The schemes of the Democratic camp to steal the presidential election, the machines manipulated in the polling stations, all these stories, it was nonsense. “Crazy stuff,” according to former United States Attorney General William Barr.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
Crazy stuff. crazy stuff, in the text. To describe Donald Trump’s allegations, William Barr also used the words bullshit, absolute rubbish, idiotic, bogus and complete nonsense.
No need for translation to understand to what extent the Attorney General did not embark on his boss’s delirium.
Donald Trump, he seemed to believe in it hard as iron. “I was a little demoralized, because I was like, damn it, if he really believes this, he’s, you know, lost touch with…he’s become detached from reality,” Ms. Barr on Monday before the Jan. 6 commission investigating the assault on the Capitol.
photo archives Associated Press
William Barr, former United States Attorney General, in a video delivered to the January 6 commission hearings on Monday
One of two things: either Donald Trump didn’t really believe that the election had been stolen from him and was lying to Americans, or he had lost touch with the real world and clung to power because he sincerely believed himself victim of a terrible injustice.
But it doesn’t matter if he is a liar or sick: Donald Trump must not return to the White House in 2024.
It’s been the elephant in the room for a long time: the sanity of 45e President of the United States.
The media avoids speculating about this since they don’t know. It could be just that: guesswork. Psychiatrists avoid making diagnoses from a distance. In the United States, they absolutely do not have the right to do so.
Generally, it serves no purpose – except to insult those who suffer from mental illness. When he awkwardly compared the features of François Legault to those of a “narcissistic manipulator”, a few days ago, the Liberal candidate Mathieu Gratton harmed his image more than that of the Prime Minister.
And yet the question arises: does Donald Trump suffer from narcissistic personality disorder?
If so, that would explain why he is unable to accept any truth that would have the effect of undermining his (very high) self-esteem. On the evening of his defeat, his mind would have automatically clung to everything that prevented him from seeing reality in the face. Even though it was crazy stuff.
As election night progressed, victory eluded him. The president was furious. His entourage begged him not to claim victory in his speech. his political advisors. His campaign manager. Even his own daughter Ivanka.
But Donald Trump chose to listen to the one he wanted to hear: Rudy Giuliani. “They’re stealing from us,” fumed the visibly drunk former mayor of New York. “Where are all these votes coming from? We have to say we won! »
At 2:21 a.m., Donald Trump appeared in front of the cameras. “Frankly, we won this election,” he said bitterly.
Millions of Americans believed him.
True, American psychiatrists do not have the right to issue diagnoses remotely.
And yet, 35 psychiatrists did just about that, in February 2017, in a forum at the New York Times. Without explicitly naming narcissistic personality disorder, they spoke of Donald Trump’s grandiose view of himself, as well as his inability to tolerate criticism and see reality clearly.
“Individuals with such traits distort reality to conform to their mental state, lashing out at facts and those who report them,” they wrote.
We believe that the great instability reflected in Mr. Trump’s speech and actions renders him unable to act as president in a safe manner.
The psychiatrists from the rostrum New York Timesin February 2017
At the time, Donald Trump had moved into the White House for barely a month. Today, we see how right these psychiatrists were – perhaps not on the implicit diagnosis, but at least on the danger that this man posed to American democracy.
Narcissistic personality disorder is obviously not the thesis of the January 6 commission.
The thesis is that Donald Trump was well aware that this fraud story was rubbish.
According to the Commission, the outgoing president knew exactly what he was doing. In good conscience, he decided to spread this toxic lie.
The videos and shock testimonies delivered to the hearings of the commission prove that Donald Trump lit the flame. He was ready to do anything to overthrow democracy. Even that his vice-president, Mike Pence, is led to the scaffold by the rioters at the gates of the Capitol.
Will this devastating indictment lead to criminal prosecution?
US Attorney General Merrick Garland faces a dilemma: if he files charges against the Republican ex-president, he risks inflaming an already terribly divided nation.
But we are talking about sedition here. Of an absolutely terrifying attempt to derail the peaceful transfer of power in the United States. The country cannot allow itself, in the name of social peace, to allow such a serious crime to pass.
Whether he is sick or not does not change the fact that Donald Trump must be judged for his actions.