The pathological narcissism of Donald Trump was once again on display in his Twitter feed.
The ego of this man is both astonishing and terrifying. He honestly seems to believe that he is personally responsible for the global markets. He is convinced that simply by being elected, he has changed the way people shop for their families.
The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines “megalomania” this way:
: a delusional mental disorder that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur
Emphasis on “mental disorder.”
The President-elect, who has yet to be sworn in, sent this tweet out yesterday.
The world was gloomy before I won – there was no hope. Now the market is up nearly 10% and Christmas spending is over a trillion dollars!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 26, 2016
Sure, Mr. Trump. In the weeks before Christmas, everyone at the mall was so excited about your election that they decided to spend that extra $300 dollars on new tech gadgets.
Sure! As soon as you were elected, “hope” surged in the heart of every American.
Sure it did.
The wonderful world of Twitter was not about to let the Narcissist-in-Chief get away with this kind of ridiculous claim, of course. The responses were hilarious and on point.
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/813531572850802688
You have a Messiah complex and you're a loon for believing you helped holiday spending totals. pic.twitter.com/0CiYfHWwHj
— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) December 26, 2016
This image really sums up how so many people feel about Mr. Trump and his fetish for self-congratulation.
to himself: "You're responsible for all the gifts people bought for their families! You did it!" pic.twitter.com/zEa1iHSZMY
— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) December 27, 2016
Meanwhile, journalists have tried to fact check Trump’s claims. Deloitte University Press reported a projection of $1 trillion in Christmas spending, but the data isn’t complete yet.
Trump and his people haven’t responded to questions about where they got their numbers, but that is not surprising.
Its also worth noting that some market analysts report that the recent rally is unrelated to the election in any way. They’re pretty sure he’s taking credit for the strong economic growth during Obama’s last year.
Its really terrifying to realize that a man so mentally ill is about to be placed in charge of the country. While I look forward to the belly laughs we’ll all get while reading his ridiculous tweets, I cringe at the realization that President Trump won’t worry about climate change because he’ll probably think he can control global temperatures with his mind.
Featured image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr. (CC BY-SA 2.0)