You may have noticed that Donald Trump loves to win and really, really hates to lose. Well, The New York Times now has pseudo-scientific proof to back up your observation. And it turns out, what really burdens Trump, says Times reporter Michael Barbaro, is "his deep-seated fear of public embarrassment." There's quite a bit of evidence for this, including the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner, but Barbaro and his colleagues listened to more than five hours of interviews Trump gave to biographer Michael D'Antonio in 2014, plus conversations with first wife Ivana Trump and Trump's children. D'Antonio, who doesn't support Trump's candidacy, made them available to the Times.
"The recordings reveal a man who is fixated on his own celebrity, anxious about losing his status, and contemptuous of those who fall from grace," Barbaro writes, and the Times embedded some snippets so you can judge for yourself. "Trump makes clear just how difficult it is for him to imagine — let alone accept — defeat." In the interviews, Trump says he loves to fight, doesn't have any heroes, doesn't "like talking about the past," and doesn't want to think about the meaning of his life. "I don't like to analyze myself because I might not like what I see," he said. He feels the same way about others, too. "For the most part," he said, "you can't respect people because most people aren't worthy of respect."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The Spanish cop, 20 million euros and 13 tonnes of cocaineIn the Spotlight Óscar Sánchez Gil, Chief Inspector of Spain's Economic and Tax Crimes Unit, has been arrested for drug trafficking
-
5 hilarious cartoons about the rise and fall of Matt GaetzCartoons Artists take on age brackets, backbiting, and more
-
The future of XTalking Point Trump's ascendancy is reviving the platform's coffers, whether or not a merger is on the cards
-
Global court issues arrest warrant for NetanyahuSpeed Read The International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who stand accused of war crimes
-
Gaetz bows out, Trump pivots to Pam BondiSpeed Read Gaetz withdrew from attorney generation consideration, making way for longtime Trump loyalist Pam Bondi
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom banSpeed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid warSpeed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freezeSpeed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bansSpeed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler groupSpeed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emergeSpeed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
