A deeply flawed man

Guess who came to mind when I recently came across this list of common characteristics of a psychopath in the Psychiatric Times: “superficial charm, high intelligence, poor judgment and failure to learn from experience, pathological egocentricity and incapacity for love, lack of remorse or shame, impulsivity, grandiose sense of selfworth, pathological lying, manipulative behavior, poor self-control, promiscuous sexual behavior, juvenile delinquency, and criminal versatility, among others.”

It is indeed a tragedy that the nation’s highest office has been occupied by someone who clearly exhibits these qualities and has managed to tear apart the political fabric of our democracy to the point where even members of the same family cannot peacefully discuss important political issues in a civil manner.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better in the future. According to recent polls, Trump, with his unsubstantiated claims of fraud, has convinced 80% of Republicans that the presidential election was rigged. His supporters have contributed over $200 million to his campaign war chest since the election.

Last week my wife and I stayed in Atlanta with our daughter, who is being treated for cancer. While there we repeatedly saw news reports of threats of violence against election officials, mostly Republicans, who refused to overthrow the popular vote in the presidential election. A rally of hundreds of maskless Trump supporters was held, and thinly veiled calls to armed insurrection were trumpeted: “This is our 1776!”

Meanwhile, according to the Democrat-Gazette covid charts, it appears 23 of the top 30 states with the highest infection rates are Republican-controlled states won by Trump in the presidential election. What price are Trump supporters willing to pay by continuing to swallow the misinformation and baseless conspiracies being spun by this deeply flawed man?

DAVID WILSON Fayetteville