03/04/2025
I don’t normally post about politics but for some of us in the wellness world, this isn’t about politics anymore… it’s about power and abuse… I invite you for a moment to consider this lens or perspective and why we should all care about how the allowance of these behaviours at this level of leadership is SO DANGEROUS! Possible trigger warning…
In his recent article, Andrew Coyne compellingly articulates the escalating threats posed by Donald Trump, not just to the United States, but to global stability and democracy. His observations bring to mind a chilling parallel: the behavior of a narcissistic sociopath in an abusive relationship.
Just as victims of abuse often find themselves perpetually adjusting their expectations and responses to their abuser’s increasingly erratic behavior, the world finds itself in a similar predicament with Trump. The cycle of abuse is characterized by a predictable pattern: initial charm, followed by escalating control, manipulation, and chaos. Each time we think we've seen the worst of Trump, he raises the bar, demonstrating that his capacity for harm knows no bounds.
Victims of narcissistic abuse often grapple with disbelief at the extent of their abuser's actions. Similarly, we witness a constant state of shock as Trump not only undermines democratic institutions but also emboldens authoritarian tendencies. His recent actions, such as undermining NATO and siding with Russia against Ukraine, illustrate a dangerous disregard for established alliances and the principles that underpin global security.
Moreover, just as victims feel isolated and powerless, many observers of Trump’s administration experience a sense of helplessness as his administration dismantles norms and institutions. This destruction is not simply random; it serves a purpose rooted in a desire for control and dominance, reminiscent of the patterns we see in abusive relationships. The chaos he sows is a means to distract and overwhelm, leaving opponents scrambling to respond effectively.
Coyne's assertion that we must “skate to where the puck is going” reflects the urgency required to anticipate Trump’s next moves. In the context of an abusive relationship, this translates to understanding that the abuser's behavior will continue to escalate. Victims often learn to recognize the signs of impending outbursts, adapting their strategies to protect themselves. Similarly, the global community must prepare for the worst, recognizing that Trump’s actions will likely become more extreme as he seeks to maintain attention and exert power.
For those experiencing these dynamics for the first time or those who may find themselves retraumatized by witnessing similar behaviors reminiscent of past abuse, it's essential to prioritize self-care and emotional well-being. Here are some ther**eutic tips and strategies to consider:
1. **Grounding Techniques**: Engage in grounding exercises that connect you to the present moment. Focus on your breath, observe your surroundings, or hold a comforting object. This can help anchor you when feelings of anxiety or distress arise.
2. **Limit Exposure**: Be mindful of your media consumption. If news coverage feels overwhelming, consider setting boundaries on how much you engage with it. Choose specific times to check in rather than constantly consuming information.
3. **Seek Support**: Reach out to trusted friends, family members, or mental health professionals who can provide understanding and validation. Sharing your feelings and experiences can alleviate feelings of isolation.
4. **Practice Self-Compassion**: Be gentle with yourself. Recognize that feeling triggered is a normal response to witnessing distressing behaviors. Allow yourself to feel your emotions without judgment.
5. **Establish Safety Routines**: Create routines that promote feelings of safety and stability. This could include mindfulness practices, exercise, or engaging in hobbies that bring you joy.
6. **Acknowledge Triggers**: Understand that the nervous system does not distinguish between past and present experiences. If certain behaviors or rhetoric trigger memories of past trauma, acknowledge these feelings and remind yourself that it’s okay to feel this way.
7. **Ther**eutic Techniques**: Consider exploring ther**eutic modalities like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) if you find yourself frequently triggered. These therapies can help reprocess traumatic memories and reduce their emotional impact.
8. **Journaling**: Writing about your experiences and feelings can be a powerful tool for processing emotions. It allows you to articulate your thoughts and reflect on your responses.
In conclusion, the parallels between Trump’s behavior and the dynamics of an abusive relationship serve as a stark reminder of the urgent need for awareness and action. The stakes have never been higher, and as Coyne warns, we must brace ourselves for what lies ahead. It’s time for a collective reckoning and a commitment to safeguard the principles that underpin our societies. By prioritizing our emotional health and supporting one another, we can navigate these turbulent times with resilience and strength.
The UK needs to understand that there is no 'bridging the gap' between the US and the rest of NATO anymore. Andrew Coyne dropping truth bombs in the Globe & Mail:
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THE WORST?
Brace yourselves: whatever crazy, awful things Trump may have done to date, it’s only going to get worse
Andrew Coyne
Globe and Mail
Skate to where the puck is going, not to where it’s been. That bit of trite wisdom, attributed to Wayne Gretzky, might usefully be applied in assessing the risks posed by Mr. Gretzky’s political idol, Donald Trump.
Every time we think we have taken the measure of Mr. Trump, every time we think we have understood the depths of his depravity, the absoluteness of his nullity, the scale of the threat he represents – to American democracy, to Canada, to the peace of the world – he defeats us. He does or says something far worse than we had ever thought possible, even of him.
We need to learn from this, fast. Because Mr. Trump is metastasizing, mutating, rapidly worsening. He is on a kind of exponential spiral, his behaviour approaching levels of madness and mayhem that had never previously been imagined, let alone seen.
Our expectations of him are forever playing catchup to the reality. Which means we are forever calibrating our responses, not to where Mr. Trump is going, but to where he has been. That way lies disaster.
We need to understand that however awful Mr. Trump’s behaviour may have been until now – however callous, dictatorial, insane or dangerous, and however it may seem to have defined the limits of what is possible in each regard – it is only going to get worse, and at a rate that will itself defy all expectations.
Consider Mr. Trump’s performance in just the month or so since he took office. Did even the most alarmist of Mr. Trump’s critics anticipate he would not just undercut Ukraine in its struggle for survival against the Russian invaders, but take the Russian side in every material respect – assigning blame for the invasion not to Russia, but to Ukraine; cutting Ukraine out of the negotiations on its fate, while ruling out NATO membership and the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity in advance; voting with Russia against a UN resolution denouncing the invasion; and demanding Ukraine pay the United States half a trillion dollars in reparations for the offence of having resisted its own annihilation (and decimating the Russian war machine in the process), a figure that is many times the actual amount of American aid it has received?
Did anyone imagine he would not just make similarly extortionary demands of his NATO partners in return for the United States’ “protection,” but effectively signal that no such protection would be provided, should Russia expand its attacks on Europe beyond the multifaceted hybrid-warfare campaign in which it is already engaged? Did even Mr. Trump’s supporters anticipate that he would also telegraph, in the space of the same few fevered days, that he would abandon Taiwan?
Or, closer to home, did anyone imagine that the original Trump threat to Canada – that we would be included in his proposed global tariff of 10 to 20 per cent, notwithstanding our joint membership in a continental free trade area – would suddenly swell into a special 25-per-cent tariff applicable only to ourselves and Mexico, and then into a campaign to forcibly annex the country? Was, likewise, the invasion and seizure of Greenland, or the Panama Canal, ever envisaged?
Did anyone predict, when the pseudo-official Department of Government Efficiency was first announced, what it would become, scant weeks later: a wrecking ball of dubious legal authority, consisting of Elon Musk and his 20-something acolytes, roaming the halls of various government departments firing officials at random and hacking into government payment websites to prevent duly authorized expenditures from being released?
No doubt it was expected that Mr. Trump would pardon some of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. But was it ever suggested he would pardon all of them, 1,500 at one go, no matter how severe their crimes – or that he would harass, prosecute or dismiss the law enforcement officials who brought them to justice?
All of this, as I say, is just in the last few weeks. Mr. Trump’s ambitions have grown materially wilder in that time, his actions more senseless, his rhetoric more extreme – he has lately taken to quoting Napoleon on the virtues of executive lawlessness and referring to himself as “the King” – than even in the weeks before then, in the demented interval between his election and his inauguration.
That was the period, recall, when he made a series of nominations for senior government posts that could only be described as perverse. It was as if he had deliberately selected the worst conceivable person for each position, the person most directly hostile to the mandate of the organizations they were nominated to lead. Thus Matt Gaetz, accused of statutory r**e, was nominated to fill the job of Attorney-General; the alcoholic weekend television host and civil war prophet Pete Hegseth, who has been accused of sexual abuse, was nominated to Defence; the paranoid conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine crusader Robert Kennedy Jr. to Health and Human Services; the Putin apologist and suspected Russian asset Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence; the lunatic Kash Patel as director of the FBI.
None of these were suspected, even through the long months that preceded the election, when Mr. Trump campaigned on an increasingly explicit appeal to fascism, while violating one norm after another – questioning his opponent’s racial identity, fabricating stories about immigrants eating pets and promising to round up and imprison 12 million immigrants in camps, prior to deportation.
Mr. Trump’s conduct in that campaign exceeded anything he had said or done since his attempt to overturn the results of the previous election in January, 2021, which was itself far worse than anything he had done in the four long years of escalating insanity that marked his first term in office, which exceeded by a wide margin even the most fearful projections that had preceded it.
The pattern is unmistakable. Mr. Trump’s actions, his statements, his very state of mind, have been growing worse over many years, and not steadily, but at an ever accelerating pace. This is, I suggest, not accidental. It is a function of his malignant narcissism, a narcissism that requires constant demonstrations of his power to dominate others, or at least to outrage them, or at any rate to hold their attention.
But as behaviour that was previously unthinkable comes to be expected, so it becomes harder and harder to sustain the same level of outrage; and as even a constant level of outrage starts to lose its psychological potency – as any drug will, if taken often enough – so Mr. Trump has been forced to increase the dosage of his self-administered narcotic of transgression. The self-destructive lunacy, and the resulting chaos, that would previously have satisfied him is no longer sufficient. He must take things to the next level, and the next, still crazier than the one before – crazier than he has ever previously done, crazier than anyone expects, crazier than anyone could expect.
If you think things are bad now, then, brace yourself: it is about to get a whole lot worse. If you are alarmed at the speed with which the Trump administration has set about dismantling every institution of American government and every pillar of the international order, you must understand that this is not just the initial burst of activity, the “shock and awe” phase after which things will settle down: if anything, the pace will continue to accelerate.
It cannot be otherwise. It is dictated not only by Mr. Trump’s insatiable psychological cravings, but by the ambitions and objectives of the fanatical ideologues and criminal opportunists with which he has surrounded himself: for where the destruction of everything that surrounds him is for Mr. Trump an end in itself, for Mr. Musk and his followers they offer the chance to rebuild a techno-fascist utopia out of the rubble, or at any rate to make off with as much as they can, while they can.
This rather alters the stakes, and the resulting challenge: of comprehension, let alone formulating an effective response. We have not just to understand what Mr. Trump and his team are up to now, but what they are capable of in future. That would be difficult enough in a normal, linear progression. But on the exponential curve on which Mr. Trump is now launched, it almost defies the imagination.
Take everything, then, that Mr. Trump has done in the last few weeks, and how much of an escalation this represents over his performance in the previous months or years. Now project that same rate of change forward over the next few weeks, or months or years: to Mr. Trump’s still nascent efforts to weaponize the justice system against his opponents, for example, or to seize the power of the purse from Congress; to his readiness to defy the courts, to suppress dissent at home and stamp his rule on other countries, and generally sow chaos.
Now apply the same rate of change to the rate of change. That is what we are really up against, and while it is almost impossible to plan on that basis, if we are not at least making the attempt we have not begun to appreciate the true dimensions of the threat that confronts us.
I don’t say for one minute that Mr. Trump will succeed in any of these ambitions. Indeed, it is far more likely that his administration will spin out of control and collapse, overwhelmed by its own internal divisions, by popular opposition and by the multiple cyclones of havoc it has heedlessly set in motion. But that presents challenges of its own.
The world has never before been faced with such a threat. The United States has handed the nuclear codes to a madman, a criminal, a would-be dictator and a moron, all in the same person. Whatever the purpose to which he directs these powers – to impress his dictator friends, to further enrich himself and his cronies, to seize absolute power or just to watch the world burn – we must hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.