From the Archive: Dr. Justin Frank Explains Trump’s Narcissism

Peter B. Collins

There’s a new documentary about our deranged former president, Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump, which prominently features our friend, Washington psychiatrist Justin A. Frank. Here’s one of ten podcasts with our favorite shrink.We first met Dr. Frank when he published Bush On the Couch way back in the oughts, continued when he wrote Obama On the Couch, and chatted frequently about Trump On the Couch. We developed a strong rapport, and our conversations were mutually rewarding.

Listener Ford Greene, the veteran anti-cult warrior, introduced me to the concept of “narcissistic supply” which is covered in this episode. He also tipped me that the 2020 documentary Unfit is now streaming; I found it free on Amazon Prime. Watch the trailer here, and visit the film’s website here. It’s great to see “Justy” (as he asks friends to call him) alongside other prominent psychiatrists. I consider all of the film’s contributors to be credible, except for Malcolm Nance.

There are 9 other conversations with Dr. Frank in the archive, and I invite you to explore them; just enter his name in the search window on the home page at peterbcollins.com

Here’s the text that was posted with this 2020 podcast:

Dr. Justin A. Frank, Washington, DC psychiatrist and author of Trump On The Couch, returns to discuss Trump’s recent behavior driven by a deep need for “narcissistic supply”. Your humble host felt we could all benefit from Dr. Frank’s commentary on the recent antics of our “stable genius” president.

Our conversation centers on the idea of “narcissistic supply”, the essential fuel for Donald Trump’s narcissism, which was introduced to me by listener and friend Ford Greene. Dr. Frank explains Trump’s deep needs for adulation, which drive many aspects of his erratic behavior. Since Trump’s mob rallies have been put on hold due to the pandemic, he took over the daily briefings from VP Mike Pence, where he delivers talking points interspersed with attacks on his perceived enemies, especially the media.

We discuss Trump’s skillful use of projection on Twitter and in his rhetoric, and the constant pose as a victim that’s embraced by his cult of followers, based on deep imprinting, which Dr. Frank explains.