Most world leaders, at one time or another, inch toward the “madman” approach to international relations. They seek to get their enemy to believe that the leader is a madman and capable of anything. Nixon tried to convince the North Vietnamese that he would bomb them back to the prehistoric era.

But nobody surpasses Donald Trump in displaying a disturbing set of behaviors designed to scare others into believing that he is capable of anything. And he just might be capable anything. Who could have imagined that he would bring home more than a dozen boxes of classified documents. What did he want with these things?

Trump probably enjoyed the thought of he and a few close friends sitting around one night sharing the documents and having a good laugh. Still, Trump is motivated by something more insidious; that is, Trump is desperate. He will say and do anything to hold on to power or to find a coping mechanism for his failures. I have only had sympathy for Trump in one area, and that’s the blooming buzzing chaos of his life. I personally could not imagine the daily barrage of legal and political attacks on my character, my businesses, my taxes, my political obligations, my family, and anything else my enemies can think of.

But Trump has the personality for all this. He is delusional on a grand scale and in addition to everything else he must maintain the details of the lies he tells about such things as stolen elections. Trump is a classic narcissist whose greatest fear is being disrespected or publicly humiliated. As a true narcissist Trump thinks of himself only and first. When it came time to leave the White House he did not leave with any grace or dignity but thought of himself first, that is, claiming he was cheated and the election was a fraud was more important to him than the orderly transition of power.

Trump is desperate and dangerous because he can’t cope with the thousand cuts that life has for him. That is why he can’t muster the grace or humility to look into the eyes of history and actually care that others are booing him.

Trump is a con man and his first con is himself. He continues to convince himself that blaming others, repeating lies, and refusing to believe anything other than his own reality is a legitimate discourse. And those deluded enough to follow him rigidly stand by their beliefs because in this age of post-truth “beliefs” are more important than evidence and a search for truth.

I don’t know: narcissism, distorted reality, persistent lying, delusions, and moral behavior. Sounds like a madman to me.