Former head profiler for the CIA warns of Trump's "dangerous charisma".

Dr Jerold Post was the director for the CIA's Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior and was with the agency for 21 years and five US Presidents. The examples of Trump's behavior and how that behavior incites Trump's followers is frightening. This isn't some professional TV psychologist like Dr Phil. Dr Post is a psychiatrist who was incharge of the CIA's analyzing foreign leaders for two decades.

We need to fear Trump but, in my opinion, we need to fear Trump's followers as much or more.

From the link:

As someone who has profiled political leaders, how would you assess Donald Trump?

If one were to subtract from the ranks of political leaders all those with significant narcissistic personality features, the ranks would be perilously impoverished. I see Donald Trump as representing the quintessential narcissist. Using that phrase, though, is not to make a diagnosis, but to say he has a preponderance of these traits. Someone such as Donald Trump with that trait has no capacity to empathize with others, no constraints of conscience. Donald Trump also demonstrates a paranoid orientation. Whenever anything goes wrong, there is someone to blame.


In terms of a narcissistic injury, Donald Trump projects strength because he is in fact so weak inside. Trump’s supporters also feel weak and therefore they want to project strength as well — and that is why they are so devoted to Trump.

That is part of the ideal-hungry personality of his followers. But we should also note that there are two types of charisma in terms of leaders. One is the destructive charismatic leader who gains followers by polarization and by identifying an enemy. The other type is a more idealizing charisma, which both Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi represented. They are pulling together big crowds of followers but are doing so for positive goals. Charisma is a very powerful force when it's for the good.

By comparison, the dangerous, destructive charismatic leader polarizes and identifies an outside enemy and pulls his followers together by manipulating their common feelings of victimization.


https://www.salon.com/2019/12/02/former-cia-profiler-jerrold-post-on-donald-trumps-dangerous-charisma/

don't we all know that he's a weak, insecure, pathetic person who attracts other weak, insecure, pathetic people?

not to understate Dr. Post's contribution to society, but it seems like common sense.

(admittedly, 'common sense' isn't overly common these days).