17 December—Following his normal practice, as soon as Donald Trump knew about the murder in Los Angeles of Rob and Michele Reiner he posted on his website that they were killed “reportedly due to the anger [Rob] caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME”; and that he “was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness.”

It’s no surprise that Trump has been taken to task for his unsympathetic comments, even by his supporters. But in his defense, first it must be pointed out that at the time he cited the dreaded and epidemic Trump Derangement Syndrome as the cause of the double murder it wasn’t known—alleged, at any rate—that the Reiners’ younger son, Nick, had done the deed.

Also in Trump’s defense, it must be emphasized that his lack of sympathy as well as his own obvious paranoia and hyperbolic and entirely customary self-aggrandizement are merely and clearly symptomatic of his well-documented narcissism.

In other words, Trump simply couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t contain his utter joy—his unbounded exhilaration—that one of his severest, most vocal, most popular critics had been murdered. Vindictiveness gone wild. Vindictiveness vindicated. And Trump could honestly and accurately—for a change—probably—claim that he had nothing to do with the double murder.

Then there’s the matter of taste. Of course most people would consider Trump’s nasty, self-serving comments on the Reiners’ murder in poor taste. But then you must consider that Trump has proven on numerous occasions and beyond any doubt that he has no taste at all.

And finally, isn’t everything without exception about Donald Trump? Well, everything Trump regards as positive for his self-image and public image, anyway. Stated again, then, simply and declaratively, everything but everything is about Donald Trump. That’s obvious to him and he expects it to be obvious to everybody. He’d never deny it in so many words, of course, but you don’t even have to ask him to confirm it. You just know it. Or so he deludes himself.

So when Donald Trump acts like a miserable, narcissistic, self-dealing prick, you can’t hold it against him. Because he’s only being himself. Well, you can and should hold it against him—for all the good it does.

But is that the sort of person who should have been given so much power? Donald Trump certainly is an irrefutable argument against democracy . . .