Getting Confirmed

Last week, I wrote an article here where I explained why I thought President Biden challenging Trump to a debate was a great thing for numerous reasons.  But at the top of the list was when I wrote --
 
“But I think one of the reasons Trump is polling as well as he’s been is that it’s early in the campaign, the general public, other than MAGOPs and news junkies, hasn’t seen Trump all that much, most especially at rallies, when he is especially dark, dystopian and failing mentally – notably mixing up words in ways psychiatrists call paraphasia, one of early signs of dementia -- and to a large degree many people have likely forgotten how disruptive Trump is.  Putting Trump on a debate stage, where he can be asked tough questions which he hasn’t had to answer for four years at his rallies and avoiding tough interviews and bypassing all the Republican debates, where he can be triggered by Biden, and where the public can see his mental failing is critically important to remind voters and show voters who Trump is today and all the baggage he carries.”
 
Further, I wrote that because Trump being Trump can’t help himself, he will show himself to be petulant and unable to control himself and break the agreed upon rules.  And ended the piece by writing --
 
“I am sure that the Biden team will be preparing to trigger Trump every way possible.  Which is braindead easy, starting with saying, ‘Trump was wrong.’ 
 
“And in the end, troubling too for Trump is his mental issues, which are very real, are not going to be getting better.”
 
What I’ve read about Trump and paraphasia has come from a great many psychiatrists and psychologists, including a book published several years ago on Trump’s mental issues, notably malignant narcissism, for which a wide range of doctors participated.  But the leading psychologist who’s addressed the issue is John Gartner, who studies malignant narcissism, and is a former professor at John Hopkins University.
 
So, it was with great pleasure that I read an article on Sunday in the Washington Post by Jennifer Rubin titled “How Biden’s debate performance could blow open the race:  He needs to goad Trump to be Trump, while reassuring voters about his own fitness for another term.”  (You can read the full, very interesting article here.) And one of those she interviewed was…John Gartner.
 
But what most pleased me was when Dr. Gartner said –
 
“I don’t think he’s capable of sustaining 90 minutes of unstructured conversation at night under stress without slipping. When he does, Biden should pounce on it and shine a light on Trump’s thought disorder in real time.”
 
To which Rubin added, “He suggests that Biden be super-aggressive and call out his opponent’s more disturbing statements (e.g., saying of Trump, ‘What kind of person runs for president to threaten revenge?’)”
 
She also interviewed Dr. Gartner’s partner on a podcast they do on Trump’s mental issues, “Shrinking Trump.”  Harry Segal is a senior lecturer in psychology at Cornell University.  And he told Rubin, “Biden needs to remember that the more Trump feels attacked, the more angry he gets.” And he added, “when Trump gets angry, his speech becomes tangential, disorganized and sometimes hard to follow.”
 
So, I feel comforted being confirmed in my thoughts on all this by renowned experts who believe, as well, that as long as Trump keeps to his word and debates, it could be extremely bad for him.

Obviously, it's always an uncertainty about Trump keeping his word.  I wrote that, while I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't debate, I do think it's more likely than not that he will.  In part because he was so ridiculing in his “any place time, any place” taunt of President Biden – and similarly, because President Biden taunted him in return on several levels.

Dr. Gartner feels differently.  “I honestly believe Trump won’t debate because he can’t, and he knows it,” he says. “Just like he wants to testify, and wanted to release his tax returns, but ‘they’ won’t let him, he’ll announce the debates are rigged, make some impossible demand, and go to a rally — his safe space — instead.”  That's highly possible, though it comes with the downside of being painted as a coward after swaggering that he'll debate "anywhere, anytime."  (And I'll add that testifying in court and releasing your taxes have legal ramifications, while debating doesn't).  However, if Trump does show up, Gartner says, “Biden has a huge opportunity, if he has the killer instinct to take full advantage of it.”

Will he have that "killer instinct"?  I don't know, but I do think Biden has gotten to the point where he truly hates Trump for being a lying, crazy fascist and sees him as the literal threat to democracy that he is.  And further, most-especially with that in mind, I suspect that President Biden will be overwhelmingly prepared for triggering Trump at every chance he gets.

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