Trump aide regularly asks friends to give him 'positive affirmations' to boost his self-esteem: report
Press conference by US President Donald Trump at the NATO Summit in Brussels. (NATO photo)

A new report from the Washington Post claims that former President Donald Trump lately has been in the need of some pick-me-ups in the form of friends who call and say nice things about him.

According to the Post, longtime Trump aide Molly Michael will sometimes call up his friends and ask "that they dial the former president to boost his spirits with positive affirmations," because otherwise he will become "restless."

During his presidency, Trump often expressed a desire to have others say nice things about him, no matter what that person's reputation was.

Among other things, Trump gushed about receiving compliments from Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he also boasted about the "love letters" he would receive from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

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This sort of behavior has led many professional psychologists to speculate that Trump suffers from narcissistic personality disorder, a condition that requires him to receive a constant stream of praise and admiration lest he suffer a psychological injury.

Many other psychologists have cautioned, however, that no one can make a formal diagnosis of the former president without personally interviewing him.