The 'Shared Psychosis' of Donald Trump and His Loyalists | Scientific American (2021)


https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-shared-psychosis-of-donald-trump-and-his-loyalists/

What attracts people to Trump? What is their animus or driving force?

The reasons are multiple and varied, but in my recent public-service book, Profile of a Nation, I have outlined two major emotional drives: narcissistic symbiosis and shared psychosis.
….The leader, hungry for adulation to compensate for an inner lack of self-worth, projects grandiose omnipotence while the followers, rendered needy by societal stress or developmental injury, yearn for a parental figure.

…..When a highly symptomatic individual is placed in an influential position, the person's symptoms can spread through the population through emotional bonds, heightening existing pathologies and inducing delusions, paranoia and propensity for violence even in previously healthy individuals.

Why does Trump himself seem to gravitate toward violence and destruction?

…When mental pathology is accompanied by criminal-mindedness, however, the combination can make individuals far more dangerous than either alone.

…..Trump is now living through an intolerable loss of respect: rejection by a nation in his election defeat. Violence helps compensate for feelings of powerlessness, inadequacy and lack of real productivity."