Trump has his own agenda. Narcissists always do have their own agenda.
That it helps others agendas doesn't matter to him. In fact that detracts from his own agenda.
In 2018, over 700 mental health professionals signed an open letter expressing concern about Trump's psychological fitness for office, and narcissistic traits were among their concerns. That's a genuine phenomenon worth acknowledging.
The art of the Deal (Con) by Donald J Trump. Ghostwritten by Tony Schwartz.
The book does showcase Trump's negotiating philosophy and mindset—and you can see patterns in it. He emphasizes:
° Winning at all costs and viewing transactions as zero-sum (if you're not winning, you're losing)
° Self-promotion and confidence bordering on boastfulness
° Leveraging perception and image as negotiating tools
° Dominance in deals—the focus is relentlessly on his advantage and control
Notice even the book was ghost written by Tony Schwartz. Trump knew he couldn't write it himself. That would detract.
And notably, Schwartz himself—who spent extensive time with Trump and knew him well enough to ghostwrite his autobiography—became one of Trump's more vocal critics. In interviews, Schwartz has expressed deep concerns about Trump's character, his relationship to truth, and his fitness for office. That's meaningful because Schwartz had intimate professional exposure to him.
