With the impeachment investigation moving forward, my initial impression of Donald Trump as an “orange devil” — not my words — remains unchanged: a narcissist, a xenophobe, a self-promoting bigot, but strangely immune from a moral conscience.
His sense of self strangely is devoid of empathy, as his pattern of action fluctuates from violent verbal attacks on opponents or laudatory efforts of flattery and approval for those with whom he wishes to strike deals, like Kim Jong-un or Vladimir Putin. Or those he likes, like acolyte Lindsey Graham. There is little else in his public personae.
He will, I think, be historically unique as person accidentally elected to power who emanates a distemper as he effectively tries to dismantle our American way of life, our democracy, intentionally or unintentionally.
Trump’s distemper reminds of a unique version of autistic spectrum disorder, as described by Oliver Sacks, who was infused with an external code of perverted morality by Roy Cohen and his father Fred Trump, elevating power based upon image-making, into a reality show host, morphing into a political striver.
Donald Trump has a sophisticated, brutal strategy that led him to wealth and public acceptance, which he achieved. His legacy will be the subject of numerous treatises: a stereotypical image of evil. This will be true whether or not he is impeached or convicted by a Republican Senate.
Richard H. Keller, Salt Lake City