Trump’s conspiracism is self-generated to affirm a victimized and grandiose self-image

Evidence

The president’s conspiracism is sometimes imported, as it was in this case, but often it is his own invention, a reflection of his own sense of reality. This is its most dangerous aspect. Trump appears to live in the reality he has created by interpreting the world through his own personal needs. His unreality often seems, even to observers who are not professional psychologists, to answer to a drive to represent the world in a way that affirms his sense of himself—a combination of victimization and grandiosity (the target of “the biggest hoax in history”). His torrent of conspiracist claims—the National Park Service concealing the true size of his inaugural crowd; the masses of illegal voters casting ballots for Hillary Clinton in a rigged election—posits a reality conforming to powerful personal imperatives. His victory in the Electoral College could not be the whole story because it did not correspond to his conviction that his win was monumental—the widest margin in history; he seems not to have been able to confront the humbling fact that he had fewer votes than Hillary Clinton. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 158

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Top-tier density: distinguishes imported vs. self-invented conspiracism and ties both to a mechanism (self-affirmation) without slipping into psychobabble.
• XREF: connects to: Conspiracy theories can be generated about conspiracy theorists themselves. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 958; Trump brought conspiratorial claims into the White House presidency itself — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 157; Conspiracism differs from bullshit in its emphatic demand for affirmation — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 166 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Trump brought conspiratorial claims into the White House presidency itself #exemplifies (0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 157
• Conspiracy theories can be generated about conspiracy theorists themselves. #complicates (0.75) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 958
• Conspiracism differs from bullshit in its emphatic demand for affirmation #expands (0.72) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 166