‘Driven by strong emotions': Psychologists break down Trump's latest bizarre act
He's mercurial. He's unpredictable. He's inconsistent.
And he's proud of it.
The 79-year-old billionaire property developer and former game show host believes it's what sets him apart from America's governing 'elite'.
A clearly exasperated Trump took to the White House lawn to blurt: 'We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f**k they're doing.'
He was referring to Israel and Iran breaching the deadline for his unilaterally declared ceasefire.
It seems to work. At least sometimes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to back down. He thanked the President for his 'immense appreciation for Israel' and decided to 'refrain from further attacks'.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin was not so cowed when he was pommeled with similar bluster. The Don's outburst over a breached ceasefire was dismissed as 'emotional overstrain'.
That's a matter of personal politics. But Professor of Psychology Geoff Beattie believes such outbursts present a window into Trump's thought processes.
'Trump was clearly furious, and his language showed it,' the Edge Hill University academic writes.
'This was not a verbal slip – there was no immediate correction, no apology, no nonverbal indication of embarrassment. He just stormed off, clearly angry.'
It's not what voters generally expect from their elected representatives.
Statesmanship may have gone out of vogue decades ago. Along with transparency and accountability.
Despite this, President Theodore Roosevelt's mantra of 'speak softly but carry a big stick' has largely remained an unwritten law of Western diplomacy since World War II.
'But Trump showed frustration, barely contained,' Professor Beattie states. 'His furious, aggressive response was like something straight out of an old psychology textbook.'
Mind games
Human beings have big opinions of themselves.
They're supposed to be smart. To be cool, calm, collected. Civilised.
After all, that's what's supposed to set them apart from mere animals.
'They find other ways of dealing with their frustrations,' Professor Beattie writes. 'They use their rational system of thought to find solutions…
'Perhaps, that's why many people feel shocked when they watch this US president in certain situations. To many of us, it all seems so basic, so unsophisticated, so frightening.'
But Trump's MAGA followers believe it's all part of a mind game.
They insist the President employs a sophisticated 'Mad Man' strategy when it comes to his politics, business and personal relationships.
Put simply, it keeps his opponents off balance. They never know what to expect.
But critics argue the tactic has a critical flaw: the 'Mad Man' card can easily back a player into a corner, where they must either go through with a bluff or lose face.
It comes down to what's behind the poker face.
Does Trump think fast, automatically - or unconsciously?
Professor Beattie says this is evolution's basic, rapid-reaction system. 'It is an intuitive system designed to work in a world full of approach and avoidance, scary animals and friendly animals. It is heavily reliant on affect (emotion) to guide decision-making.'
Or is everything Trump does the result of constant calculation?
Professor Beattie says this second method of thinking is 'slower, more deliberative. It requires conscious effort and is used for complex thinking, solving difficult problems, or making careful decisions.'
Good decisions, he argues, depend upon system two checking the advice of system one.
'But system one often jumps quickly and unconsciously to certain conclusions,' he adds. 'System two should check them, but often doesn't. Even when it would be easy.'
Action or reaction?
'It was a startling moment, even coming from a president who has publicly used that word, and other crude language, in the past,' states Tom Jones of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
Mainstream media was all over the unprecedented action taken over Iran's attempt to build an A-bomb.
But it couldn't make up its mind on how to cover Trump's F-bomb.
Some ran unedited video clips. Others used a dash or dot dot dot to mask what everybody already knew.
Poynter's senior vice president, Kelly McBride, argues the truth should be presented unvarnished.
'When you're covering the President, there are very few moments that are completely unpredictable and unscripted — many more with this President than most, but still — and that was one of them. And I think the record should reflect the entire moment.'
Few dispute Trump's decision-making style emphasises immediacy and emotional conviction. This has proven effective in rallying supporters and generating an air of decisiveness.
Especially when nobody dares to disagree with him.
Prime Minister Netanyahu immediately complied with Trump's 'Do not drop those bombs' demand.
But his office put a positive spin on things.
'President Trump expressed his immense appreciation for Israel — which achieved all of its war goals. The President also expressed his confidence in the stability of the ceasefire… (So) Israel refrained from further attacks.'
But President Putin's mouthpiece was more barbed when his boss was labelled 'absolutely CRAZY!'.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared: 'We are really grateful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for their assistance in organising and launching this negotiation process. Of course, at the same time, this is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overstrain and emotional reactions.'
Professor Beattie has made up his own mind.
'His decisions seem to be driven by strong emotions,' he observes. 'His response to events, opponents and issues are often passionate and visceral. This could lead to decisions being unduly influenced by personal feelings, first impressions based on arbitrary cues, and interpersonal perceptions, rather than anything more substantial.'
The wisdom of The Don
Trump rose to the US Presidency out of the knockdown world of real estate and reality television.
'Many suggest that Trump's decision-making style reflects his background in the high-pressure and high-stakes world of business, where quick judgments and gut instinct can be advantageous in these sorts of competitive winner-takes-all environments,' Professor Beattie states.
'But the world at war is a more precarious place, where system one (reactionary thought) needs to be kept more firmly in check.
'Gut instincts may have a role to play, but that old lazy system two (considered thought) needs to be more vigilant. Especially, it would seem, in Trump's case.'
Such personalities have other commonly associated traits.
'Commentators have described Trump as both narcissistic and authoritarian,' state John Moores University workplace relations researchers Neil Beasley and Madeleine Pickles.
'Yet, running parallel to these factors, one character trait is glaringly common among Trump supporters: sycophancy.'
Yes-men (and women): They're in every office, busily 'kissing up' and 'kicking down'.
'When leaders are surrounded by 'yes-men', they're deprived of critical input that could challenge assumptions or highlight potential flaws,' Beasley adds.
'This can lead to cognitive entrenchment where decision-makers become overconfident and resistant to change. Bad decisions then proceed unchecked, often escalating into systemic failures.'
But the brains behind Trump insist this is all just sour grapes.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said after US forces bombed Iran's nuclear facilities: 'Past presidents wanted to take this action, but they didn't have the guts to make the decision.'
Columnist Debra Saunders points out for the Heritage Foundation think-tank that, despite all the hostility between Trump and Europe, 'NATO leaders are praising Trump for pushing for them to increase their contribution to NATO's defence spending'.
'At the time, Trump's remarks seemed a shocking breach of decorum,' she added.
'Now they have the ring of an alarm that needed to be sounded.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Telegraph
a few seconds ago
- Daily Telegraph
‘Significantly more likely': New data reveals almost three million Americans identify as transgender
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. Donald Trump may have signed an executive order stating trans people don't exist, but more people than ever before now say they are indeed transgender. According to new data, almost three million Americans now identify with the gender, a figure estimated to be almost double what it was a decade ago and largely down to the almost 1 in 30 young people who are trans. The figure has emerged amid the Trump administration's concerted efforts to insist trans people don't exist. Get all the latest news from US President Donald Trump and what it means for Australia as it drops – download the app direct to your phone. Almost immediately after his inauguration in January, the US President signed an executive order that essentially barred the government from acknowledging trans people. That has led to the removal of government funding from trans initiatives, including specific healthcare information on government websites and even the removal of the word 'transgender' from the website of a national memorial which partly commemorates trans people. Trans athletes have been barred from competing and the removal of known trans people from the military, regardless of their service record, is underway. US President Donald Trump has made concerted efforts to insist trans people don't exist. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP The new data was released by the University of California Los Angeles' Williams Institute, which does regular surveys on the demography of trans Americans. The LGBT issue-focused think tank found 2.8 million people in the US now identify as transgender, equating to around 1 per cent of the country's total population. The figure is slightly more than in Australia: in 2024, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated 0.9 per cent of Aussies were trans. Of those Americans who identify as trans, roughly equal numbers are trans men, trans women and non-binary. Despite the findings, the Williams Institute warned that a White House crackdown on the collection of government data about trans people means it could be some time before an accurate estimate can be done again. About 1 per cent of the American population identify as transgender. Picture:via AFP Rise in people identifying as trans In 2016, the Williams Institute found 0.6 per cent of adults – or 1.4 million people – were transgender. The rise in that figure could be due to trans people being more open now about their gender identity, as well as the US government in the last decade collecting data from far more people. Rates of people identifying as transgender significantly increased among younger Americans. Of 18- to 24-year-olds, 2.7 per cent said they were trans compared to 0.4 per cent of those aged over 35 and 0.3 per cent of those aged 65 and older. 'Younger generations are more likely to identify as transgender, and we expect that trend to continue.' Picture: Kena Betancur/AFP More than 1 in 30 young people trans Additionally about 724,000 teens aged 13-17 identify as trans, or 3.3 per cent of the Americans in that age range. 'Younger generations are more likely to identify as transgender, and we expect that trend to continue,' Williams Institute senior scholar of public policy and the study's lead author, Jody Herman, said. 'Youth and young adults are more likely to identify as transgender due to a variety of factors, including a greater willingness among younger individuals to disclose that they identify as transgender on surveys.' The state with the fewest number of trans people is New Mexico, in the south, accounting for 0.4 per cent of adults. The state with the highest number of trans people is Minnesota in the north, with 1.2 per cent of residents stating it as their gender identity. Elizabeth Fogarty and Laura Tinter participate in the Trans Day of Visibility rally on the National Mall on March 31, 2025 in Washington. Picture:via AFP Hawaii has the highest number of young people who identify as trans, at 3.4 per cent. 'In prior estimates, there have been no statistically significant differences between age groups for adults in the percentage of those who identify as transgender,' the report states. 'Our current estimates … show that the youngest adult age groups are now significantly more likely to identify as transgender than older age groups.' The Williams Institute used data from the US Government's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System, the US Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance System (YRBS), and 'advanced statistical modelling' to estimate numbers of trans people. The Trump administration has now removed questions on trans identity from two periodic surveys by the CDC. That means future assessments of numbers of trans Americans may not be as accurate. 'For these data sources to just suddenly disappear, it is a major setback,' Ms Herman said. 'The population is not going to go away; we're just not going to know more about them than what we have from our current sources.' Originally published as 'Significantly more likely': New data reveals almost three million Americans identify as transgender
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Meme-lord Newsom riles Republicans with Trump-trolling posts
All-caps hyperbole, wild accusations and idiosyncratic spelling: not just an average Wednesday on Donald Trump's Truth Social feed, but a new digital media strategy for California Governor Gavin Newsom that is delighting Democrats -- and riling Republicans. Newsom -- hotly-tipped for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination -- has been parodying Trump with a series of posts written in the Republican leader's distinct style that he hopes will show his party how to beat the social media master at his own game. In recent weeks the governor has posted all manner of manipulated images depicting him in the kind of over-the-top vignettes popular among Trump's "MAGA" movement -- superimposing his face on Mount Rushmore and appearing to pray with MAGA favorites Tucker Carlson, Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan. When Trump's one-word weekend post -- saying simply "Bela" -- left the president's supporters scratching their heads, Newsom posted a screenshot alongside his own caption: "DONALD (TINY HANDS), HAS WRITTEN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY THIS MORNING — UNFORTUNATELY (LOW IQ) HE SPELLED IT WRONG — 'BETA.'" The 57-year-old Democrat mocked Trump's salesman-like rhetorical style in a post about redistricting plans that he said had led "MANY" people to call him "GAVIN CHRISTOPHER 'COLUMBUS' NEWSOM (BECAUSE OF THE MAPS!)." And he has taken to ending his posts with the much-mocked sign-off that Trump, 79, made famous: "THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!" The tweets have quickly gained currency among Newsom's supporters, who have shared their own "Trumpian" memes of a shirtless Newsom with bulging muscles, brandishing pistols or riding into battle on a velociraptor. - 'Newsom Derangement Syndrome' - The governor called Trump's late-night social media tirades "pathetic," telling historian and podcast host Heather Cox Richardson that people who normally "can't stand" politicians had been reaching out to compliment his new approach. "And they're maybe paying attention to the childishness that is Donald Trump, that we've allowed him to normalize -- the way he communicates, talking down to us, looking past us," Newsom said. "I've got kids, and I've got a whole generation of people who thinks this is normal. It is not, and it can't be normalized, and that's big part of what we're also pushing back against." The posts are garnering the attention of X's algorithm while sparking the ire of Republicans, conservative-leaning political commentators and the right-wing media. Dana Perino, an anchor on Fox News, slammed Newsom's new strategy, telling viewers: "If I were his wife, I would say you are making a fool of yourself, stop it." "NDS - Newsom Derangement Syndrome is a real thing," Republican political consultant Mike Madrid posted on X, retooling the Republican accusation of "Trump Derangement Syndrome" levied to dismiss criticism of the president. - 'Inside joke' - The snark appears to be working. The number of followers of Newsom's official press office account on X -- where the cheeky announcement are being posted -- has soared by 450 percent since mid-June, according to CNN, with huge strides also seen on Instagram and TikTok. Daily Google searches for Newsom are up 500 percent since August 1, the network reported. Newsom says the MAGA-coded posts are not only annoying Republicans, but redefining how Democrats can provide an effective opposition to one of the most media-savvy leaders ever to occupy the White House. Asked for comment, the White House shared with AFP an image it had initially sent US publication Politico repurposing a scene from the show "Mad Men" to demonstrate that Trump is not just unfazed, but doesn't think about Newsom at all. Politico had called it the first official White House press statement delivered exclusively in meme form. Jeff Le, a deputy cabinet secretary for previous California governor Jerry Brown, said Newsom was responding to widespread discontent at the Democratic Party's perceived lack of fight when it comes to Trump -- and the yawning leadership vacuum. "His messaging has helped introduce him in a tongue-and-cheek manner that reflects the inside joke that many digital native Democrats understand," Le told AFP. But he added that the strategy was "not without risk." "If there is a terrible natural disaster -- a catastrophic fire or mudslide -- it's fair to say that the White House keeps score," he said, "and the president may be less inclined to provide timely federal government support and funding for the response."
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu interview: Anthony Albanese ‘forever tarnished' by Palestine pledge
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has doubled down on his criticism of Anthony Albanese, saying his 'record is forever tarnished by the weakness' he showed 'in the face of 'Hamas terrorist mentors'. It comes after Australia's peak Jewish organisation wrote to both men calling for an end to public posturing. In an exclusive interview with Sky News' Sharri Markson, Mr Netanyahu said the Australian leader's record was tarnished by weakness. It comes after he wrote to Mr Albanese earlier in the month lambasting Australia's decision to recognise Palestinian statehood, and personally attacked the Prime Minister in scathing social media posts The Israeli leader has made similar attacks on leaders of other countries who have also shifted their stance on recognising Palestine in recent months. 'I'm sure he has a reputable record as a public servant, but I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of these Hamas terrorist monsters,' Mr Netanyahu said when asked why he believed history would remember Mr Albanese as a weak politician. 'When the worst terrorist organisation on earth – these savages who murdered women, raped them, beheaded men, burnt babies alive in front of their parents, took hundreds of hostages – when these people congratulate the Prime Minister of Australia, you know something is wrong.' The news broadcaster, due to air the full interview on Thursday night, has only published a small excerpt of its interview with Mr Netanyahu so far. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry published letters it sent to Mr Albanese and Mr Netanyahu on Wednesday calling for them to end their public spat and warning it put the nation's Jewish people at risk by pouring fuel on an anti-Semitic fire.
