Love of country, patriotism, public service? These are motivating factors in wanting to be President of the United States. They are also concepts that have no meaning in the mind of a narcissist
…because those motivations represent a concern for the lives of others and for the country as a whole. Those motivations are fueled by outward looking emotions like empathy and sympathy. Those emotions do not compute in the mind of a narcissist. They do not serve the overarching motivating force of narcissism, which is to feed ego.
Donald Trump has no interest in public service, or in actually doing any of the hard work that is part of occupying the office for which he would be elected. The complexity and nuance of being the President holds no interest for Donald Trump. If it did he would have shown that interest by involving himself in running for congress, or for the Senate, or for Mayor of New York, or for Governor of New York. But in fact, not only has he shown no interest in holding any office of government other than President of the United States. He scoffs at the very thought of doing so.
Years ago, when asked if he would consider running for Governor of New York, Trump laughed and said that if he were to run for office he would run for “the big one.” When asked to clarify what that meant he said that “the big one” meant President of the United States.
“The big one…” Have three words ever been more telling of someone’s perspective on the meaning of holding (and serving in…) public office?
Why then, you could ask, would Donald Trump decide to run for President if he doesn’t actually want to do the job. The answer is, quite simply, to garner the biggest win available to him in this, or any other country. If that sounds reductionist and oversimplified I would refer you to any of Trump’s books, or for that matter any of the major speeches that he has given. The central theme in all of which is “winning.”
Winning in Trumpworld, is THE end that justifies the means.
Donald Trump wants to win an election. Period. Full Stop.
Doing the real work of running the country and forming a public policy agenda both foreign and domestic, well that is what Mike Pence is for.
Scared yet? Well, you should be…