Trump wallows in malignant narcissism as he repeatedly relies on insults, threats, and falsehoods to "capture hearts" at World Economic Forum in Davos

America's Charmer in Chief at Davos (Reuters)

I recently have found myself thinking, "Donald Trump surely cannot embarrass the United States more than he already has." But within seconds of that thought forming in my cranium, or so it seems, word usually comes of another Trump action or statement that proves I once again have jumped the gun. The most recent example came yesterday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where political and business leaders, economists, investors, celebrities, and journalists gathered to ponder weighty issues,  such as rising fragmentation and rapid technological change that are transforming the global economy. 

You might think Trump would want to leave such a heralded assemblage with a positive view of the United States and its leadership role in the world. But Trump is about touting himself, not the country he is supposed to represent. In the process, Trump has proven he is willing to insult those who gather to hear his "thoughts," turning even the most respectable event into a bullying session you might expect to see on an elementary-school playground.

How did The New Republic (TNR) appraise Trump's address and it's impact on his audience. The headline was as follows: "Trump Embarrasses All of America in Slurred, Disjointed Davos Speech; Donald Trump gave a terrible speech to a dead silent room at the World Economic Forum." 

That headline pretty much says it all, but TNR provides enough cringe-worthy details to make even those who have supported Trump throughout his torturous first year back in office feel maybe a shred of shame. Malcolm Ferguson writes:

President Trump delivered yet another rambling, long-winded speech Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, using the massive world stage to rail against windmills, complain for the umpteenth time about how the 2020 election was rigged, reaffirm his desire to seize Greenland from Denmark, and take credit for every good thing in the world.

The room was dead silent virtually the entire time.

Did Trump try to connect with his audience, make an effort to find common ground? Not a chance. His main goal apparently was to piss them off -- and on that score, he undoubtedly succeeded. Ferguson writes:

“Certain places in Europe are not even recognizable frankly, anymore. They’re not recognizable. And we can argue about it, but there’s no argument,” Trump said early in his speech to the room full of Europeans. “Friends come back from different places—I don’t wanna insult anybody—and say ‘I don’t recognize it.’ And that’s not in a positive way.… It’s not heading in the right direction.”

The rhetoric aligned seamlessly with the deeply racist, anti-immigrant sentiments that the European right is pushing with his support.

Trump also took the time to hit on one of his favorite punching bags: windmills.

Why windmills? It seems clear Trump disses wind energy at every opportunity because he sees it as a threat to his financial backers in Big Oil. In other words, Trump made the Davos speech about himself, as one might expect from an individual who mental-health experts have described as a "malignant narcissist." (See here, here, and here.) Trump, as is his wont, did not let facts get in the way of thrashing windmills and Europeans, Ferguson reports:

“Did you ever think of that? They put up a couple big wind farms, but they don’t use them, they just put them up to show people what they could look like,” he continued. “They don’t spin, they don’t do anything.”

Did Trump make any citations to reality-based sources? Or course not; he never does. Finally, Trump settled on a familiar topic, one that must have had his listeners eyeballing the exits:

Trump then of course got to Greenland, accidentally mixing it up with Iceland for nearly the entire time he spoke about it.

“Until the last few days, when I told them about Iceland, they loved me,” Trump said, meaning to say Greenland. “They called me daddy … very smart man said, ‘He’s our daddy.’” 

“So we want a piece of ice for world protection. And they won’t give it,” Trump continued. “We’ve never asked for anything else, and we could have kept that piece of land. And we didn’t. They have a choice. You can say yes and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no and we will remember.”