So Im the latest columnist to be joining the rotation of colonists over it opinion and its obviously a really peculiar time to join. OK And I used to be a daily book critic. I appear. Now, every Monday. Ive written. I wrote a column today because its my day. Even though we lose track in quarantine and I wrote one last Monday to when I was here. And Im going to be here to discuss them both. Thank you, everybody, for putting up for what was a really unbearable clumsily low tech snafu on my part. This is my second time using Periscope, and Im at age appropriately dreadful at it anyway. So again, my name is Jennifer Senior let me. Lets get right into it because I wrote two columns today that Im eager to write two columns. This past week that Im eager to discuss the first. So the one that came out, it, I ended up getting a lot of responses to it. And I have a lot to say in response to those responses. But lets start with this. I am absolutely 100% preoccupied with the idea that Donald J Trump fits perfectly like heat maps perfectly onto the personality traits of someone with narcissistic personality disorder. And it would be one thing if it were a margin call or if from the menu of 10 things that one could choose to look at. You know he fed only three of the four. Im sorry hes not. Im sorry seven of the 10 or 5 of the 10. He hits all of them and psychologists have been talking about this for a while. It was a controversial opinion initially to even come out and say, this because psychiatrist I have a rule that you shouldnt actually diagnose someone that you havent personally evaluated. The trouble with that is that people who have narcissistic personality when youre face to face with them. Its not that they present all that differently. They dont have any capacity herself. You know reflection or introspection. So my theory is that in a, if you saw Trump in a one on one clinical setting youre just going to get more Trump. Hes basically just a Patricia doll of nesting hollow Trump sees the same person. And I think over the years, this taboo has kind of gone away. I think more and more psychiatrists are perfectly willing to say that he every personality trait he has is sort of consistent with narcissistic Melissa also been writing it for a while most notably George Conway Kellyanne Conways husband. He is a never Trumper her and a lawyer and he writes for The Atlantic and he was sort of the definitive decisive piece last October talking about the fact, it looks this is what this man has. Lets call it what it is. And you. Lets if it walks like a duck lets do the definitive whats it walks like a duck piece. And he did. So what I wrote about today was all right. Well, weve sent somebody with a narcissistic personality to the White House and now hes running a crisis. So what does that look like. Anas is this camp capable really of actually managing a crisis. And here are the obstacles, I think I mean, there. And by the way, just as an aside, this is something that didnt make it into my column. But I wish Id had space for it celebrities already are as you might imagine inclined toward narcissism. They tend to be more narcissistic just as a rule. It makes sense. They think that attention functions as a narcotic so many of them. It is also people who crave attention obviously enjoy being famous. But there was a study done in 2006 that showed that the kinds of celebrities who were the most narcissistic were not surprisingly reality TV celebrities make sense. So OK, here we have like a perfect storm. Weve got Donald Trump. He was a reality television star. And he has been sent to the White House and narcissists are not very well equipped to handle crises. This is, in fact, the problem right. So here is, I think, a few of the reasons why. First of all, they are highly delusional about their own capabilities and what that means is that they are very threatened by expertise. Theyre not theyre highly disinclined to trust anyone who may indeed know more about the problem at hand. The crisis that theyre facing. So what it means is that if you think about it, right now, Donald Trump could assemble the finest minds in America, the most imaginative minds in America were facing an enormous economic crisis. Its looming its already upon us. 6.6 million unemployment claims just filed right. This is going to be formidable formidable and scary. He could enlist anyone he had to call Larry Summers or Bob Rubin who ran the Treasury Department during two previous recessions. Right they have a lot of experience. Does he do this. No disaster preparedness. You could speak to virtually anyone whos handled any kind of natural disaster before in the past. And who does he farm out most of the disaster preparedness responsibilities too. Jared Kushner I mean Jared Kushner doesnt hold any portfolio for anything. So I think my point is that he hands it. He is doling out responsibility to people who dont threaten him. What tends to happen to narcissists is they surround themselves with a gallery of sycophants thats they surround themselves with people who wouldnt dare contradict them. And this is dangerous when what you need right now are the smartest people in the room not the people who are afraid and who are there to mollify a president. So what you have is this very awkward situation where you have a few experts who are kind of youve got Dr. g youve that Dr. Burke. Yes, I know. I need to brush my hair just to all the trolls out there. I just want to say, you know what a lot of us are going to emerge without or without perfect hair without perfect highlights anyway. And he is a narcissist and a sadist combined. Yes unfortunately, I think that there is a great deal. And there is an element of sadism in what he does anyhow. And I wouldnt focus on peoples looks. Its a bad look, whoever you are, you know, this is not a time to care. Ignore trolls. Yes Always true. One should anyhow. I might give myself, my own haircut. And dye my hair pink because why not. Whos going to see my kid can do it. That would be lovely. Right you get probably gratified about to cut my hair anyway. So I think the point is what you really want is lock them and their sex. Love the love. Im getting back you. Theyre all women of course, were saying. Who cares about your hair. So I think lets go back to whats important, which is that right now, Trump needs to be listening to experts. They are the most important people to be listening to. Hes got two on hand. We know incontrovertibly that Anthony she knows a lot. Thank you for loving my hair. It looks nice usually. Anyway thank you. Anthony she is exactly who you want in this crisis and its interesting about him. This is fascinating. He knows that youre doing great. Please keep going. Thank you so Anthony 4G as he is. Its an interesting exercise in minefield walking right when you were managing a narcissist. The paradox here that all of us are all reckoning with all of us are reckoning with is that Trumps advisors are trying to and all the governors right who are managing this crisis they are all trying to create a safe space for the president when he needs to create a safe nation for all of us. Right So youve got somebody like Anthony valjean who knows very well, what the data looks like and he actually understand something about infectious diseases and contagion right. Hes an infectious disease expert and he understands the way that you know kind of the vectors and paths that all of these things take. So have any power to be president. I mean, at this moment why. Why ever not. You know I mean, certainly he should be answering the questions at the press conferences. I think that is definitely true. And I always choke a little when he starts to speak. And then President Trump cuts him off because the productive thinking and the only useful information we can really get from the epidemiologists and the doctors. So whats interesting about Fortunes approach to Trump in my view, is that the way that he actually still manages to disseminate informal information, which is critical. We all need to hear it is not by humiliating Trump because thats the best strategy you never want to humiliate a narcissist because narcissists secretly dont actually have skyscraper only high self-esteem the way we think of it narcissists secretly are. They live in fear of being exposed. They are very anxious about people realizing what they dont know. Their egos are kind of frail as foam. Theyre very easy to burst. So what do they do. They Yeah, no, I vote Democrat. Its true. I absolutely. What are the chances the chances are good. It is absolutely true. However, I would never say any of this. I would point out about George w bush who was conscientious after September 11 in the immediate aftermath I didnt think he should we should I I dont understand the Iraq war is another story. But I do believe that his public handling of September 11 was actually quite conscientious and responsible. Giuliani was extremely responsible in the aftermath of September 11. There are all sorts of Republican governors right now who are stepping up in beautiful and marvelous ways and Republican local officials. This is not a partisan point of view. This is all about how you manage giving truthful information. So to go back to the Fantasy what I think is fascinating about him is rather than correct Donald Trump, which he wouldnt respond well to what fat he does is he says the fact. Thats it. Thats it. And in sticking with this just the facts, maam kind of approach every time Trump says something, and its exaggerated. He exaggerates the potential for new therapies. He says that there are more tests available than in fact, are. What that does is he jumps in and he starts to speak. And he just he doesnt say, no, youre wrong. He just says, well, heres what we know so far about these therapies. Theyre still untested. Were looking were waiting. We hope he comes out and says, well, the tests theyre enroute we cant do them in bulk in the way that wed like. But theyre another positive development. Whenever Trump says that he thinks that the fact that the coronavirus will kind of evaporate that therell be some kind of seasonal cure that he jumps in and says, I wish that were the case too. But I dont think so. So I think that he is providing a national model for how you handle misinformation and wishful thinking coming from the Oval Office right. Because thats what were getting right now is a lot of wishful thinking and misinformation can narcissist feel empathy. The short answer is no. The whole world is a reflecting pool. Thats the problem with narcissists. Right And it makes it hard because of what your job is to be is in part to disseminate information that is in part to kind of shore up that to mollify the nerves of an anxious public. Theoretically Cuomo is very good at this right, Andrew Cuomo does a very good job of kind of coming out and saying, look, I suffer too. My brother is suffering. Hes covered positive lots leaders net you know all over the globe. Were very good at doing this. The queen did a marvelous job of this yesterday. Angela Merkel did a marvelous job of it yesterday. Why is it wrong to hope that these drugs are working when other countries other countries are not necessarily having great success. Theres a lot. We have to wait for a real body of data to know whether these drugs are working. Actually, thats not true yet the efficacy of these drugs is not yet proven. Its anecdotal and thats whats upsetting. So what you dont want is people touting these drugs and giving everyone false hope. You dont want people hoarding them. And lets see what personality types are these leaders. So thank you. It is my second time in Periscope. Im being told welcome by people young. Its probably obvious that Im a newbie anyway. So I think that what we have to just be careful about when youve got somebody because heres the other thing narcissists are quite prone to exaggeration. Right So theyre going to be speaking with great invalidity and great enthusiasm about the things that theyve done and the things that await without actually restraining themselves and hewing strictly to the facts. And that, of course, is everything. It matters a huge a great deal. So these are some things that I think that we ought to be highly mindful of anyway. OK So if youre just joining us, Im Jennifer Senior. I am one of the newest I am I think the newest kind of columnist at The New York Times to be thrown into the rotation at an awfully peculiar time I appear on Mondays also now just sort of look at some of the lost my comments. Im going to look at some people had some wonderful kind of responses and some heartbreaking responses to the last column that I did not. This Monday. But the previous one that talked about something thats very near and dear to my heart called moral injury. I just want to speak to something somebody is saying this. And I know that theyre being kind of troll ish but I think this is actually a matter of public importance saying that the media is trying to sow panic. Were not. I think you should listen to the doctors on this. I think the doctors are the ones who have the real answers and we are listening to the doctors. And we took what Deborah parks are following the data the projections is right now is that if we behave ourselves as a nation 100,000 people in the United States will die, which rivals you know cancer rates and cancer fatality rates. And its not good. It will make coronavirus one of the leading killers in the United States. Thats if we behave ourselves and lots of states were not behaving themselves. They were behaving poorly. And whats happening in New York is a harbinger. Its not an exception. This is going to for better or for worse sweep across the country. And its going to happen at different rates at different times. Hopefully we will be prepared or medical professionals will be prepared. Well have more masks. Well have more ventilators because this is happening in kind of you know in this syncopated way. Its not happening. Its happening kind of in waves and a sine curve across the country. But I dont think to accuse us of spreading this information. I think is itself. Its grotesquely irresponsible. And I wish that people would stop. I wish they would desist to call this a hoax. I mean, I think that in the aftermath when historians are watching Fox newsreels of people saying that this is now worse than the flu, its a nothing doctor, you know, Trump saying that this is just going to go away. Theres going to be a real archival theres going to be a real of people saying things that are just so kind of flat flawed Lee incorrect. So I dont think that any of us are sowing panic and we are trying to report how many are recovered instead of only deaths. The problem is that the deaths are actually still imminent and the recovery rates right now are deeply unimpressive. You know the coronavirus actually lingers for a while. And also, if we have better data out there. If we had had more aggressive testing and more tests in place wed have a much better sense of whos had the virus and for how long, and how many have recovered. But we were very, very far behind on this question. So unfortunately, its hard to know were rates. Its hard to even know penetration rates. We cant actually know how how widespread coronavirus is at the moment. So we are actually doing the best. I think reporting on the data thats available to us and believe it or not, the doctors are in the same position they are as hungry for data, especially about the United States as we are. If you want to hear more damage about the. We want to hear more about the damage that a narcissistic leader can cause. Well, I think that the tools are many. Misinformation is a big one. I think turning the conversation toward himself is another one when really the car everybody wants to hear that the world is going to return to normal and be OK. What he does is talk about how hes number one on Facebook and isnt that fantastic. And he gives himself a 10 out of 10 for handling this crisis. And isnt that wonderful. And those are, I think the last thing that people want to hear during a crisis. I think people are sort of alarmed when they hear leaders talk about themselves and not about the citizenry in general life. Thats their job. So anyway now I just want to go back and talk about the column that I did last week, which Im very invested in. And thats about the mental health of our health care professionals. Theyre already in a lot of physical danger. Thank you. Who is ever giving me the shout out of love. Oh my goodness. Thank you. And how can reporters address his mental health in the context of a Presser. Thats a great question. All right. Ill go back and answer that. The answer is we shouldnt carry them live narcissists arent inclined to give the truth. Theyre inclined to exaggerate theyre inclined to give falsehoods they are inclined to speak in temporarily and to pick fights they sow division. He picks fights with the press corps and he picks fights with governors. So one of the things that we can do strategically is just robbed him of his oxygen supply, which is attention. Theres definitely one way to do this. And then you send people into the room to cover it. But they come away and they just summarize what the main news points are which will be given by foul be given by Burkes be given possibly by the Veterans Affairs director or the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs. I mean, there are people who can actually give you materially useful goods. You just dont need to carry it live because what youre essentially getting is an infomercial thats filled with spotty information anyway. And I dont know where the times broadcast them lives. Its a great question. I dont know. Thats the newsrooms. Its a call from the newsroom. And Im befuddled diet myself, I understand why c-span doesnt because theyve got kind of a historical and archival obligation. I dont know why the networks doesnt do it. I dont know why the networks do it. And Im not sure why we do. Going back to. So again, Jennifer Senior net latest columnist I just got to tell you the story that I did that. Im invested in, which is the health care the mental health of our health care professionals. Lets start with the fact that they are inhaling a greater viral load. So doctors are going to get sicker at a faster rate than the rest of us because it turns out there is a direct relationship to how much of this disease, you are exposed to and how sick you get. And a lot of these doctors and EMTs a nurses a lot of first responders are on are overwhelmed by virus in spite of even if theyve got the best PPE in the world. If youre intimidating someone they are just obviously coughing up a huge amount of virus. So I fear no one for their physical safety. I fear it. So much. And theyre short on supply. So they are often wearing the same goggles. The same face shields the same N95 masks all day long. They are already marching into a battle without sufficient ammunition. So the equivalent of dropping our show soldiers on Utah Beach without bullets. I mean, its really frightening stuff. Whats going on right now. And so here is you know what I fear next. Its not just their physical health. I mean, in Italy. Weve already got some data about how like this. You know doctors are something like 14% of the infected. What Im nervous about next is our mental health because if indeed, we do face this ventilator shortage, which everyone is anticipating the New England Journal of Medicine just had a piece talking about this, that its inevitable basically by their estimate. Best case scenario, we have 1.4 ventilators per person who needs them. Worst case scenario, we have 31 people per one ventilator. So sorry. Sorry we have 1.4 people per ventilator. Worst case scenario. 31 people per ventilator. Those are numbers that I just theyre goose pimples only awful. They are terrible numbers. And they were I think trying to work out in this particular piece, which I found so transfixing they were trying to figure out a protocol. OK So who gets them. Right if youve got to be in the position of rationing ventilators and then what do you do. Wait Im sorry. Somebody just had a very interesting was a retired firefighter, you spoke to. Tell me about that. Oh, and that the firefighters arent going to get any PPE. Thats such an amazing point because theyre being called to all of these. See youre right. And I think that a lot of people. I mean bus drivers are getting them. I mean, they should have more protection. Theyre performing a valuable service. And theyre utterly exposed. Its terrifying. Anyway, so there was this very moving kind of testimony from a bus driver that Im sure you saw that went viral in Detroit who you know got sick anyway. And then subsequently passed away. So its true. There are shortages everywhere. Its very complicated. We dont have. And because Donald Trump has been very reluctant to make full, robust use of the Defense Production Act. Were not getting it out to the people who really want it. Im sorry to the people who really require it. Were not making it at the speed that we need it. You know I mean, Trump could be much more bullish about insisting that private companies manufacture this stuff. And hes not hes not being insistent about them making ventilators. I mean, its. And you know not enough are making masks. Its very, very complicated. And its not being distributed through kind of rational distribution trains. Anyway Im going to go back to what I wrote about last week. All of our first responders are already putting themselves in harms way. They are already feeling theyre already getting sicker. But my next fear for them is that theyre going to have to make really tough rationing decisions. And these are decisions that state with you forever in the military. There is a term was coined actually by a psychiatrist who was looking at Vietnam soldiers and he called this moral injury. It is when you do something that you never ever would consider right. It violates your every impulse your every instinct your religious training your religious beliefs your everything. And I think that doctors and nurses when they are asked to form triage committees when they are asked to be disconnecting ventilators even from patients with whom they have made even the weakest most tenuous connections. But theyve met their families theyve interacted with their families. This is going to be heartbreaking stuff. And in ordinary circumstances. These are people who they could have saved because in normal times, you can keep people on ventilators in perpetuity. There are enough of them to go around. But thats not whats going on at this moment. And I think that the kind of trauma that comes from having to make this decision about who gets a ventilator and who doesnt get a ventilator is going to live with all of us all of our mental health. Im sorry. All of our health professionals for a long time to come. Its the kind of choice that they shouldnt ever have to make. Its a devils kit of options. Theres no good options here. And so I think that Im just very deeply moved by that. And I was going to read some of the comments that I got in response to that from people who just said some beautiful things about oh in fact, here. Let me just find. There is one who is married. Here we are. This was a beautiful comment I got in response to this years ago, I opened the door to a stockroom in the hospital. I worked in and I found a weeping nurse. Her patients bone marrow transplant had failed and the woman was going to die. Never underestimate how much these people care they may hide their tears in closets because they dont want patients to see their fear and their distress, but most choose this work because lives matter. Peoples lives matter to them. And they know death. But every preventable death is a knife to the heart. I mean, I can barely read that without wanting to cry. I mean, I think this is the point. Under ordinary circumstances. These are preventable deaths. Right and right now these men and women are facing a plague of what would have been preventable deaths and what awaits them. I fear our decisions about who gets to live. I mean, who on earth should have to make that choice. And there are all sorts of extremely delicate ethical questions that go that go into this ethical calculations. So heres another beautiful sign a beautiful note that I got. I think my son needs to go. This is clarinets life with a zoom group. Im going to read one more thing. And then Im going to sign off because my son needs to use the computer. Here is just this is it. This gave me the chills but this was a response to something that I got in response to my Jennifer Senior from the New York Times. Im the latest columnist to join. Thank you. And for those who are accusing me of it. Its very interesting the dedicated army out there and people who want to see them spreading fake tears. I hope thats right. I hope Im wrong about everything. Let me just say that I hope everything I say today is 100% wrong. I hope the dad is wrong. I hope the doctors are wrong. I hope the epidemiologists are wrong. I hope every bit of health data Ive been looking at is dead is wrong. Thats all I can say. From your mouth to Gods ears may I be wrong. May I be spreading falsehoods in saying that I think too many are going to die needlessly anyway. So here is the note that I got. I live alone. And I have a big sign posted on my door. Do not call an ambulance. No ventilator no code blue to not resuscitate. Just let me die. I have an advance directive. I am sorry. I have an advanced care directive a will and a notebook with instructions. My doctor is now six. So I dont know who I will end up being my doctor anyway, if I am found and still alive. I want to make sure that I do not get into a situation of being trapped in a hospital alone and unable to make my wishes known. Let someone else who needs and wants a ventilator to have it. Ive lived a long enough life. And Im willing to let go. Of course, Id rather not die right now. But if I get sick. I dont want the medical care when other people want it and need it more, especially when the doctors and nurses would be putting their own lives at risk. I love this person. He just goes by initials s.f. to a happy day on our website. I want to leave it at that. Anyway thanks so much. Be safe stay home be responsible. My thanks to all of you whove been sending me these really beautiful notes of support that are what Ill ever do about my hair. Here and Im going to let my kid use the computer now tell everyone. Its nice to meet.

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Donald Trump the Narcissist Is Running the Coronavirus Crisis - The New York Times