Why Isn’t Trump Campaigning Hard? Maybe Because He Has PTSD.

On trauma, empathy, and a candidate who only cares about himself.

Image: Trump rally Jan 2024, Atataxes, CC...

Over the last couple of weeks, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her VP pick Minnesota governor Tim Walz, have been holding a whirlwind of huge, enthusiastic rallies in swing states; Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada.

Meanwhile, Republican nominee Donald Trump has been…not doing that. He held a supposed news conference which was actually a long rambling speech for the cameras at Mar-A-Lago; he did a (botched) livestream on twitter with billionaire fascist fanboy Elon Musk; he gave a supposed press conference which was actually a long rambling speech for the cameras at his New Jersey golf club.

Trump’s VP pick Ohio Senator and grotesque misogynist huckster J.D. Vance has been holding rallies in swing states. Trump has held a couple of rallies too— one in deep red Montana, and a couple last week in North Carolina and Wilkes-Barre, PA (my hometown). But he hasn’t been barnstorming.

This is more than a little odd. Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns were built around his mega rallies, where he soaked up adulation from his followers, encouraged violence against protestors, and generally posed as orange-face Hitler. Trump has in fact seemed most comfortable in front of crowds. So when the moment seems to call for doing the thing he loves to do, why isn’t he doing it?

One possible answer is that Trump is less enthusiastic about rallies because a shooter tried to kill him at one of them.

Trump may have PTSD

Trump was targeted by a gunman in mid-July at a rally in Butler County, PA. Three people were shot and one died. Trump’s ear was scratched, possibly by a bullet, possibly by shrapnel from the bullet striking near him.

The news cycle has been extremely turbulent since then, and the media has moved on. Trump, though, has (understandably) had more trouble forgetting. He has reportedly been watching the seven-second clip of the assassination attempt in which his ear was injured “over and over and over again.”  One Republican campaign source said Trump “may actually legit have PTSD.”

Trump of course is not confirming these stories publicly, though his campaign acknowledged he’s still affected by the assassination attempt—and he’s decided to speak from behind bulletproof glass at outdoor rallies. That’s a remarkable concession; Trump hates showing weakness. But being scared and anxious because of an attempt on his life is about as normal as Trump ever gets.

Trump has little access to most human emotions because, unlike most people, he doesn’t care about anyone else. Trump, though  does care about himself. He doesn’t want to die. Faced with his mortality, he quailed. That makes him understandable. You might say it even makes him sympathetic—if it weren’t for every single other thing he’d ever done in his life.

Trump, guns, and Paul Pelosi

Being targeted for violence is frightening and traumatizing. Trump knows that now firsthand. But it has not led him to express regret for the many, many times he’s cheered on political violence against his opponents.

Trump’s record of advocating for political violence is too extensive to go into here. A couple of relevant examples will suffice.