Trump in a 'tenuous' psychological place as his 'alternate reality' crumbles: expert

A former Department of Justice prosecutor who investigated Donald Trump for racketeering believes that the former president is in a downward emotional and psychological spiral as the reality of his Manhattan criminal trial pierces the bubble of invulnerability he has created around himself.

With the 77-year-old former president confronting the first trial in his life that could lead to prison, ex-prosecutor Kenneth McCallion told Salon's Chauncey DeVega that "the alternate reality Trump lives in is crumbling."

As McCallion noted, the former president has long championed himself as always being a winner and now, as his legal woes overwhelm him, he is in a place where he has had to rebrand himself as a victim of a system out to get him.

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"Donald Trump has been forced to partially subdue himself, which is not his natural instinct," he explained. "He is not wired in such a way as to be able to remain quiet as a litany of accusations and evidence against him are presented," before adding, "Donald Trump is in a different psychological space, and a much more tenuous one. Trump is presenting himself to his followers as a victim, someone being persecuted. He obviously wants the world to remember and think of him as strong and resolute, and basically a good guy despite his personal peccadilloes. So, that self-image and definition of himself, which has been the basis for his popularity among many millions of Americans, is now being challenged."

Asked about Trump's worries about his legacy are impacting his state of mind, McCallion suggested his "ego is at risk now."

Noting Trump is being exposed to ridicule in a situation where his hands are tied by courtroom protocol and rules, he explained that Trump, for all of his bluster, is very thin-skinned.

"When he's been subjected to ridicule and laughed at, that is extremely emotionally and psychologically painful to him," he told DeVega before adding he thinks Trump might actually be trying to get tossed in jail now.

"I think that Donald Trump is probably trying to get himself thrown into prison or in a soundproof plexiglass box in the courtroom. This would enhance the narrative of martyrdom he is promoting, which resonates with his base. Neither Trump nor most of his die-hard base want to confront the stark reality that the problems they face are largely of their own making, and the result of a series of terrible choices made along with way," he suggested.

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