Read this magazine BEFORE your next political discussion
… and go above the incessant ideological debate and explore the reality at the core of Trump’s inherent capabilities and psychological limitations
Four things you might not know
- “Fifty years of empirical research has allowed psychological scientists to establish the widely known “Big Five” definitions in identifying a persons personality and: “Across his lifetime, Donald Trump has exhibited a trait profile that you would not expect of a U.S. president: sky-high extroversion combined with off-the-chart low agreeableness.”
- “People low in agreeableness are described as callous, rude, arrogant, and lacking in empathy. If Donald Trump does not score low on this personality dimension, then probably nobody does … [and] cool rationality does not always seem to fit, probably because Trump’s disagreeableness appears so strongly motivated by anger.”
- “Indeed, anger may be the operative emotion behind Trump’s high extroversion as well as his low agreeableness. Anger can fuel malice, but it can also motivate social dominance, stoking a desire to win the adoration of others … The real psychological wild card, however, is Trump’s agreeableness—or lack thereof.”
- “He’s unlikely to shy away from risky decisions that, should they work out, could burnish his legacy and provide him an emotional payoff.”
(2 minute read)
The Mind of Donald Trump is a 10,000 word article (allow 1/2 hour) that provides a sound, in depth understanding of who Donald Trump really is, and it is a must read for anyone who gives a damn about understanding the man at the helm of the Good-Ship-America, which is loaded with more than 320 million passengers. Not to mention the accompanying boatloads of “friends and allies” from around the world.
This article was written in June 2016 and offers a candid and penetrating look into Trump’s psychological makeup and provides a framework in which we can asses Trump now, as he faces the reality – not the campaign myth – of leading the free world. Whether fearful of, or comfortable with Trump, this is a good place to start for anyone who wants to rise about the incessant political rancor and ideological arguments and intelligently and objectively analyze him.
Author
Dan P. McAdams is a professor of psychology and the director of the Foley Center for the Study of Lives at Northwestern University. He is the author of George W. Bush and the Redemptive Dream: A Psychological Portrait and The Art and Science of Personality Development.
Excerpts
photo: Atlantic-Mark Peterson/Redux
“Psychological research demonstrates that many narcissists come across as charming, witty, and charismatic upon initial acquaintance. They can attain high levels of popularity and esteem in the short term. As long as they prove to be successful and brilliant—like Steve Jobs—they may be able to weather criticism and retain their exalted status. But more often than not, narcissists wear out their welcome. Over time, people become annoyed, if not infuriated, by their self-centeredness. When narcissists begin to disappoint those whom they once dazzled, their descent can be especially precipitous. There is still truth today in the ancient proverb: Pride goeth before the fall.”
photo:Atlantic-Mark Peterson/Redux
“Who, really, is Donald Trump? What’s behind the actor’s mask? I can discern little more than narcissistic motivations and a complementary personal narrative about winning at any cost. It is as if Trump has invested so much of himself in developing and refining his socially dominant role that he has nothing left over to create a meaningful story for his life, or for the nation. It is always Donald Trump playing Donald Trump, fighting to win, but never knowing why.”
For the rest of the story … read the article, The Mind of Donald Trump. It’s well worth your time.
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Coming 2026
My personal history is the stuff they write books about. And that's what I am doing. The working title, "Chains of My Father: Marry White."
"The ghostly image of the tragic mulatto trapped between two worlds." - Barack Obama
This perspicacious line from the Prologue of Barack Obama's "Dream from My Father" wrenched my aspiration into action. I started writing, furiously. Unlike Obama's perspective, my pain had been for the opposite reason: I was not seen by whites as a "tragic mulatto," rather I lived every day of my childhood hoping whites were not "searching my eyes for some telltale sign" that I WAS mulatto. This is my story.
It's historical fiction because I cannot find enough records to substantiate all facets of the story. I've combed the genealogy, traveled to my father and grandmothers' birthplace, walked the graveyards, searched the churches and ... well, all the facts aren't there. I have written three books based on the genealogy of other families but my ancestors emerged from a journey that left too few records – slavery.
My paternal, great grandmother was a "freed slave." My grandmother, Amelia, was born to a mixed race slave named Mary (we do not know her last name) and a white, French plantation owner, the Count de Poullain, in Grenada, West Indies. Amelia was raised in the "Big House" and in adulthood, in an attempt to escape her black heritage disowned her mother, telling her, "Get out and never come back." Amelia, as a mother of twelve children, enshrined into the family commandments, "Marry white." Many did, including my father. My mother was a lovely, white, Anglo-Saxon protestant born in England. They met in Canada where my dad studied and became a doctor.
It has taken five generations for the descendants of Mary to free themselves from the stigma of their black heritage but today my children embrace it. Unfortunately, the past 250 years have been a wasteland of bigotry, racism and bullying. But, on closer look, we see not only the brutality, fear, violence, and murder but also the self-respect, dignity, love, kindness, perseverance and indomitable spirit.
As of the spring of 2025, the depth of historic perspective and the sweeping inspiration of oppressed people has created a two-volume duology of which I have only arrived at the middle of the 19th century. 1840 is the year my great grandfather was born, the beginning of Volume II, and he's pushing me to make sure our story is published by the summer of 2026.
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