Myths of Narcissus

If, at the next State of the Union Address, US President Donald Trump drops his trousers and moons the audience instead of making a speech, I have no doubt that Michael Setter will write in to PostBag the following day to explain how this is actually not evidence of mental dysfunction at all but rather another example of the four-dimensional chess game that Mr Trump is engaged in, and that the humourless dullards in the mainstream media are just too stupid and biased to understand his genius. Sorry Michael, I’m not buying it.

There is a great deal of evidence to conclude that Mr Trump is a corrupt and incompetent sufferer of narcissistic personality disorder. He has referred to staunch allies in Europe as “foes”; his regime has suggested there is “a special place in hell” waiting for Justin Trudeau of Canada; and most recently, Mr Trump appeared on stage with his puppet master, Mr Putin, to tell us what a decent, much misunderstood chap Vladimir “The Salisbury Poisoner” Putin is. Mr Trump’s demented approach to foreign affairs seems to be a feature rather than a bug for his supporters, but is this love-in with Mr Putin really in the best interests of the US, or anyone apart from Mr Putin?

The media are not irrationally obsessed by Mr Trump and their negative coverage is not, on the whole, a reflection of bias. He is doing serious damage to institutions and alliances that have brought peace and prosperity to the world in the post-World War II era. The facts are horrifying, but they remain facts, not opinions.

NIGEL WOODWARD