Psychologist analyzes What makes Trump, Putin and Musk tick

Prof. Dr. Rainer Haller is one of Austria's most renowned psychiatrists and psychotherapists. He analyzes the true egos and traits of Trump, Putin and co. He sees the US president as a flawless narcissist.

"The narcissism trap": In his book from 2023, Austrian Prof. Dr. Rainer Haller deals with personality disorders and various forms of hatred such as narcissism or love-hate relationships. In an interview with the "Aargauer Zeitung" newspaper, the renowned psychiatrist, psychotherapist and forensic psychiatric court expert takes a closer look at Donald Trump's appearance and style of governance. He calls his behavior "conspicuous".

"It's difficult to describe Donald Trump's behavior as anything other than classically narcissistic. Even if, as a psychiatrist, I don't express myself lightly - it's very noticeable here." Haller sees Trump as displaying all the typical behavioural traits that characterize narcissists. He calls them the five big "E's" of narcissism: egocentrism, vanity, lack of empathy, devaluation of others and sensitivity.

Self-centeredness and vanity

With Trump, "only his interests count". Even his pithy slogan "Make America Great Again" is completely tailored to him and his interests, in which other points of view have no place, according to Haller.

The narcissist "is addicted to recognition, to admiration". It's like the craving for a drug. "This drug is called: applause, attention, admiration. Donald Trump thrives on it," analyzes the psychologist.

Lack of empathy and sensitivity

Trump's ruthlessness in his treatment of refugees leaves no room for compassion. "There is no discernible empathy," says Haller. Trump does not tolerate dissent. Anyone who does not speak up is publicly insulted and put on display.

This was also the experience of Volodymyr Selensky during his scandalous visit to the White House. In front of the whole world, the Ukrainian president was humiliated and embarrassed by Trump and his entourage. "Anyone who doesn't agree with the narcissist is devalued, belittled and ridiculed," says Haller.

Never mess with me - I'm very sensitive: even minor slights make Donald Trump's collar pop. "He never forgives and remembers every little criticism. Trump reacts excessively and insultingly to personal attacks or contradictions." Hader calls outward dominance and inward insecurity "the Achilles heel of the narcissist".

What about Elon Musk?

The psychologist places Trump's Tesla buddy Elon Musk more in the "autistic range", even if the tech billionaire "also shows narcissistic traits in parts". Musk's Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism spectrum disorder, seems to exacerbate the overdose of ego behavior.

Trump: victim of his father

"In Trump's case, we know that his mother struggled with significant mental health problems," explains Haller. His father, on the other hand, was the undisputed doer, "dominant, strongly performance-oriented and emotionally distant".

In her book "America's Nightmare", Mary L. Trump, Donald Trump's niece, describes her father's derogatory behavior towards Donald. "When you read it, you can almost feel something like pity for little Donald - because you realize that there is a very hurt childhood behind the behaviour," says Haller.

Putin: turned into a narcissist

For Haller, Vladimir Putin's behavior points to a psychological change in the president during his rise to become the most powerful man in Russia. "My impression is that Putin has not always been narcissistic," says Haller. At the beginning of his political career, Putin seemed "even less egocentric". He could "also smile in public", the psychologist notes.

You no longer see this in Putin's appearances today - or only in a tense form. With his increasing success and the complete takeover of the Russian power apparatus, Putin also took on more and more narcissistic traits. "And as is typical with narcissists, he then began to remove critical voices from his environment." He is now only surrounded by loyal yes-men. "This in turn reinforces the narcissism of the man in power," explains Haller.