Beyond The Pale
Trumps's first impulse on learning of John McCain's death was apparently to show the dead man his finger. What is behind that malice, that venomous and childish spite?The first public inkling of Trump's incensed hatred of McCain came during an interview in 1999 with Dan Rather:In the 2016 campaign, Trump stupified the public when he proclaimed again that McCain was not a hero because he was captured when his plane was shot down. McCain was tortured, maimed and imprisoned by the North Vietnamese for over five years, even refusing an out-of-sequence early repatriation offer. Trump added this foolish and truly dastardly fillip: “I like people who weren’t captured,” A year after that McCain rescinded his endorsement of Trump only when the “Access Hollywood” grab-’em-by-the-pussy tape was finally released.in 1999 McCain had won this third Senate term and was preparing to run for U.S. President in 2000. During that period Trump was preparing to run for the Presidency in the Reform Party, though he ultimately ended his run for that party nomination. His rivalry—and increasingly obsessional hatred—with McCain apparently continued building.Each of these two men had critical moments over the Vietnam War. As everyone now knows Trump used his wealth and influence to obtain five deferments in order to avoid service in that war.McCain had trained as a naval pilot. During the Vietnam War in 1967, McCain was 30 years old when he was assigned to a bombing campaign, Operation Rolling Thunder. On his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam, his plane was shot down over Hanoi. McCain suffered injuries when he was ejected, almost drowned after he parachuted into a lake, and had his shoulder crushed by a North Vietnamese rifle butt. Then he was imprisoned and tortured, ultimately refusing early release until all other prisoners were released as well..
"I am 'not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!'"
.The worldview of McCain as a military hero, a senator, and a serious Presidential candidate was a respected celebratory status sharply contrasting with Trump's in 1999 and thereafter.Trump's apparently insatiable need for public adoration is almost equaled by his need for absolute loyalty from compeers.The source of this behavior toward McCain partly stems from Trump's narcissistic core: beyond the public display of arrogance, self-interest, entitlement, admiration seeking, and vanity lies a darker, deeper side of narcissism. The inflation that narcissists undergo is a massive defense against their sense of absolute empty worthlessness. This darker side only appears when the narcissistic balloon is pierced.People who challenge a narcissist's belief in his false front, genuine people like McCain, become the enemy. We have seen, of course, how Trump attacks every journalist who calls him out—essentially all the journalists except those on Fox News. All his formerly loyal henchmen—Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, David Pecker and the list will grow—have individually and collectively earned his severest opprobrium. He will lavish praise on those who pretend to believe in his veneer but when they turn away he cannot hold back his rage. Narcissists exist on a wobbly pedestal. When attacked they can only maintain their self-exalted height by either raising themselves higher (I am "not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!"). Failing that, the narcissist will attack the other in his most earnest attempt to reduce that person's stature below his.And when a narcissist fails to maintain his elevated state, the fall is a terrible thing to witness. and the fallout can be brutal.We should raise a toast as we watch the pedestal sway and tumble. Just hope the hard shattering substance of that pedestal doesn't spill on too many people.