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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDonald Greeting the Jury Pool
In this courtroom sketch, former President Donald Trump smiles to the jury pool as he is introduced to them at the beginning of his trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York, Monday, on April 15, 2024.Jane Rosenberg / Pool via AP
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-hush-money-trial-jury-selection-day-2-rcna147940
Somehow the leer doesn't match its circumstances.
marble falls
(57,269 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,971 posts)Trump's eyes were closed during part of Monday's proceedings when Merchan was reading the potential jurors his instructions creating speculation about whether he was asleep or just deep in thought.
TxGuitar
(4,211 posts)He's never been "in thought" let alone deep in it!
LuckyCharms
(17,460 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,971 posts)As for the courtroom atmosphere...
...I almost can sense their immediate concerns.
oregonjen
(3,341 posts)Conjuay
(1,409 posts)Get a camera into the courtroom?
Irish_Dem
(47,453 posts)The jury knows they are doomed.
Kid Berwyn
(14,971 posts)ETA: A self-satisfied hellscape, that really seeps out from every pore on his wug.
PatSeg
(47,613 posts)that he looked pleasant and friendly. His lack of self-awareness is absolutely breathtaking.
With all the photos and videos of him out there, you'd think he would get a clue as to how clownish and ridiculous he looks.
Irish_Dem
(47,453 posts)They believe they are so special and superior, others must automatically see it too.
And if he ever really faced who and what he really is, it would probably destroy him.
He has been living in his own fantasy world for far too long. Whenever the truth comes close to threatening him, he just creates a distraction. The most important person that he is trying to fool is Donald Trump.
Irish_Dem
(47,453 posts)That is why all the criticism and ridicule hurts to much.
PatSeg
(47,613 posts)It was probably drilled in to him as a child. I can imagine that he was called a disgrace, a loser, stupid, weak, disgusting, dishonest, etc. All you have to do is listen to the insults he throws about to hear the words that haunt him from his childhood.
I've noticed that he especially uses "loser" and "disgrace" a lot. What on earth did his parents do to him in his formative years? Or perhaps teachers and older siblings as well? I can hear a father or mother saying, "That is disgusting. You are a disgrace".
Irish_Dem
(47,453 posts)Trump's mother was very ill most of the time and in and out of the hospital.
So an absent mother.
Father was a nasty SOP who put the older daughter in charge of the children.
So you have a child raising children. She cannot parent and supervise.
And a father who is nasty.
Maybe some staff who were totally indulgent, I am guessing on this one given
his entitlement issues.
I also suspect Trump might be bipolar.
He was doing drugs and cocaine as a young man.
And hooked up with Roy Cohn who taught Trump the finer points of being a white collar criminal.
PatSeg
(47,613 posts)Last edited Tue Apr 16, 2024, 03:02 PM - Edit history (1)
about his mother being very ill after he was born and that he was rather abandoned. I can see that an older sister taking the place of a mother could be less than ideal. I'm sure she said and did things quite differently than their mother would have.
And definitely the father was a mean asshole who appeared to have been raised by another mean asshole. A lot of times, a good mother can compensate for a bad father, but being she was absent a lot, he was on his own.
I hadn't thought of bipolar, but actually that does make sense.
Irish_Dem
(47,453 posts)I have been talking about them for some time.
He obviously has narcissistic and antisocial (sociopath) personality disorders.
I think he is borderline PD as well.
Then we have his long time drug abuse. Adderall and cocaine.
From the looks of the WH doctor's drug list, Trump was doing quite a few uppers and downers.
But I am still not sure about the bipolar. He has the symptoms of this disorder,
but with all his stimulant addictions it is hard to tell.
What we would have to do is get him detoxed and drug free for a couple of months
and see what he looks like then to make the correct dx.
PatSeg
(47,613 posts)What looks like a bipolar high could just be drugs. Of course, if he is bipolar, he could self-medicate whenever he goes into a depressive cycle, bringing about the frenetic highs. All the endless television watching is also an anti-depressant.
He is an undiagnosed, untreated psychological disaster. Who knows what would have happened if he'd gotten treatment when he was young.
Yes exactly what looks like typical bipolar symptoms could be from the stimulant abuse.
And yes good point, that could be why he self medicates with uppers, he cannot handle
the depressive symptoms. And Trump is someone for sure who would love the manic highs.
Yes we can see his coping style of just vegging out in front of the TV and posting on twitter.
All that 2 am rage tweeting is classic bipolar.
Yes there is so much serious psychological disturbance with this guy.
And I have not even mentioned the cognitive impairment and dementia.
I think it is clear he has a serious learning disability and then brain damage from the
long time drug use.
If I were doing an evaluation for employment, I would say he is not employable for
any job requiring adherence to the law or social norms, responsibility or good judgement.
He should never handle money or be responsible for it.
And not allowed to make major decisions for others.
I would be hard pressed to recommend any job because on top of everything else,
he is lazy and work adverse.
PatSeg
(47,613 posts)because he would be too unreliable and as you say, lazy.
Whether he is bipolar or not, all those insane highs would be a great escape from the realities of all his failures both personal and business. I've known people who do this sort of thing, a few of them I'm sure were bipolar. When their problems threaten to overwhelm them, they become hyper busy. That includes evading repressed trauma. "If I move fast enough and loud enough, it can't hurt me." They tend to think they are survivors, but it all catches up with them eventually.
He really ended up with quite the mixed bag. The dementia is apparently genetic. Who knows if the learning disability is hereditary or not, but based on his upbringing, I'd think it was environmental. As for brain damage, I wonder what a MRI of his brain would reveal.
And to think that tens of millions of Americans voted for THAT to be their president!
Irish_Dem
(47,453 posts)For any job I can think of.
He would require close supervision for even a menial job
but he would be hostile and pose a threat to anyone who
tells him what to do or has control over him.
So even that is out.
Trump was very aggressive in the classroom, assaulting his teachers, as a child and that
was why he was sent to military school. So it makes me think
he was bipolar as a kid, and/or had learning disabilities, he just could
not cope with the academic setting.
And of course whatever trauma from home.
For someone to be so pathological and disturbed there are going to be
more than just one or two causal factors.
PatSeg
(47,613 posts)Needing close supervision and being hostile to anyone telling him what to do.
Yes, I'm sure there was more than one causal factor. There is so much we do not know about his early home life and it is possible even he doesn't remember a lot of what happened.
Trump's behavior is so much at the toddler level, I think his development was arrested
at a very young age. Something may have happened.
NanaCat
(1,267 posts)When has he ever demonstrated the deep depression that bipolar exhibits in the down phase? I have two cousins who are bipolar, plus had a couple of bipolar classmates. The downs were really down with them, and much longer-lasting than the manic phases. In fact, it took years (sometimes decades) for all of them to get a bipolar diagnosis, because they presented as depressed so much more often than the manic phases.
Maybe he's somewhere on the hyperactive spectrum to explain his manic behaviours? That can mimic the mania side of bipolar. Or is it simply the high narcissists get when they feel large and in charge? That, too, can seem like mania.
Not sure, and not a therapist, but I've seen nothing of his behaviour to indicate he's ever suffered one of those deep dives of depression--something I have witnessed on numerous occasions from bipolars I know.
Irish_Dem
(47,453 posts)People with bipolar I disorder experience more severe highs (mania) and may not have depressive episodes. While people with bipolar II experience a less severe high (hypomania), their diagnosis includes depressive episodes.
So it is possible that Trump could have bipolar I.
Also we don't know the extent of any depressive episodes.
We don't have that information.
And when you have someone with depression using stimulants, it
covers up the depression.
I think Trump's manic behavior goes beyond hyperactivity.
And I think it goes beyond the narcissistic grandiosity.
As I said, while I am sure about the other dxs, I am not as sure about bipolar.
(I am a retired PhD trained mental health therapist with over 40 years clinical experience.
With a speciality in diagnosis and assessment of personality and intelligence.)
magicarpet
(14,175 posts)Look at that sickening sinister smile on his mug.
Where is my barf bag ?
Kid Berwyn
(14,971 posts)And there should be a giant fireproof barf bag over his wug so that people are still protected should the ones the public uses get too full.
Blue Owl
(50,514 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,971 posts)jimfields33
(15,978 posts)honest.abe
(8,685 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,971 posts)I read he does his own hair every day and that he buys his bronzer by the case.
bif
(22,759 posts)Wow, that's scary!
PatSeg
(47,613 posts)the rest of the world sees. He see himself the way he wishes he looked.
CincyDem
(6,390 posts)Meadowoak
(5,560 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,971 posts)Donald J Trump owes the Presidency of the United States to Vladimir Putin.
TheRickles
(2,083 posts)I realize they haven't been chosen yet, but this situation is sure to be repeated when they are finally chosen. I don't think it will help the accused.
ancianita
(36,137 posts)bdamomma
(63,923 posts)snake.
Kid Berwyn
(14,971 posts)"The evil eye is the fascinum, it is that which has the effect of arresting movement and, literally, of killing life. At the moment the subject stops, suspending his gesture, he is mortified. This anti-life, anti-movement function of the terminal point is the fascinum, and it is precisely one of the dimensions in which the power of the gaze is exercised directly." -- Jacques Lacan
Lacan. Pretty brilliant. I've an old family friend whose sister is considered a premier Lacanian, gives related lectures at psych conferences. Feminists have referenced Lacan in their use of "the male gaze" for decades. Thanks for the quote!
LastDemocratInSC
(3,650 posts)ancianita
(36,137 posts)PatSeg
(47,613 posts)A lot to read there.
Kid Berwyn
(14,971 posts)The judge wears an intelligent expression. His open eyes are on the defendant. His posture shows energy and focus. All his body language is that of an alert jurist.
The guard also seems like an earnest human being. Perhaps he is surprised at the smaller-than-expected presence of the former pee-resident.
The dip, though, is portrayed precisely correct: a menacing traitor, criminal and fraud unaccustomed to following tradition or law.
PatSeg
(47,613 posts)I hadn't really noticed him, but I think you nailed it.
There is so much to read into the judge's expression. Definitely "alert" and a bit critical of the defendant and his antics.
The artist clearly sees the real Trump. I wonder what all was going on in his/her mind as he/she** drew that picture. His portrayal of Trump looks pretty evil.
Edit to add: ** It appears the artist is a woman.
heckles65
(549 posts)Grinning at the McBain kid in "Once Upon A Time In The West." Just before he kills him.
Kid Berwyn
(14,971 posts)Perhaps a good judge will present Donald his harmonica.
AZ8theist
(5,506 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,971 posts)It is really difficult to accurately portray a treasonous rat.
IcyPeas
(21,910 posts)A lot of pinks and purples. Her name is Christine Cornell.
Also here's an article about 3 of the courtroom sketchers of the Trump trials.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/meet-3-veteran-sketch-artists-drawing-trumps-historic/story
Hekate
(90,829 posts)The greasiness of the bronzer, the artificiality of his hair-do, his ill-fitting but expensive suits, his posture
The artist has been very good at catching his exaggerated facial expressions. I dont even know how he does that lizard-like V but it is a typical one for him.
I was taken aback at first by the heaviness of the line and color, but it fits.
rubbersole
(6,729 posts)The karma fairy is on the way.
DET
(1,324 posts)Im not a fan of the sketch artist, but she does manage to bring out Trumps inner reptile.
Chainfire
(17,644 posts)His blessing on the unwashed masses of people who aren't wealthy.