Functionally analogous to the proverbial, expression,“the apple, that spoils the barrel,” it inevitably, seems that among the vast multitudes of lovable and cherished children, there exists a rare few, whose persona and behavior, when revealed, prove to be dysfunctional, embarrassing and, frustratingly, incorrigible. This category of individual is often referred to, in the French lexicon, as an “Enfant Terrible.” By way of illustration, the term would embrace the sort of child that might, despite the certain expectation of consequent punishment, kick his seated mother in the shins, to foster his neurotic and insatiable need for exclusive, personal attention. Predictably, such damaged and needy species of Homo sapiens, achieve maturity, only to reside in an insular bubble, generally oblivious to everything and everyone, except insofar as it, or, they, can be seen as contributing to his being placed in the limelight. Whatever, conceivably, can be perceived by him, as advancing this neurotic aspiration, is, ipso facto, acceptable, irrespective of the possible cruelty to, or mistreatment of others.
It is our considered, view that the enigmatic dilemma, encompassing the dynamics of the bizarre and wrongful behavior, official acts and factually, unsupported declarations, of former President, Donald Trump, can be attributed to the foregoing etiology, regarding the empirical, adult devolution of the enfant terrible. As a factual matter, Trump, albeit, a three-time election loser, of, has been inordinately successful in obtaining, neurotically, needed, vast, populist, attention, especially, on television and other media. In fact, it may, be realistically, (and alarmingly) maintained, that our Nation’s structural, two-party system, exemplified by the Democratic and Republican parties, has, of late, effectively, been morphed or transmogrified, into two parties, one for, and one against, America’s Presidential species of enfant terrible, viz., Donald J. Trump.
With respect to his bizarre and completely, inept, four-year term as President, nor, in the period following, it would be fruitless to attempt, to summon up any recollection of his statements regarding policy, on foreign or domestic matters, any elucidation of held, economic or political doctrine, nor, indeed, regarding any subject of importance to the Nation. By contrast, the television public witnessed regular and unabated praise of himself and derogation of perceived or actual enemies.
Unforgettable and eternally, unforgivable, is his cruel burlesque, performed before the vast television audience, consisting of his shocking and unabashed, mimicry of a reporter with the characteristic (uncontrolled, shaking) symptoms of cerebral palsy, presumably for the entertainment of his underbelly, populist supporters, and in contrast with his own apparent physical normality.
In his addresses to the American public, he failed to evince any position, or indeed, any interest, in political policy, international, or domestic, nor indeed, on any nationally, significant matter. In addition to his numerous statements of personal praise, he, ignorantly, misinformed and misled the American public, regarding the pandemic, with notable, tragic results, revealed his personal bias toward minorities, autocratically, deprecated education, the media, and intellectual advancement, literary achievements, curried the favor of the gun lobby, thus, ingratiating himself with America’s huge populist underbelly. He befriended Putin, and the fascistic leaders of Communist China, and Hungary, in his aspirational fantasy to, himself, acquire autocratic rule over our Nation.
His narcissism and lifelong need for adulation and “star status,” led him to invite his populist supporters to stage a violent (failed) insurrection against the American Government, based upon his electoral defeat by Joseph Biden, in an attempt at a second Presidential term. His narcissistic and entirely, unfounded, and, factually, unsupported, allegation was the basis for his irrational claim (and the compliant, battle cry of his compliant, populist, insurrectionists), that the election had been “stolen” from him. Trump, in his early, pre-election statements, in fact, brazenly, forecasted the insurrectionist event, in the event of his defeat. In the neurotically, deluded mind of this adult, enfant terrible, there were only two possible outcomes of the forthcoming election, personal victory, or illegitimate defeat.
We have eternally, and frustratingly, called for the consideration of a mandated, prudent and objective, vetting policy, for all nominees for consequential political office, as empirically, is mandated for all applicants for private, and inauspicious, employment.
-p.
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