President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Monday to heap praise upon his ally Roger Stone, who continues to maintain his refusal to flip even as Trumps former fixer, Michael Cohen, who once said hed take a bullet for the president, begged federal prosecutors to not serve jail time.
Stone might be Trumps most infamous supporterbut there are millions of Americans who refuse to abandon the president regardless of the chaotic news cycle. A poll conducted over the summer found that many Trump supporters trust the President more than their own friends and family.
Raw Story spoke with Yale psychiatry professor Bandy X. Lee on why the presidents supporters show such undying devotion to a man whos repeatedly reneged on promises and whose tumultuous first term has been filled with shake-ups. (Lee speaks for herself, not for Yale).
Raw Story: In your opinion, what are the emotions driving Donald Trumps base?
Bandy X. Lee: The sense of grandiose omnipotence that he displays seems especially appealing to his emotionally-needy followers. No matter what the world says, he fights back against criticism, continues to lie in the face of truth, and above all is still president. What matters is that he is winning, not whether he is honest or law-abiding. This may seem puzzling to the rest of us, but when you are overcome with feelings of powerlessness, this type of cartoonish, exaggerated force is often more important than true ability. This is the more primitive morality, as we call it, of might makes right, which in normal development you grow out of by age five. Raw Story: But, in this case, Trump appeals to that childlike degree of emotional development? Why?
Bandy X. Lee: Strongman-type personalities are very appealing in times of socioeconomic or political crisis, as the population is less able to think rationally but is rather overcome with fear, or desire to draw strength from fantastical ideas. This happens to normal people in times of stress, or to people whose development has been stunted because of emotional injury. The problem is, the person who promises the impossible and states, I alone can fix it, and gives himself an A+ on his performance, is not a strong person who can deliver but the opposite. So Mr. Trumps base looks for someone to rescue them and their intense yearning does not allow them to see through his deception, while Mr. Trump senses better than anyone their needs (they are his) and makes use of them for his own benefiteven as he disdains his supporters for being so gullible. In this manner, they fulfill each others emotional needs in a mutually unhealthy way.