Trump and death
To explain Donald Trump’s behavior, several analysts, biographers, and political opponents put forward a psychological theory that strikes me as both intriguing and plausible. Three main threads stand out:
1- The “final act” syndrome, or narcissistic urgency: At an advanced age (Trump is nearing 80), his time horizon shrinks considerably. If he knows he won’t bear the long-term consequences of his actions, he may be tempted to behave—and make decisions—in a more uninhibited way. For him, it’s no longer about building the future but about enjoying power, adoration, and immediate victory. That would explain why he feels able to do and say anything without fearing repercussions.
2- Nihilism, or “after me, the flood”: If Trump thinks the world can’t revolve around him anymore simply because he won’t be here, then the state of the world matters less. Sowing chaos then becomes a way of saying, “Look how everything collapses without me.” It’s scorched-earth politics. Institutions are designed to outlast individuals. By attacking or destroying those institutions, he seeks to assert that his will stands above them.
3- The lifting of inhibitions: Although Trump has always been provocative, awareness of his finitude could lead him to drop the last social filters that held him back. He says what he thinks without restraint and attacks without holding back, asking himself, “What can they possibly do to me?” The threat of prison or disgrace carries less weight compared with the universal threat of death. There’s no time left for slow diplomacy, complex negotiation, or caution. He is compelled to make radical, impulsive, and potentially dangerous decisions due to the lack of patience.
Trump embodies a narcissistic personality, and such a personality, when confronted with the imminence of its disappearance, could become very dangerous.
But how, then, do we explain his constant reversals (the Trump TACO phenomenon)?
Maybe, in reality, he doesn’t care about being right tomorrow, since it may never come for him. What matters to him is winning today. In truth, he doesn’t care about long-term consequences; it’s enough for him to be unpredictable and remain at the center of media attention. The adrenaline of the announcement and the drama is what drives him.