Donald Trump’s estranged and highly insightful niece, the psychologist Mary Trump, has said and written much about her sociopathic uncle and his mental state. Herbookis quite something to read. And she has spoken often about Trump and narcissistic injury, and what could happen if something were to really break him.
I think we’re there. And it’s only Day 1 of a long, long stretch of hell for him.
There’s a lot of chatter about reporters’ descriptions of Trump falling asleep while sitting in his courtroom seat. This happened to our 77 year old criminal defendant for one of two** reasons (or both): (1) he slept very poorly, if he slept at all, the night before — or (2) he was abruptly weaned off whatever he’s taking for “energy”, be it Adderall or harder stuff.
(**Minor update: many commenters are saying that, actually, it’s quite common for seniors to doze off sitting upright if they are bored or just not engaged with what’s happening around them. This could be the simplest reason for Trump dozing off in court. Yet I’m going with (1) lack of sleep as at least part of it; we all have seen the noctural rage-posting he does, and aides have long said Trump stays up at night addicted to the Internet.)
Why might he have slept poorly again this past night? Six reasons, off the top of my head,
- He’s looking down the barrel of just this trial and realizing IT IS REAL. His life until now has been a reckless spree of wealth, entitlement, arrogance and personal freedom. Now, despite his wealth and his status as a past US President, the long arm of the law is forcing him to sit there in that courtroom, all day, four days a week, for at least six weeks and probably longer. The law owns him now— and this has got to be a profound sense of shock to someone like Trump.
- He got his first close-up look at the jury selection process, and understood more viscerally that jurors are being chosen if they express a belief that everyone is equal under the law — and being rejected if they express a belief that Trump is exalted, special, superior in how the justice system should treat him. This is a core belief he has been carrying — and he just saw face to face that in the eyes of the justice system, it’s not true. Adding insult to injury, the judge denied Trump the freedom to skip a court day next week to go down to DC and try to argue his belief that he should be granted immunity from all prosecution. That’s right — request denied.
- Not only does Trump have to sit there all day on
Monday Tuesday Wednesday ThursdayMonday Tuesday Thursday Friday (thanks to a commenter for the correction) of the next several weeks — there will be a cadre of reporters reporting to the world what Trump looks like, how he behaves, what his mood or energy level seems like. He got his first taste of this aspect of his new hell yesterday, when he discovered that it had been reported worldwide that he fell asleep during some moments of the morning’s routing proceedings. And he was furious. And he knows this kind of “fishbowl on the world stage” dynamic is firmly in place for him for the next several weeks, and there is nothing he can do about it.
- While Trump was having a horrible Day 1 in the courtroom, he was also surely aware afterward that his Truth Social stock situation collapsed hard yesterday (Monday). Down another 17% or so, in just one day. With more collapse very likely to come.
- Trump desperately needs to win the Presidency in order to try to avoid sentencing and imprisonment. This is only the first of several potential trials and possible convictions. He is also likely to face lengthy trials re: Jan 6 insurrection-mob incitement/attempt to forcefully overturn a US election; Georgia state election interference (a RICO case); and the theft and mishandling of the highest-level US government classified documents. So in his mind, he desperately needs to win this election. But to win, he needs to campaign. Can’t do that right now, can he. Meanwhile… President Biden can campaign. And President Biden will be doing so.
- Unlike Obama before him and Biden after him, in a time of extreme stress and need, Trump does not have a beloved spouse and partner whom he can turn to for support. After all, this trial is about him falsifying business records to interfere with an election, but the reason that happened is that he schtupped a porn star and sex worker while his wife Melania was about to give birth to her first and only child with him. And this became worldwide knowledge, very humiliating for Melania. Never a warm one to begin with, from the moment “Stormy Daniels” became a commonly known phrase, Melania really turned up the arctic chill toward the man she only married for money and everybody knows it. So every night after night after night, Trump is alone.
As many of us are pointing out repeatedly — Donald Trump’s age sort of flies under the radar beneath all the talk about Joe Biden’s age. But let’s reconsider it now. Donald Trump turns 78, two months from now, in June. Age 78. That is not the best age to be trying to claw his way back to the US Presidency after being defeated the last time by the same man he’s now running against — while simultaneously facing a lengthy, profoundly unpleasant trial as a criminal defendant while the whole world watches and reporters report it out to the world if he glowers, glares, shouts, yells, or nods off to sleep for a minute.
I am now more optimistic that this situation could finish Trump off politically. But more than that — the odds are considerably greater than zero that this trial finishes Trump off literally. Either in mind (already in tatters) or in body.