“I'm comfortable with anything after the fact.”
- Author: George Saunders
George Saunders (born December 2, 1958) is an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and novels. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, McSweeney's, and GQ. He also contributed a weekly column, American Psyche, to The Guardian's weekend magazine between 2006 and 2008.
There is still ongoing speculation on Adolf Hitler’s mental state, there wasn’t an autopsy on his brain which might have helped in the mystery. There were no doubt concerns about him by many prior to the excessive destruction and loss of life he brought, but the knowledge was much more rudimentary at that time of the brain and its health. Today we know much more in those who submit to honest, professional diagnosis and tests. Yet we seem to have similar concerns today about our leaders or potential leaders as the Germans may have had almost a century ago. Trump’s behavior cannot be termed as normal by any honest broker. The Memorial Day message from him, similar to most of his writing is unsettling to read, to say the least. I have shared my thoughts below on this message, with a verse, trying to see it all “from thirty thousand feet,” so to speak.
First is a little about Adolf Hitler from a 2015 paper, with hypothesis for understanding the abnormality of this man. The jury is still out of course in this instance. The uncertainty is always the threat in my opinion. It would be most helpful if a post disaster forensic study will not have to completed with the next person occupying our White House.
There is almost irrefutable evidence that leads one ineluctably to assume that Adolf Hitler suffered from Parkinsonism, though there is much debate about its precise nature. Judging by descriptions of the symptoms from those who were close to him and who followed him till his last days, the possibility of post-encephalitic Parkinsonism seems to be high on the card. The nature of his personality raises serious questions whether he truly suffered from the nonmotor symptoms of Parkinsonism as well. Paranoid delusions, persecution mania, and selfish and narcissistic attitude characterized him to his final days and contrasting attitudes towards the Jews and animals point towards a serious personality disorder, as suggested by a number of researchers. It is difficult to assess how much damage did amphetamine and other curious agents prescribed by Morrell, caused to him.
Additionally, Hitler was prone to lose his temper at the slightest provocation. This happened after 1918 and the rage attacks were similar to those described in post-encephalitic Parkinsonism.
B. Dahlerus, a Swedish businessman, came in close contact with Hitler in 1939 and observed, ‘Suddenly Hitler, stopped and stared into space. His voice became hollow and his whole behavior seemed quite abnormal. He said, ’ If there is a war, I will build U-boats! U-boats! U-boats! ... I will build airplanes! Airplanes! Airplanes! ... I will build airplanes! Airplanes! Airplanes!’ Lieberman, however, adds that whether this was an instance of Hitler's oratorical skill and rhetorical flourish is difficult to make out.
“Distrust of others entered into the routines of Hitler's life. Borderline personalities consider about themselves especially privileged persons, selfish, and narcissistic; they often display a contradiction between an inflated concept of themselves. Patients exhibit dramatically opposing personality traits: they are cruel and kind, sentimental and hard, creative and destructive.”
Many authorities feel that this dichotomy in his behavior of unrepentant ruthlessness on one hand and tender compassion on the other hand, is indicative of borderline personality disorder. Later in his life, he developed a perverse distrust towards his closest associates and it has been suggested that the disease turned Hitler into a hurried man, which might had led him compulsively to invade Soviet Russia at a critically miscalculated and wrong time. Theo Morrell, Hitler's personal physician, administered amphetamine; which might have resulted in paranoia, loss of impulse control, lack of concentration, disorganization of thought, lack of insight, and inability to carry out daily activities.
From Mary L. Trump’s substack writing:
It should surprise absolutely no one that in the wake of Donald’s promise of “death and destruction” if the D.A. dared arrest him, and his characterization of Bragg as a “degenerate psychopath” (ah, projection), and worse, the D.A.’s office has been flooded with racist death threats including the use of the N-word. One email ended, “Remember we are everywhere and we have guns.” This is what Donald unleashes at every opportunity. We can only hope the judge puts a stop to this insanity before it gets completely out of control.
Mary L. Trump is a niece of Donald J. Trump and a trained mental health expert.
And from the New Republic from July 2020 and Mary Trump:
And Mary is not shy about diagnosing her uncle. Too Much and Never Enough is full of explanations for Trump’s behavior: abandonment issues, narcissism (a common theme in these psychological explorations), stunted emotional growth, caffeine dependence. All of these have combined to form a 74-year-old toddler who just happens to be the most powerful person on the planet.
We must remember that talk of the possible use of the 25th Amendment was discussed among Trump’s cabinet at various time according to reporting. Several were reported to be particularly concerned on and around January 6, 2021, for obvious reasons. It should be noted that on Twitter at this time are many Trump supporters stating that Joe Biden’s cabinet invoke the 25th Amendment, in the their usual unsubstantiated, copycating and projecting manner.
25TH AMENDMENT
Presidential Disability and Succession
Section 4
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
The real danger in Donald Trump is of course in his irrational followers, and what acts they are willing to do emboldened by their cult leader’s pathological ways. From Truth Social, some examples in the image below:
So I end my mishmash of information in response to another untethered social media post from the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 election. It has all been normalized too much, Trump’s behavior and that of his followers. There might not be an antidote for it, as normal people wish to live normal lives. But sounding the alarm, over and over, seems to be the only alternative. Trump can’t be put back into the presidency and the nation survive. Ron DeSantis is certainly a threat as well, but most likely his pathological leanings are not to the degree as Trump’s in degeneracy. This statement is in my opinion, I haven’t seen of anyone of expertise really analyzing the DeSantis mind yet publicly. I’m hopeful someone will do this.
33rd posting, May 30, 2023