Characterology

If you are looking beyond stupidity and narcissism for Trump's complacency during the pandemic's early days, here's David Corn in Mother Jones on his fatalism:"In a 1990 interview with Playboy, he was asked to describe his “longer-term views of the future.” Trump replied, “I think of the future, but I refuse to paint it. Anything can happen. But I often think of nuclear war.” He then explained that he thought nuclear war was inevitable: “I believe the greatest of all stupidities is people’s believing it will never happen…What bullshit.” In other interviews, Trump has indicated nuclear war was likely to occur. On one occasion, he noted that because of this he preferred to “really live very much for the present.”And if you are looking for an explanation for his seeming vindictiveness towards not just blue state governors but the blue states themselves, there's this:"In a 2007 speech, he noted his first rule of business: “It’s called ‘Get Even.’ Get even. This isn’t your typical business speech. Get even. What this is is a real business speech. You know in all fairness to Wharton, I love ’em, but they teach you some stuff that’s a lot of bullshit. When you’re in business, you get even with people that screw you. And you screw them 15 times harder.”And what is the presidency if not a family business? He sees the political class as his employees and the rest of us as customers. If we're not his customers, then we're his enemies. It's as if Coke was doing all that it could to ensure that Pepsi drinkers die.