Breathe
By Bárbara Tijerina
Yesterday was the inauguration of President Donald Trump; it is his second term and it comes in a totally different form than 2017 when it seemed that a political outsider turned out to be the president of the United States.
The president, as of today, in his past was a television host who knows how to communicate and connect with people. If there is something to recognize to Trump it is his communication skills, his simple language and his nonverbal language have been coherent and that is why he has managed to position himself as an alpha.
What is an alpha? It is the leader of the herd, the one that in the animal kingdom chooses the rest of the animals because it considers that its greater size or better vision guarantees the survival of the species. The alpha lowers the stress levels of the group because they feel protected by his leadership.
Trump has managed to position himself as that big, strong male who knows how to lead them all to a better destiny.
Obama represented charisma and successful oratory, Biden was the return to aesthetic and political moderation, now Trump returns to power but he is not the same as in 2017. His photos, his postures, his non-verbal language have changed, he comes more territorial.
Like Napoleon who said he sought greatness because great is beautiful, Trump follows that same strategy of appearing great and powerful. He does not smile as often, because smiling is a sign of appeasement, it is a way of saying I do not represent a threat to you.
Last year, 225 psychiatrists stated in the New York Times that they observe in Trump the qualities of a person with a narcissistic personality disorder and some added malignant.
An important thing to keep in mind is that people with personality disorders are unlikely to change.
Among the characteristics described for narcissistic personality disorder are: grandiosity, explosive personal relationships, need for constant admiration, impulsiveness, inability to resist criticism, as well as lacking empathy which is the ability to look at the other and know what they feel, because their attention is on themselves, much like the Narcissus of mythology who died drowned after contemplating his image in a lake.
His non-verbal language is congruent with that image of the alpha, he has wide postures, uses the baton finger which means here I command and uses the pincer with his hand which is a sign of precision.
This Trump term begins and in addition to all these characteristics, what we know about him is that he is unpredictable.
But if he follows Napoleon's trajectory, his excessive need for approval and admiration may lead him to risky decisions like the French conqueror who lost his way.
Finally today he is achieving the dream of every narcissist, that the whole world is watching him with fear.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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