On the narcissism of Trump’s Memorial Day remarks

In case you missed it, yesterday Trump wished everyone a happy Memorial Day:

Memorial Day is a day we remember those who fought and died for our country. It is a day for historical thinking–a day for connecting with those who went before and made sacrifices for American freedom. As I read Trump’s post yesterday, I thought, once again, about how the failure to see oneself as part of a larger human story–in this case an American story–is the essence of narcissism.

I am reminded of what I wrote of Trump in Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump:

“[Trump’s] approach to history…reveals his narcissism. When Trump says that he doesn’t care how ‘America first’ was used in the 1940s, or claims to be ignorant of Nixon’s use of ‘law and order,’ he shows his inability to understand himself as part of a larger American story. As Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson wrote in the wake of Trump’s pre-inauguration Twitter attack on civil rights icon John Lewis, a veteran of nonviolent marches who was severely beaten at Selma: ‘Trump seems to have no feel for, no interest in, the American story he is about to enter.’ Gerson describes Trump’s behavior in this regard as the ‘essence of narcissism.’ The columnist is right: Trump is incapable of seeing himself as part of a presidential history that is larger than himself. Not all presidents have been perfect, and others have certainly shown narcissistic tendencies; but most of them have been humbled by the office. Our best presidents thought about their four or eight years in power with historical continuity in mind. This required them to respect the integrity of the office and the unofficial moral qualifications that come with it. Trump, however, spits in the face of this kind of historical continuity. This isn’t conservatism; it is progressive thinking at its worst. Alexis de Tocqueville once said, ‘Not only does democracy make men forget their ancestors, but also clouds their view of their descendants and isolates them from their contemporaries. Each man is forever thrown back on himself alone, and there is a danger that he may be shut up on the solitude of his own heart.”

This kind of narcissism does not work in the foxhole. Just ask a veteran.