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On the Trump Effect: Breaking Our Traumatic Bond

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Donald Trump is creating a “traumatic bond” with our country, as all narcissists do. He wounds us and then he pretends to have the answers that will heal that wound. He offers to “make American great” while he is currently ripping it apart.

On February 7, 2016 I wrote a piece for this site entitled, “The Cult of Whiteness: On #OscarsSoWhite, Donald Trump, and The End of America” That was only a month ago, before a black protester was punched in the face at a Trump rally, and another rally was canceled in Chicago for fear of even greater violence. Now I, like most of the people I know, are watching what is happening in this election with increasing horror, sometimes feeling powerless over the phenomenon that is Donald Trump.   

And let be clear: when Donald Trump talks about the “good ol’ days” what he is referring to is the Antebellum South or pre-Civil Rights Movement America. When he says “these people are bringing us down,” “they contribute nothing,” and they are “disruptive” and “troublemakers”, that is code for “welfare queens” and “uppity niggers.”

When he speaks about people being “carried out on a stretcher” or “ripped out of that seat before all this political correctness” and that once upon a time “they were treated rough and when they protested once, they wouldn’t do it again” he’s talking about the lynching of black Americans, apartheid, crosses burning on front lawns, and the use of racist terror and retaliation to control resistance.

I would love to see a panel or news program that brings together both survivors of the Holocaust and Southern Jim Crow to talk about what is happening in our country right now and to guide us. We can’t go backwards now, and we may have to take to the streets.  And yet, I was thinking today: if this is how Trump The Candidate responds to those who demonstrate at his rallies, how will a “President Trump” respond to those who publicly protest his policies?

What we are witnessing with Donald Trump and his relationship to his followers is a textbook example of pathological narcssism in action. This has moved beyond simply casting a vote for a political candidate. Something is happening at these rallies that is both mesmerizing and deeply fascinating.

Donald Trump is creating a “traumatic bond” with our country, as all narcissists do. He wounds us and then he pretends to have the answers that will heal that wound. He offers to “make American great again” while he is currently ripping it apart. He uses grandiose generalizations on his audiences and they get high on his bromides and promises, as he talks about winning and how everything is going to “terrific”. It is a corrupt love affair – the kind that is always too good to be true.

If you’ve ever been in a romantic relationship with a pathological narcissist then you know that they are incredibly charismatic, that the relationship gives you a “lift” that is almost like a drug and it is wonderfully exhilarating – until it isn’t.

Then one day you assert yourself, you disagree, you criticize his behavior and he turns on you. His reaction may range from ridicule to abusive language to outright violence. Pathological narcissists will do anything, ANYTHING, to keep from feeling the deep shame that is at the core of all narcissistic behavior. This is one of the reasons why Trump is so dangerous as a leader. We can’t have a president who sees disagreement of any kind as a personal affront. This will be the end of American diplomacy – what little we have left.

What Trump is offering his audience is very similar to what Jim Jones preached to the People’s Temple before they moved to Guyana in 1978 and were mass murdered by him (I will not call it suicide). The Guyana tragedy, over 900 people, was the largest single loss of American life due to a deliberate act until 9/11 in 2001. Before the tragedy, unspeakable things occurred in Jim Jones’ “church” and in Jonestown because people were under his hypnotic control and as a result of his encouragement.

The man who punched the protester at Trump’s rally is responsible for what he did and I hope he is punished, but Donald Trump threw that punch – it was absolutely his force and rage behind it. And we are going to see acts that are similarly out of control in proportion to Trump’s megalomania if he isn’t stopped through voting.

My point is, Trump is not offering political ideology, like Clinton, Sanders, or even, to a very limited extent, Cruz. He is creating a religion, with himself at the center, as both God and Jesus Christ (as martyr). When we compare Trump to Hitler, it is not Hitler “the politician” we should focus on, but the charismatic leader who moved and excited audiences with his nationalist pride while using military force to act out his nefarious and genocidal plans. Some were delighted in Germany when Hitler came to power (“winning” “stability” “leadership” “strength”), others were indifferent to the plight of the Jews, but there were also many that were bewildered by what was happening around them until it was simply too late. (I wouldn’t be surprised if Donald starts initiating children’s groups soon on his behalf – Trump’s Youth.)

We’ve come too far, even with all of the disappointments and setbacks we face on this planet, to have to live through this again. The only way to end a relationship with a pathological narcissist is to stop returning his calls.

#WeveBeenHereBefore  #NeverAgain  #WeShallOvercome  #Silence=Death

 

More By Max S. Gordon:

Bill Cosby, Himself: Fame, Narcissism and Sexual Violence

The Cult of Whiteness: On #OscarsSoWhite, Donald Trump, and The End of America

Maybe Yesterday, But Not Tonight: A Black Homosexual Speaks To Governor Mike Pence

 

Image by Darron Birgenheier via Flickr and a CC license

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‘People Are Really Angry’: Fury Over Musk and DOGE Triggers Spike in Calls to Congress

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Members of Congress say they are being flooded with calls from angry constituents about President Donald Trump’s Director of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, and what he is doing inside the federal government.

“Senators’ phone systems have been overloaded, lawmakers said, with some voters unable to get through to leave a message. The outpouring of complaints and confusion has put pressure on lawmakers to find out more about Musk’s project, heightening tensions between the billionaire tech mogul and the government,” The Washington Post reports.

Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska “said the Senate’s phones were receiving 1,600 calls each minute, compared with the usual 40 calls per minute. Many of the calls she’s been receiving are from people concerned about U.S. DOGE Service employees having broad access to government systems and sensitive information. The callers are asking whether their information is compromised and about why there isn’t more transparency about what is happening, she said.”

READ MORE: ‘Bring Him Back’: JD Vance Wants Musk to Rehire 25 Year Old DOGE ‘Kid’ After Racist Posts

On Monday, the Office of U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) said, “We’re receiving reports of phones being offline across the Senate. Our office is immediately at work to address the issue and get our phones online again.”

U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) called it, “a deluge on DOGE”

“Truly our office has gotten more phone calls on Elon Musk and what the heck he’s doing mucking around in federal government than I think anything we’ve gotten in years. … People are really angry,” she told The Post.

On social media, Senator Smith added, “Musk is unpopular because Americans can see that he’s running rampant inside the federal government and no one believes he’s doing this to help us — he’s doing it to help himself. That’s what corruption looks like. I’ve been getting more calls into my office in the last week than any time I can remember. People are mad about it and they should be.”

READ MORE: Trump Inherits Biden’s ‘Astonishing’ Jobs Legacy, But Prices Are Now Climbing on His Watch

“We can hardly answer the phones fast enough. It’s a combination of fear, confusion and heartbreak, because of the importance of some of these programs,” U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) told The Post, saying “he’s been hearing from constituents ‘constantly’ on DOGE and Musk.”

The surge of telephone calls appears to have been going on all week.

“Callers are getting busy signals and voicemail inboxes are full at many U.S. Senate offices as people try to reach out and voice their opinions on President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, executive orders and moves to dismantle various federal programs,” the Associated Press reported on Wednesday. “The influx of phone calls — which some in the Senate say are at unprecedented volumes — come as Trump and ally Elon Musk are working to shrink the federal government during the president’s first weeks in office. They are shuttering agencies, temporarily freezing funding and pushing workers to resign, all while staffers with Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency infiltrate departments in a stated effort to root out fraud and abuse.”

READ MORE: Pam Bondi Quietly Disbands DOJ Task Force Targeting Russian Oligarchs

 

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‘Bring Him Back’: JD Vance Wants Musk to Rehire 25 Year Old DOGE ‘Kid’ After Racist Posts

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Vice President JD Vance is under fire after encouraging Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk to re-hire the 25-year old whose racist posts led to his reported resignation.

The Wall Street Journal broke the story that a “key DOGE staff member who gained access to the Treasury Department’s central-payments system resigned Thursday after he was linked to a deleted social-media account that advocated racism and eugenics.”

“Marko Elez, a 25-year-old who is part of a cadre of Elon Musk lieutenants deployed by the Department of Government Efficiency to scrutinize federal spending, resigned after The Wall Street Journal asked the White House about his connection to the account,” the Journal reported.

According to The Journal, that account posted, “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool,” and, “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.”

READ MORE: Trump Inherits Biden’s ‘Astonishing’ Jobs Legacy, But Prices Are Now Climbing on His Watch

“Normalize Indian hate,” was another post, according to the Journal, which noted that it was “in reference to a post noting the prevalence of people from India in Silicon Valley.”

“The user appeared to have a special dislike for Indian software engineers,” the WSJ added.

That account also posted, according to the Journal, “I would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth.”

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee, wrote on X about the posts, and asked, “Does this not sound like someone shaped by the same ideology that fueled apartheid South Africa?”

U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) added, “Elon Musk thinks racism is OK, as long as Twitter says so. This man should not be anywhere near our government.”

Journalist Jay Bookman, a columnist for the Georgia Recorder, also weighed in. He wrote, “I wonder what made the kid think racism had suddenly become cool. Who was he hanging out with that would make him think such a curious thing? Elon, do you know?”

READ MORE: Pam Bondi Quietly Disbands DOJ Task Force Targeting Russian Oligarchs

Friday morning, Musk asked his 216 million followers on his social media site X, “Bring back @DOGE staffer who made inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym?”

As of this writing, 78% said “Yes.”

The Vice President, a Republican from Ohio, responded to Musk.

“Here’s my view,” Vance, unprompted, wrote. “I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life. We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever. So I say bring him back. If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that.”

Critics were quick to chastise the Vice President.

“Then bring him back! You’re the big tough guy with all the power now, right? (or at least you work with those two guys),” scolded former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau. “You don’t get to play the victim anymore and hide behind the mean journalists and the cancel culture libs. You’re in charge now. If you want to hire back the guy who says he’s ‘racist’ and couldn’t be paid to marry outside of his ethnicity – who said he wants to ‘normalize Indian hate’ – do it! Not sure I could look my family in the eye if I did something like that, but maybe you can. So live your truth, pal. Bring back the racist.”

Some were quick to remind Vance that his wife, who has faced attacks from white supremacists, is of Indian heritage.

Technology executive Anil Dash commented, “This is about the CRIME of giving this man access to the treasury — everyone already knows you don’t care about having your wife and children humiliated by your fellow MAGA racists. He’s not a child, and no one appointed him or the other known security threats at DOGE.”

Political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen added, “The husband of an Indian-American wife and the father of 3 Indian-American kids wants to bring back the staffer who posted “normalize Indian hate.”

Others rejected the idea that a 25-year old is just a “kid,” especially since those posts reportedly were made last year.

“He’s either a kid who is too young and stupid to be held accountable for his actions. Or he’s an adult with a taxpayer-funded job that includes having access to American’s most sensitive information, which demands a high standards and accountability. Can’t have it both ways,” noted The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell.

“So he’s a racist kid with no impulse control, but he should have access to the system that doles out trillions of dollars of the federal budget and see all of our personal information,” observed Daily KOS’s Emily C. Singer.

Others pushed back against Vance’s attack on the media, making clear that America has a right to know.

“Setting aside everything else (i.e. ‘kid’), it would seem to be in the public interest to understand whether someone with such a consequential job is a secret racist,” wrote The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake. “That’s what reporting is. People can react how they will. He’s not only in the arena; he’s a central player.”

“I get that there’s no shame and decency left,” economics writer Joey Politano said, “you can self ID as a racist eugenicist and still have insanely important roles in this admin, but the most insulting thing here is treating a 25 year old like a uwu smol bean child who can’t be held responsible for his actions.”

“A 25-year-old is not a kid. He made blatant and disgusting racist posts in the last few months,” commented veteran Jared Ryan Sears, who writes The Pragmatic Humanist. Quoting what someone said is not ‘ruining their life’ it is reporting. It is shameful to defend such a terrible person while demonizing a journalist for reporting about him.”

Former White House correspondent Sam Youngman offered a big picture view: “Too weak to stand up for his own family. Think he’ll stand up for yours?”

READ MORE: ‘Last Thing I Want Is That Guy’: Dem Warns Against Musk ‘Trying to Control the Airspace’

 

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Trump Inherits Biden’s ‘Astonishing’ Jobs Legacy, But Prices Are Now Climbing on His Watch

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The January jobs report has been released, showing unemployment remaining near historic lows. As President Donald Trump takes over, he is inheriting what one noted economist is calling President Joe Biden’s “astonishing” and “beautiful” jobs record and labor market. But beyond employment figures, key benchmarks, such as the prices of essential goods like eggs, coffee, and gas, are drawing attention—leading some to wonder if last year will be remembered as the actual “golden age” for everyday consumers.

“In many respects, Donald Trump inherited the “golden age” he claims to be ushering in. All he really needs to do is not screw it up,” Reuters editor-at-large Mike Dolan wrote two days after Trump’s inauguration. “In economic and financial terms, the United States has rarely been in better health.”

But President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and economic policies, and his promised “mass deportations,” coupled with his efforts to slash the federal government workforce, could come with strong financial and even personal health costs to everyday Americans.

For the month of January, the unemployment rate dropped, from 4.1% to 4%.

READ MORE: Pam Bondi Quietly Disbands DOJ Task Force Targeting Russian Oligarchs

“Except for January 1970, the unemployment rate is lower today than it was in *every single month* of the 1970s, 80s and 90s,” wrote portfolio manager Eddy Elfenbein. Professor of Economics Justin Wolfers, a frequent cable news guest, responded: “This is an astonishing (and beautiful) fact, and we really ought to celebrate it. The labor market is in terrific shape, and continuing to improve. If the economy continues its momentum (a big if, to be sure), the unemployment rate isn’t far from returning to its fifty year low.”

But according to The New York Times, the “fresh numbers suggest that the labor market may be losing momentum heading into the second administration of President Trump, whose policy agenda — including sharp cuts to federal payrolls and large-scale deportations of unauthorized migrants — could affect both employment and the availability of workers.”

During his campaign, President Trump vowed he would “immediately bring prices down, starting on day one.” That has not happened, and there is little to suggest he has made any tangible progress.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture now says the price of eggs will likely jump by 20 percent in 2025,” Politico reported this week. “An executive order Trump signed in January placed deregulation at the center of his cost-cutting strategy.”

The White House has suggested Trump’s energy policies will also lead to dramatic price drops for families.

“President Trump is already taking bold action to drive down costs with his executive actions to unleash American energy, and he is working diligently with Secretary Brooke Rollins to address the price of eggs,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Politico, the news outlet reported.

But the price of eggs is being directly impacted by a massive Bird Flu outbreak across the country, and it does not appear the Trump administration has taken steps to end it. Meanwhile, farmers have had to kill over 148 million birds, including chickens and ducks, to prevent the spread of the disease.

It could get worse.

“The White House is working on an executive order to fire thousands of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services workers, according to people familiar with the matter,” The Wall Street Journal reported in an exclusive on Thursday. “The job cuts under consideration would affect the Department of Health and Human Services, which employs more than 80,000 people and includes the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in addition to the FDA and CDC.”

READ MORE: ‘Last Thing I Want Is That Guy’: Dem Warns Against Musk ‘Trying to Control the Airspace’

“The agencies,” WSJ added, “are responsible for a range of functions, from approving new drugs to tracing bird-flu outbreaks and researching cancer. A loss of staff could affect the efforts depending on which workers are cut and whether they are concentrated in particular areas.”

Politico adds, “The White House has in recent days taken drastic steps to reorganize USAID and strip the embattled agency of its autonomy. USAID’s headquarters were closed Monday and Secretary of State Marco Rubio named its acting administrator. Trump doubled down on Tuesday, taking steps to put nearly all of the agency’s Washington-based staff on leave.”

“But shutting down an office that fights diseases worldwide will only mean prices stay high, Democrats argue.”

It appears the international health community is concerned.

“The US has the most cases of bird flu in humans globally,” the Financial Times reports. “Scientists have called for increased vaccination of farm workers and more efforts to stem the spread among farm animals as the H5N1 pathogen continues to infect cattle and chickens across the country.”

“It is arguably grossly irresponsible for the US authorities to allow such sustained high level of virus transmission in dairy cattle as this poses such a major threat to global human health,” Professor James Wood, an infectious diseases expert at the UK’s Cambridge University, told FT.

President Trump’s promise to lower the price of gas “on day one” has also not materialized.

“Amid the threat of tariffs, the national average for a gallon of gas ticked up two cents from last week to $3.13,” according to AAA on Thursday, which tracks gas prices.

In addition to Bird Flu and its impacts, there’s reason to believe food costs will continue to rise.

Bloomberg energy and commodities columnist Javier Blas reported Wednesday that “Wholesale Arabica coffee prices rise above $4 per lb in New York — an all-time high and more than double the level of a year ago.”

Blas says “just the threat” of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Columbia, the world’s third-largest coffee producer, “is enough to scare the market.”

And he’s predicting a “coffee inflation wave” for this year, and says retail coffee prices “are going to go up between 20% and 25% in the next few months.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Vows to Eradicate ‘Anti-Christian Bias,’ Says ‘We Have to Bring Religion Back’

 

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