Trump's psychopathology is forcing him to adopt a scorched earth mentality as his re-election prospects dwindle: clinical psychologist

I knew Donald Trump was a reality TV host, but I didn’t know he is a movie director.

“Wag the Dog” debuted in 1997 as a political satire directed by Barry Levinson. It’s the story of a Hollywood producer who fabricates a war in Albania to distract voters from a presidential sex scandal.

Sound familiar?

Trump’s new feature movie, “Wag the Dog 2.0,” has a reminiscent theme. To distract from his botched pandemic leadership and from his other major failures—racial discord, tanked economy, disgraceful tell-all book, defying decisions by the Supreme Court—Trump is sending federal troops into several American cities in order to provoke conflict with protestors. Trump’s “Wag the Dog 2.0” is now in Portland and Seattle and Chicago.

Does Trump really think that provoked conflict with protestors will make the public forget about our ferocious and deadly pandemic? Does he think that confrontations in the streets will make us forget about 145,000 dead Americans? Does he think a reprisal of a movie will make us think differently about his denials, inaction, gaslighting, and lies during the pandemic?

Let’s be clear: this is a calculated political strategy by Trump to distract from his abysmal leadership in so many areas. Plus, he gets to exert his alleged presidential strength with the hopes that the American people will see him as protective and worthy of four more years in office.

Will this disingenuous and dishonest political strategy work? I doubt it. Because we cannot forget his similar political ploy in Lafayette Square. On June 1, Trump had the police and the Attorney General clear away peaceful protestors with tear gas. Then Trump strolled down to St. Johns Church and held up a Bible. This was a dastardly show of political shenanigans, to be sure. It wasn’t a full movie, but it was a short clip—all planned and orchestrated by Donald Trump on national TV. But instead of looking strong and presidential, it backfired and he looked awkward and weak and pathetic.

Trump is beyond desperate because he knows he is losing in his run for re-election. What does that mean for a malignant narcissist? It means that his “Wag the Dog 2.0” will begin showing up in many other cities going forward. When malignant narcissists are threatened or confronted or denied, they tend to turn to a scorched earth mentality. That’s what our president is doing. He does not care how many confrontations his troops provoke, especially if he thinks he is profiting from them politically.

This is Donald Trump’s psychopathology playing itself out in living color. This is a movie director sitting back and watching his cynical script play out in our cities and with our citizens.

Donald Trump does not care about you or me. All he cares about is winning re-election by any means, no matter how harmful and injurious to the citizens he is sworn by oath to be protecting.

I predict that the day after the election on Nov 3, all of these provoked confrontations in the cities will magically disappear. Why? Because Trump’s “Wag the Dog 2.0” won’t be needed any longer. The election will be over.

Trump’s political strategy is both cynical and dangerous.

This isn’t about protestors at all. This is about Donald Trump’s attempt to distract us from the undeniable truth: that he is inept, dishonest, divisive, and unpresidential.

Alan D. Blotcky, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Birmingham, Alabama.