The Strange Case of Donald J. Trump cover art

The Strange Case of Donald J. Trump

A Psychological Reckoning

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

The Strange Case of Donald J. Trump

By: Dan P. McAdams
Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £16.24

Buy Now for £16.24

The Strange Case of Donald J. Trump provides a coherent and nuanced psychological portrait of Donald Trump, drawing upon biographical events in the subject's life and contemporary scientific research and theory in personality, developmental, and social psychology.  

Renowned psychologist Dan P. McAdams examines the central personality traits, personal values and motives, and the interpersonal and cultural factors that together have shaped Trump's psychological makeup, with an emphasis on the strangeness of the case - that is, how Trump again and again defies psychological expectations regarding what it means to be a human being. The book's central thesis is that Donald Trump is the episodic man. The chapters, structured as stand-alone essays each riffing on a single psychological theme, build on each other to present a portrait of a person who compulsively lives in the moment, without an internal story to integrate his life in time. 

With an emphasis on scientific personality research, rather than political rhetoric, McAdams shows that Trump's utter lack of an inner life story is truly exceptional. This book is a remarkable case study which should be of as much interest to psychologists as it is to listeners trying to reckon with the often confounding behavior and temperament of the 45th President of the United States.

©2020 Oxford University Press (P)2020 Kalorama
Political Science Politicians Politics & Activism Politics & Government Presidents & Heads of State Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Psychology & Interactions Nonfiction Biography
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
I bought this book because I was looking for something which would dig a bit deeper into Trump's psychology than the basic narcissist/sociopath narrative, and the description made it sound like this was it. It isn't. I gave up after Chapter 5. I wasn't hearing anything that I hadn't concluded for myself (you'll probably feel the same). Things that the author touted as brilliant insights were - on examination - pretty banal. He kept reminding me about his academic credentials. I wasn't convinced, unless he is a Professor in Stating the Obvious, with a Masters in Making a Quick Buck.

Move Along. Nothing To See Here ...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.