4d ago

'Alcoholic’s personality': Trump's top aide compares him to her own drunk father

www.rawstory.com 'Alcoholic’s personality': Trump's top aide compares him to her own drunk father

President Donald Trump famously does not drink alcohol, but one of his top White House officials said his personality calls to mind her alcoholic father.White House chief of staff Susie Wiles gave a series of 11 interviews to Vanity Fair writer Chris Whipple, author of a well-regarded book on White ...

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"The star of The Apprentice couldn’t believe he was talking to the daughter of the great Pat Summerall. 'He’s said it a million times,' Wiles said. 'I judge people by their genes.’
There it is…
- Funny how all these anti-science fascists seem to be able to intuit people's genes without knowing the first thing about genetic science, or caring to learn. Almost like they're just using the word "genes" as a stand-in for superficial features like, to take a completely random example, skin color.
  
  It’s the essence of tribalism. Before genes it was blood. People were (are) judged by their names, style of dress, language, pallor, etc.
  Humans evolved to survive in small groups and identifying those in and out of the group was important. Now, we struggle to overcome those instincts.
- This makes a lot of sense. He’s a narcissist and knows his most valuable asset is his fucking name. So naturally he has to believe that genes are the most important factor in assessing someone’s quality, otherwise he’s just an old moron with a disastrous history of poor investments. But! He’s a Trump. So, therefore, he is awesome.
- God, he is just so fucking weird.
  
  It's like me judging people by how good they are at basketball. Firstly, terrible and stupid way to judge people, that says more about the judger than anyone else. But secondly, I fucking suck at basketball.

Does doing this emotional hyperbole damage valid criticism? Like, the dude touched kids, why are we still talking about whether he's a meanie?
Sometimes I think everyone's trying to help flood the zone on his behalf
- I suspect he did more than touch.

If only he'd do the classic drunk father move of going out for a pack of smokes and disappearing
- Or get into a fight while drunk and get shanked.
- Could he just ask someone to hold his beer and watch this already?

Wiles thought Trump was interesting and smart.
So how good a judge of character is she?

“'Some clinical psychologist that knows one million times more than I do will dispute what I’m going to say,'" Wiles said, according to Whipple. "'But high-functioning alcoholics or alcoholics in general, their personalities are exaggerated when they drink. And so I’m a little bit of an expert in big personalities.'"
"Wiles said Trump has 'an alcoholic’s personality,'" Whipple wrote. "He 'operates with] a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.'"
The triumph of the will, if you will. Leading to shooting oneself in a bunker.
- ...it's called narcissism. Calling it a "big personality" only normalizes this kind of toxic behavior.
  But you see this kind of excuse-making everywhere, not just in politics. It can often fly under the radar in some of the worst ways for mothers. Virtually everything Donvict does and says broadcasts to people with some life experience and normal brains: "avoid at all costs", because I think the culture is starting to do some catching up on at least the male manifestation of this.
  
  I very much think the country is in the same headspace of the family member whose dad is an active alcoholic / showing signs of dementia.
  A lot of denial, a lot of pretending, a lot of avoiding, some enabling, and some commiserating.

Hm, how long until she's ejected from her role?

Alcoholics tend to not make it to 79 though.
- Apparently a life style of cheeseburgers and amphetamines is healthier.

There’s a lot of illuminating info here, this small interview is actually a big deal.
- Fucking is it? How many more “big deals” does that stupid fucking country need before they actually do something?

Well, late stage demented people often act irrational, as do alcoholics. Maybe that's why this came up.

Sounds like her father was a raving asshole.

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