‘Driven by strong emotions’: Psychologists break down Trump’s latest bizarre act
The actions of US President Donald Trump never cease to shock the world. Now psychologists have revealed what is really going on in his mind.
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President Donald Trump happily dropped the F-bomb. So what does this say about his willingness to use the A-bomb?
He’s mercurial. He’s unpredictable. He’s inconsistent.
And he’s proud of it.
The 79-year-old billionaire property developer and former game show host believes it’s what sets him apart from America’s governing “elite”.
A clearly exasperated Trump took to the White House lawn to blurt: “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f**k they’re doing.”
He was referring to Israel and Iran breaching the deadline for his unilaterally declared ceasefire.
It seems to work. At least sometimes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to back down. He thanked the President for his “immense appreciation for Israel” and decided to “refrain from further attacks”.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin was not so cowed when he was pommeled with similar bluster. The Don’s outburst over a breached ceasefire was dismissed as “emotional overstrain”.
So, who is right?
That’s a matter of personal politics. But Professor of Psychology Geoff Beattie believes such outbursts present a window into Trump’s thought processes.
“Trump was clearly furious, and his language showed it,” the Edge Hill University academic writes.
“This was not a verbal slip – there was no immediate correction, no apology, no nonverbal indication of embarrassment. He just stormed off, clearly angry.”
It’s not what voters generally expect from their elected representatives.
Statesmanship may have gone out of vogue decades ago. Along with transparency and accountability.
Despite this, President Theodore Roosevelt’s mantra of “speak softly but carry a big stick” has largely remained an unwritten law of Western diplomacy since World War II.
“But Trump showed frustration, barely contained,” Professor Beattie states. “His furious, aggressive response was like something straight out of an old psychology textbook.”
Mind games
Human beings have big opinions of themselves.
They’re supposed to be smart. To be cool, calm, collected. Civilised.
After all, that’s what’s supposed to set them apart from mere animals.
“They find other ways of dealing with their frustrations,” Professor Beattie writes. “They use their rational system of thought to find solutions…
“Perhaps, that’s why many people feel shocked when they watch this US president in certain situations. To many of us, it all seems so basic, so unsophisticated, so frightening.”
But Trump’s MAGA followers believe it’s all part of a mind game.
They insist the President employs a sophisticated “Mad Man” strategy when it comes to his politics, business and personal relationships.
Put simply, it keeps his opponents off balance. They never know what to expect.
But critics argue the tactic has a critical flaw: the “Mad Man” card can easily back a player into a corner, where they must either go through with a bluff or lose face.
It comes down to what’s behind the poker face.
Does Trump think fast, automatically - or unconsciously?
Professor Beattie says this is evolution’s basic, rapid-reaction system. “It is an intuitive system designed to work in a world full of approach and avoidance, scary animals and friendly animals. It is heavily reliant on affect (emotion) to guide decision-making.”
Or is everything Trump does the result of constant calculation?
Professor Beattie says this second method of thinking is “slower, more deliberative. It requires conscious effort and is used for complex thinking, solving difficult problems, or making careful decisions.”
Good decisions, he argues, depend upon system two checking the advice of system one.
“But system one often jumps quickly and unconsciously to certain conclusions,” he adds. “System two should check them, but often doesn’t. Even when it would be easy.”
Action or reaction?
“It was a startling moment, even coming from a president who has publicly used that word, and other crude language, in the past,” states Tom Jones of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
Mainstream media was all over the unprecedented action taken over Iran’s attempt to build an A-bomb.
But it couldn’t make up its mind on how to cover Trump’s F-bomb.
Some ran unedited video clips. Others used a dash or dot dot dot to mask what everybody already knew.
Poynter’s senior vice president, Kelly McBride, argues the truth should be presented unvarnished.
“When you’re covering the President, there are very few moments that are completely unpredictable and unscripted — many more with this President than most, but still — and that was one of them. And I think the record should reflect the entire moment.”
Few dispute Trump’s decision-making style emphasises immediacy and emotional conviction. This has proven effective in rallying supporters and generating an air of decisiveness.
Especially when nobody dares to disagree with him.
Prime Minister Netanyahu immediately complied with Trump’s “Do not drop those bombs” demand.
But his office put a positive spin on things.
“President Trump expressed his immense appreciation for Israel — which achieved all of its war goals. The President also expressed his confidence in the stability of the ceasefire… (So) Israel refrained from further attacks.”
But President Putin’s mouthpiece was more barbed when his boss was labelled “absolutely CRAZY!”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared: “We are really grateful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for their assistance in organising and launching this negotiation process. Of course, at the same time, this is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overstrain and emotional reactions.”
Professor Beattie has made up his own mind.
“His decisions seem to be driven by strong emotions,” he observes. “His response to events, opponents and issues are often passionate and visceral. This could lead to decisions being unduly influenced by personal feelings, first impressions based on arbitrary cues, and interpersonal perceptions, rather than anything more substantial.”
The wisdom of The Don
Trump rose to the US Presidency out of the knockdown world of real estate and reality television.
“Many suggest that Trump’s decision-making style reflects his background in the high-pressure and high-stakes world of business, where quick judgments and gut instinct can be advantageous in these sorts of competitive winner-takes-all environments,” Professor Beattie states.
“But the world at war is a more precarious place, where system one (reactionary thought) needs to be kept more firmly in check.
“Gut instincts may have a role to play, but that old lazy system two (considered thought) needs to be more vigilant. Especially, it would seem, in Trump’s case.”
Such personalities have other commonly associated traits.
“Commentators have described Trump as both narcissistic and authoritarian,” state John Moores University workplace relations researchers Neil Beasley and Madeleine Pickles.
“Yet, running parallel to these factors, one character trait is glaringly common among Trump supporters: sycophancy.”
Yes-men (and women): They’re in every office, busily “kissing up” and “kicking down”.
“When leaders are surrounded by “yes-men”, they’re deprived of critical input that could challenge assumptions or highlight potential flaws,” Beasley adds.
“This can lead to cognitive entrenchment where decision-makers become overconfident and resistant to change. Bad decisions then proceed unchecked, often escalating into systemic failures.”
But the brains behind Trump insist this is all just sour grapes.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said after US forces bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities: “Past presidents wanted to take this action, but they didn’t have the guts to make the decision.”
Columnist Debra Saunders points out for the Heritage Foundation think-tank that, despite all the hostility between Trump and Europe, “NATO leaders are praising Trump for pushing for them to increase their contribution to NATO’s defence spending”.
“At the time, Trump’s remarks seemed a shocking breach of decorum,” she added.
“Now they have the ring of an alarm that needed to be sounded.”
Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer | @jamieseidel.bsky.social
Originally published as ‘Driven by strong emotions’: Psychologists break down Trump’s latest bizarre act
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