Narcissus was a Greek mythological character thought to be the most beautiful person ever known. When he discovered his reflection in a pool of water, he fell in love with himself.
Watching Donald Trump at the Republican Convention on Monday reminded me of Narcissus. As The Donald greeted his adoring admirers, he looked into their faces and saw how eager they were to make themselves into the image of the carrot-topped one. As they gazed adoringly at the bandaged ear, Trump’s past name-calling was forgotten and his threats forgiven. They so loved this man, and he so loved himself.
Narcissism has always been on the long list of Trump’s worst characteristics. Question is, will it be a fatal one for the head of the right wing cult?
We already have a clue: Trump nominated J. D. Vance to be Vice President.
Even though he’s besties with Don Jr., Vance seems an odd choice. Usually a running mate brings something to the ticket: help with a minority group, balance to a White ticket, or support with a particular geographic area. But Vance does none of these. Evidently, Trump just liked him, even though Vance has said the following:
“I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally…”
“I’ve got to be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.”
And in contrast to Mike Pence, he said that if he had been the Vice President in 2020, he would have rejected electoral votes from some of the swing states that Biden won.
Kind of makes you a little sick, doesn't it? So we have to assume that Trump thinks he doesn’t need votes from women or those who believe that we need allies in the world or those who follow the law. Nope, Trump believes he’s so in the tank with the American people that the insanity of his VP pick won’t bother them or affect him at the polls.
And why wouldn’t Trump think so lovingly of himself and his power? After all, the party that threw the convention this week in Milwaukee is no longer called the Republican party. It’s called the party of Trump because he’s the leader of the cult that worships at the right hand of the carrot-topped.
His endorsement is the only one that counts for right wing politicians running for office. His leadership is the only one that is accepted by the Christian Nationalists, even when it comes in conflict with the Bible. His policies are the only ones that make their way onto the Republican platform.
Yes, we just lived through a week of convention goers kissing the ring of the bandaged-ear one. And we watched Thursday night while delegates on the convention floor drank in their leader’s words with rapt attention - for one hour and 33 minutes - while he gave a wandering, vitriolic, and anything but uniting lecture to the base. Then he accepted his followers’ nomination to lead his worshippers this fall.
Certainly, the adoration was palpable. And if the Democrats don’t get their act together, this leader of this right wing cult could win in November.
However, things didn’t end so well for Narcissus. Because he was so wrapped up in his own beauty while trying to hook up with his reflection in the pond, he forgot to eat and drink and sleep. And he died.
So, if narcissism can kill mythological characters, maybe it could begin to end a political candidate’s run for office. Maybe it will finally be the achilles heel of the eight-year Trump debacle.
Maybe we will all be able to breathe again.
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