Is Trump Full of Vanity? Just the Opposite is True

[poconopundit]

A common thread of Trump's opponents is that he is vain and full of self-love.  Countless press stories have psychoanalyized Trump, suggesting his personality is deficient in many ways.

Well it's time to set the record straight.  Let’s take the flaws the media paints on Trump and put them under the magnifying glass of reason:

1. Trump is Domineering — In the first debate, he talked down people [Megyn Kelley] and was domineering.

Is it truly domineering to defend oneself against personal attack?  Trump is extraordinarily aware of the dangers of being painted unfairly by the press or his business/political opponents.  So he is quick to defend himself.

2. Trump Lacks Empathy — "You’re fired!", for example.

Some people are unwilling to separate what a reality TV star says on TV and what he would say in real life to an employee.

What’s more, Trump on the campaign stump has shown extraordinary compassion.  He helps a veteran in Iowa, and he personally meets with and befriends families who have lost their loved ones due to illegal immigrant violence.

3. Trump is a Bully — He taunts John McCain and says Jeb Bush has "low energy".

McCain and Bush are political opponents.  And Trump is an expert counter-puncher: he attacks after someone attacks him unfairly.  In other cases, he uses bullying as a political tactic.  When a large company like Nabisco or Ford exports American jobs, he calls them to task for it.

4. Trump is Deluding Himself about his Success — He claims he will "save the economy though four of his companies have declared bankruptcy".  He is not a wholly self-made success.

Trump father loaned him one million dollars.  But turning a million dollars into a $10 billion real estate, media, and resort empire is a spectacular achievement.  And many successful entrepreneurs have used legal bankruptcy to protect their companies and the jobs they represent.

5. Trump is Only Serving Himself in his Run for POTUS — He’s driven by ego. And he is not a service-oriented person.

On the contrary, Trump is highly service-oriented: the success of the Trump organization proves it.  He employs several thousand people, and it is a financially successful firm respected by consumers for the first class service at his hotels, city apartments, gold course, and the like.

Trump’s ego?  Listen to him on the campaign trail and you discover he often talks about "the movement" that he represents.  He speaks of "Trump" in the third person.  He also acknowledges that a higher power than himself is at work when he says, "I want to take whatever power is up here" and use it to help the country.

And what does it say about a man who is willing to fund his own campaign?  Is that an egotistical person?

Or how about his willingness to let people laugh and poke fun at his persona on Saturday Night Live?  Is that what a narcissist does?

* * *

To sum it up, I suppose Trump is an easy person to characterize as vain: it’s very rare in American public life to see a person speaking so directly, honestly, and confidently.

In fact, Trump’s ability to cut through political correctness and call a spade a spade is not the mark of psychological problems at all.  It is the mark of a man who is utterly sane and authentic -- more so than all those reporters out there posing as his psychiatrist.

[nathanbedford]

Is it truly domineering to defend oneself against personal attack? Trump is extraordinarily aware of the dangers of being painted unfairly by the press or his business/political opponents.

Let us not rewrite history as Trump attempts to rewrite reality. Trump was not "painted unfairly" by Megan Kelly he was confronted with his own words which demonstrated him to be a misogynist in a campaign in which the Democrats were clearly going to label every Republican to be enemies of women. The question was completely fair and entirely relevant.

Trump did not talk down Megan Kelly, he denied reality of his own quoted words, so she had no choice but to confront him again with his own words. Trump talked himself down with his own words.

"Defending oneself" does not justify churlish remarks about Megan Kelly's genitalia and then denying the obvious import of his own words. He compounded his boorishness with lying.

[sakic]

This post is so inaccurate in so many places, but I don’t have time or the desire to refute them all.

The one that really annoys me is the way the author of this piece addresses Trump’s treatment of McCain.

I can’t stand McCain politically, but Trump’s comments about McCain were a disgrace to anyone who ever served their country.

If a Democrat had done the same, he would be universally regarded as a traitor, here.

[Axeslinger]

Factually inaccurate...keep your day job, I'm afraid you're not going to make it as a shrink, even if you did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

I despise the man because he is a boor. He is everything that the rest of the country talks about when they talk about how they don't like New Yorkers. I despise the man because I believe he is a proto-typical northeastern RINO (this election cycle at least)...read: another friggin liberal. Don't believe me? Then answer this: Why does he support the destructive use of eminent domain for his own benefit...why did he support Mitt Romney's amnesty stance...why was he a freakin' Democrat after 9/11 and lastly, why did he support the assault weapons ban? He is a wolf in sheeps clothing. If he were to get elected President (he won't), he would be the last Republican president for at least a generation.

This FReeper will not ever, EVER, vote for another pseudo-conservative. If my choice is the fast road to hell or the slow one, let's roll...I'd rather do the fighting than have my kids have to do it.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

“Trump was not “painted unfairly” by Megan Kelly”

—

Megan Kelly is singlehandedly the reason I no longer watch Fox News.

She is the big problem. And the fact that Murdoch is against Trump as well. No offense, but Megan is a bit of a political bimbo.

I used to like her. But she completely sold out.

[JayGalt]

And they’re off.... McCain deserved every comment he got. His behavior in public office has been disgraceful. I respect Veterans from the “get go” but they can slowly erode that respect by their later actions. It’s not a full pass for life. When you can’t speak the truth, because of political correctness or the false respect that doesn’t demand accountability and continued honor for country you are truly lost. Mr Trump is not lost! I voted for McCain, defended him but his actions while running and while serving in America have long since put him beyond the pale.

[JayGalt]

How foolish, do you think by telling the lie often and loud people will believe it? Trump no more referenced Megyn Kelly’s genitals than the man in the moon did. Anyone who listened to the segments would have understood the reference as from their eyes in anger, he said the same thing about Wallace. To suggest a reference to genitals betrays the suggester as having genitals at the forefront of his/her mind since there was no reasonable way to jump there from what was actually said.

Megyn Kelly was disrespectful, partisan and unprofessional. She was looking for soundbites to advance her career rather than allowing the American people to vet the candidates positions and demeanor. She stepped over the line and got called on it. Journalists need to give respect and honest reporting or they need to get outed on their behavior.

[JayGalt]

You are very angry. Despising Trump is a difficult one. He is a business man which means he needs to make difficult decisions but he has also been a very kind and generous man. Many of those stories are not told loudly because he doesn’t tell them. I was very taken with the fact that he sent his plane with nurses on it to transport a young Israeli boy to America for treatment by a specialist hospital. Due to his condition the commercial airlines wouldn’t transport him and the family was at their wits end. Trump didn’t know them personally; he heard about it and stepped up. It was reported only in a Jewish newspaper at the time. There are many other such actions that he has performed over the years and not touted.

Eminent domain is a law for a reason. Trump can’t elect to pursue it. The municipalities involved invoke it if they believe the project is important for their local economy. We are a society that respects the rights of the individual by tradition. That is much less so that previously. I hate that too. But eminent domain has been used throughout America’s history to build roads, train tracks, Atlantic cities revival and many other city revivals. The case that he has been criticized for he offered 4 x the value of the house when he got involved which was after she had already been served. She didn’t take the offer and the project skirted her property, when she died her heirs sold and recouped less than 1/8 th of what she had been offered.

Trump is loud and he is very direct and not politically correct. That may strike you as boorish but it is one of his strengths. He has brought America’s real problems into the political arena to be talked about rather than swept under the table. That’s the first step in maybe finding a solution and even if that were all he had done I am grateful for his candidacy.

[ShelleyBear66]

Bravo! I believe people are “put off” by Mr. Trumps self-confidence. We as a society are not used to this anymore as we have nearly emasculinated” our men! Rise up men!! We need strong men and women and leaders with conviction and confidence in America!
I believe Mr. Trump is very sincere, very genuine and true in his love of America and really will work his heart out to Make America Great Again!

[calisurfer]

Kelly tried to take Trump out of the race by asking that first question. Trump hit her back hard...he’s a great counter-puncher, dontcha know. She deserved it.

[Axeslinger]

You’re damn right I’m angry. Our country is about to go into the dustbin of history and people are fawning over this obnoxious, liberal boor when we have some true conservatives running. When I read threads about how we need to pray for Saint Donald of Kardashia, by FReepers no less, it pisses me off. Six months ago FReepers would have laughed out loud at the thought of Donald Trump running as a Republican. Today, the only thing they’re questioning is if the Kool-Aid comes in both Grape AND Cherry.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Well lets clear up the Cruella Kelly scenario. I’m a woman and under no circumstances would I ever have construed Donald Trump’s remarks about Kelly as connected to her period. That’s not what he was doing. He said the same thing about Chris Wallace.

Kelly telegraphed on her TV show for two days that she was gunning for Trump. She was crowing about how by 11PM on debate night “somebody” might be finished off.

Megyn Kelly got exactly what she deserved just like she did when she tried to take Newt Gingrich on in a 2011 debate and he took her to school on the judiciary.

Megyn Kelly is just not as smart as she likes to think so she takes on people who are smarter than she is and she gets slapped down.

The MSM and the GOPe are terrified that Donald Trump is going to rock their little corrupt leftard world and they want to destroy him. They count on people like you to buy their story.

[Albion Wilde]

You are way off base there, nathanbedford; Kelly took two specific instances of things he said and Marxist/collectivistically generalized it to all women. If you would do the basic research to find out what he actually said and in what context, you would see that your piling on is without genuine basis.

[Albion Wilde]

people are fawning over this obnoxious, liberal boor

You need to read this article and pay particular attention to the chart showing his recent decades of far greater contributions to Republicans than his earlier ones to both Democrats and Republicans in his overwhelmingly Democrat working environment:

Donation History of Donald Trump (since 1989)

[nathanbedford]

I am at a loss to understand how Megan Kelly's alleged animus towards Donald Trump somehow mitigates his gaffes when Megan Kelly, either with a white heart or a black heart, simple quoted Donald Trump's words back at him.

Are you suggesting that Donald Trump did not say what she read for all to hear? Evidently, the sin is not in uttering the words but in having the ill grace to repeat them where voters might hear them.

If half the world believed that Donald Trump was referring to Megan Kelly's genitalia, the fault is with Trump for he chose the words.

[Georgia Girl 2]

“I am at a loss “

I agree. :-)

[Albion Wilde]

I see you are avoiding doing your own research at original sources taken out of context by Megyn and repeating the same smears again. No points for you.

[sakic]

You didn’t address my point.

I already stated that I hate McCain as a politician. My gripe is with Trump ridiculing him for being a prisoner of war.

You can disregard that, but I can’t, or perhaps you agree with Trump on this point.

[nathanbedford]

Here is your context

[Georgia Girl 2]

Soon to be President Trump. :-)