Most people have wondered why Donald Trump behaves in such an unorthodox manner. He has, for example, defied the judgement of both U.S. foreign policy community and its closest allies by withdrawing from the Iran Nuclear deal. Cable television pundits pose many explanations – most of which rely on his personal dispositions rather than the external rewards or pressures he may be facing.
Some observers who favor this dispositional basis to explain and perhaps predict his future behavior have suggested that he is acting out of a sycophancy toward authoritarian leaders like Putin. Others have suggested that he is driven by a desire to denigrate Barack Obama’s accomplishments. And still others point to Trump’s lack of self-discipline and maturity as the reason for his behavior.
Some observers who favor this dispositional basis to explain and perhaps predict his future behavior have suggested that he is acting out of a sycophancy toward authoritarian leaders like Putin. Others have suggested that he is driven by a desire to denigrate Barack Obama’s accomplishments. And still others point to Trump’s lack of self-discipline and maturity as the reason for his behavior.
This dispositional justification is based the belief that Trump’s cravings or personality disorders are responsible for his behavior. Trump has certainly displayed many psychopathic traits, such as being callous and showing a lack of empathy; showing a lack of social emotions such as shame, guilt, and embarrassment; blaming others for things for which they are responsible; being untruthful and overconfident, being impulsive; being selfish, and being unable to anticipate the future and plan for it.
These dispositional explanations for his behavior based on his internal disposition have merit. Psychologists continue to describe the elements of Trump’s behavior that fit various psychological disorders. People who have known Trump for years point out what they call the deterioration in his verbal capacity and wonder if his mental capacity has also declined. Coupled with these indicators of possible age-related mental deterioration, dispositional explanations for Trump’s pattern of erratic and impulsive behavior are certainly understandable. Other explanations, however, based on the stresses and rewards offered by the situations in which Trump has found himself also have merit. The “Steel Dossier,” a collection of memos on Trump’s activities in Russia, recounts how Russian intelligence services enticed him to become an asset through both blackmail and financial rewards from 1987 through the election. In spy jargon, an asset is a person who is a member of an organization or country who, willingly or unwillingly, provides information or other aid to an adversary of his organization or country. Due to poor business practices and lavish lifestyle, Trump went through several bankruptcies that ruined his ability to borrow from U.S. banks. The Steel Dossier and other journalists’ reports indicate that Russia stepped into this financial vacuum and became the major source of money laundered funds for Trump’s real estate projects.
While we don’t yet have definitive evidence that Russian intelligence succeeded in recruiting Trump, we do know that Russia and Vladimir Putin benefitted from Trump’s acts. As a result of withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, Putin benefits immediately from an increase the price of petroleum products, Russia’s only viable exports. In addition, Putin has been frantic to have the economic sanctions placed on Russia by the western alliance removed. The bite of these sanctions is due to the collaboration between the U.S. and its European allies. Withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris Climate Accords, and other acts, such as the imposition of tariffs, have strained relations between the U.S. and its western allies. As a result the accord on which the sanctions against Russia are based is also weakened. In addition, Putin also benefits from weakening the U.S., the leading democratic republic in the world, and further legitimizing authoritarian countries like Russia.
Most observers seem almost morbidly reluctant to consider Trump’s situationism as a motive for his behavior. Given the Russian interest in recruiting Trump as an asset and the benefits Russia has derived from his leadership it seems highly possible that Trump is a Russian asset. Nonetheless, observers seem extremely reluctant to consider this possibility. This reluctance is so extreme that when confronted with the possibility that Trump is an asset and a traitor, one cable news commentator argued that because the US is not at war with Russia, Trump cannot be a traitor or asset.
This reluctance may be an attempt to normalize political life following its disruption by Trump’s election. Some people may be trying to ignore a distressing and chilling event. Others may not be able to see the horrific implications of slowly developing events. Another possibility is that some people may be guilty of “social loafing;” we are waiting for someone else to do some social task we should be doing, such as calling for emergency responders. Specifically, we may waiting for Mueller to take out our trash. We know how that usually ends even though in this case we don’t want to admit that Mueller is not likely to save us. Finally, some of us may fear that because Trump cannot be stopped with platitudes and reason, we will have to mount an all-out war against him and undertake actions that make us uncomfortable. For example, we may not be able to choose our allies or candidates based on our principles, but rather on because they are the only ones who can stop Trump.
Trump may very well have severe psychological problems. Those problems may be the reason why he found himself in situations that led to treasonous behavior like becoming a Russian asset. Certainly not all assets are exemplars of mental health. The Russian intelligence service may be using Trump’s psychopathic dispositions to help create the situation in which Trump can destroy the U.S.
These dispositional explanations for his behavior based on his internal disposition have merit. Psychologists continue to describe the elements of Trump’s behavior that fit various psychological disorders. People who have known Trump for years point out what they call the deterioration in his verbal capacity and wonder if his mental capacity has also declined. Coupled with these indicators of possible age-related mental deterioration, dispositional explanations for Trump’s pattern of erratic and impulsive behavior are certainly understandable. Other explanations, however, based on the stresses and rewards offered by the situations in which Trump has found himself also have merit. The “Steel Dossier,” a collection of memos on Trump’s activities in Russia, recounts how Russian intelligence services enticed him to become an asset through both blackmail and financial rewards from 1987 through the election. In spy jargon, an asset is a person who is a member of an organization or country who, willingly or unwillingly, provides information or other aid to an adversary of his organization or country. Due to poor business practices and lavish lifestyle, Trump went through several bankruptcies that ruined his ability to borrow from U.S. banks. The Steel Dossier and other journalists’ reports indicate that Russia stepped into this financial vacuum and became the major source of money laundered funds for Trump’s real estate projects.
While we don’t yet have definitive evidence that Russian intelligence succeeded in recruiting Trump, we do know that Russia and Vladimir Putin benefitted from Trump’s acts. As a result of withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, Putin benefits immediately from an increase the price of petroleum products, Russia’s only viable exports. In addition, Putin has been frantic to have the economic sanctions placed on Russia by the western alliance removed. The bite of these sanctions is due to the collaboration between the U.S. and its European allies. Withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris Climate Accords, and other acts, such as the imposition of tariffs, have strained relations between the U.S. and its western allies. As a result the accord on which the sanctions against Russia are based is also weakened. In addition, Putin also benefits from weakening the U.S., the leading democratic republic in the world, and further legitimizing authoritarian countries like Russia.
Most observers seem almost morbidly reluctant to consider Trump’s situationism as a motive for his behavior. Given the Russian interest in recruiting Trump as an asset and the benefits Russia has derived from his leadership it seems highly possible that Trump is a Russian asset. Nonetheless, observers seem extremely reluctant to consider this possibility. This reluctance is so extreme that when confronted with the possibility that Trump is an asset and a traitor, one cable news commentator argued that because the US is not at war with Russia, Trump cannot be a traitor or asset.
This reluctance may be an attempt to normalize political life following its disruption by Trump’s election. Some people may be trying to ignore a distressing and chilling event. Others may not be able to see the horrific implications of slowly developing events. Another possibility is that some people may be guilty of “social loafing;” we are waiting for someone else to do some social task we should be doing, such as calling for emergency responders. Specifically, we may waiting for Mueller to take out our trash. We know how that usually ends even though in this case we don’t want to admit that Mueller is not likely to save us. Finally, some of us may fear that because Trump cannot be stopped with platitudes and reason, we will have to mount an all-out war against him and undertake actions that make us uncomfortable. For example, we may not be able to choose our allies or candidates based on our principles, but rather on because they are the only ones who can stop Trump.
Trump may very well have severe psychological problems. Those problems may be the reason why he found himself in situations that led to treasonous behavior like becoming a Russian asset. Certainly not all assets are exemplars of mental health. The Russian intelligence service may be using Trump’s psychopathic dispositions to help create the situation in which Trump can destroy the U.S.