini, and Castro. Today it’s Trump. For literary examples, think of Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost, and Captain Ahab in Melville’s Moby Dick.
In this extraordinary modern dynamic, hubris and Nemesis no longer oppose and contradict each other. They become compatible contradictions, fused in a single psyche — mutually feeding on each other in ways that generate enormous energy, ambition, dynamism, and charisma, plus a thirst for absolute power. This complex is more malignant, and dangerous than is standard narcissism. For, to be as powerful as their hubris requires, such leaders must act as the nemesis of an outside power; it is part of their hubris to want to play Nemesis.
Trump exemplifies this condition nearly every time he speaks. Woe unto us that so many Americans are being “owned” by it and him.
I don’t know whether you allow commenters to post reference links, but if you do, here a couple I use:
David Ronfeldt, Beware the Hubris-Nemesis Complex: A Concept for Leadership Analysis, RAND Corporation, MR-461, 1994. Online at: https://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR461.html
David Ronfeldt, “Space-time-action orientations of leaders who have a hubris-nemesis complex,” Two Theories, blog, June 15, 2014, online at: http://twotheories.blogspot.com/2014/06/space-time-action-orientations-of.html
David Ronfeldt, “Reason #1: Trump’s psyche & ‘the hubris-nemesis complex’ (2nd of 4 posts),” Two Theories, blog, January 14, 2017, online at: http://twotheories.blogspot.com/2017/01/reason-1-trumps-psyche-hubris-nemesis.html
Thanks for sharing your perspective David. I know Rand did/does? pioneering work in the psychology field and have had the hubris/nemesis concept presented to me before. It certainly has many valid aspects but a main part of the CNI mission is to make narcissism spectrum psychology less complex and more clear for the general public because that is what we need to get out of this mess imo. Unfortunately, many folks have enough trouble with the abstract/multi-meaning Greek generated term of "narcissism" and many psychological concepts just don’t stick in most people’s minds unless it can be made memorable.
In fact saying, “Narcissism is bad enough. Malignant narcissism is even worse” has issues. When you say the ambiguous narcissism at the start, it’s a straw man for malignant narcissism to knock down. Obviously if you add malignant to anything, by definition it is worse, and no one has any idea what your definition of narcissism is right there. I don’t think you are trying to do it but that is almost a psychological manipulation in the sense people see what they want to see and the meaning they want to see in it, which obscures and confuses whatever point you want to make right off the bat.
Additionally, I may be missing it (and never mind being wrong because that means I learned something) but I don’t really see much of a separate category for an HB narcissist from what already exists, and considering this goes back at least as far as the early 90s, it doesn’t seem to have caught on much no matter how accurate it is. So much of it if not all of it was either already there in the psych or perhaps has been co-opted by more user friendly terms like Dark Triad/Tetrad/Malignant Narcissist?
If it works for you I say more power to you but after Elizabeth Holmes, corps have asked how to keep out “Machiavellian narcissists.” I used to fight the terms but now I try to embrace them all. At least for my purposes regardless of merit, the hubris/nemesis concept is too abstract and not different enough to distinguish from better known and popular terms.
As long as it is related, links are currently fine. We are all here to gain knowledge and if you contribute to that as you have done in this case with your entire post, it is appreciated. Perhaps others will find the hubris/nemesis dynamic helpful in their greater understanding of narcissism, and that is more important than where it comes from, my opinion or whose terms are preferred.
Thanks for the explanation. Interesting to learn. Onward.
Wonderful insight. Correct as well.
Thanks so much!
I use the term "sadonarcissism" to characterize this condition, and I consider Trump to be the epitome of a sadonarcissist. He appeals to other sadonarcissists & sadomasochists.