A delusional raging narcissist-in-chief with teenage resentment

Donald Trump

If indeed the spat between Donald Trump and William Barr is all an act, then either Republican senators have been taken in by it, or they’re in on it.[1] I can’t say I know which it is. But I think Jon Allsop’s analysis from a few days ago[2] isn’t out of date yet.

I think if pressed, I would have to guess that Trump just really is insane—I’ve been calling him a delusional raging narcissist-in-chief for a while. His current behavior reminds me of a teenaged boy who has figured out his parents can’t stop him from doing something and so he does it to spite them. And for him to have this understanding with Barr that Barr can protest and Trump can continue raging but Barr somehow preserves his credibility and that of the Department of Justice[3] just requires a lot more sophistication than I think Trump is capable of.

Burgess Everett and Marianne Levine, “Republicans plead with Trump to leave Barr alone,” Politico, February 19, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/19/republican-senate-barr-trump-116034


  1. [1]Burgess Everett and Marianne Levine, “Republicans plead with Trump to leave Barr alone,” Politico, February 19, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/19/republican-senate-barr-trump-116034
  2. [2]Jon Allsop, “Angry Barr and whether the press is getting played,” Columbia Journalism Review, February 14, 2020, https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/william_barr_roger_stone_trump.php
  3. [3]Jon Allsop, “Angry Barr and whether the press is getting played,” Columbia Journalism Review, February 14, 2020, https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/william_barr_roger_stone_trump.php

The impeachment own-goal

Donald Trump

Adam Serwer blasts the acquittal of Donald Trump in the Senate impeachment trial, the fealty that Trump demands and receives, and the implicit endorsement of Trump’s authoritarianism.[1] What resounds without him even saying it is that Nancy Pelosi scored an own-goal, one I must confess I did not foresee, in bringing the impeachment in the first place, that is, if you believe she wanted Trump successfully impeached in the first place.

I also think here of the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. It’s surely an imprecise analogy to say the least, as the U.S. already has an empire vast beyond Roman emperors’ wildest fantasies, effectively enlarged through institutions such as NATO, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, as well as through other “alliances.” But it may be time for me to dredge up the story of—if memory serves and if he has not been unduly lionized—Cicero.

Adam Serwer, “The First Days of the Trump Regime,” Atlantic, February 19, 2020, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/trump-regime/606682/


  1. [1]Adam Serwer, “The First Days of the Trump Regime,” Atlantic, February 19, 2020, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/trump-regime/606682/