The Achilles Heel of Donald Trump
In the movie “Rounders”, Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) discovers Teddy KGB’s (John Malcovich) poker tell during a marathon no limit Texas Hold’em game.
In “A Few Good Men”, Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) gets Col. Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson) to admit to ordering a Code Red by rattling him over conflicting military orders.
In “Anatomy of a Murder”, Paul Biegler (Jimmy Stewart) destroys the credibility of the bartender Alfonse Paquette (Murray Hamilton) by jabbing at his Achilles Heel (he’s soft on the bar’s manager Mary Pilant).1
In mythology, Achilles’ mother dipped Achilles in the river Styx to make him impervious.
Unfortunately, his heel was never immersed and Achilles met his end in the Trojan War, when he was struck in the foot — his only weak spot.
Finding the Achilles Heel of Donald Trump has stumped armchair psychologists, political analysts, and scores of opponents — in business and in public life.
First of all, it is clearly is not money or his business. The Trump Organization, his casino management agreement, his Mar-a-Lago resident fee collection arrangement, and his New York civil fraud trial have exposed that in a choice between equity and cash flow, Donald Trump always chooses the latter.
Donald Trump is currently paying huge sums every month to finance two appeal bonds. Why? Actually posting some of his “wealth” will decrease his cash flow. It’s better to pay exhorbitant interest than to lose control over assets that feed him cash.
Second, it’s doubtful it’s women. Sure, Donald Trump has an ego, a weird belief that he is somehow sexy, and even weirder delusion that he is irresistible to women; but women are hardly a weak spot for him. If anything, women are more akin to his Kryptonite.
E Jean Carroll, Letitia James, Stormy Daniels, Hope Hicks, Fani Willis, Alina Habba, Ivanka Trump, Kellyanne Conway, Karen MacDougal, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Marla Maples, Melania Knavs, Cassidy Hutchinson, et. al have, in one way or another, bested Donald Trump. Some more than once.
Men within Donald Trump’s inner circle will have knife fights with one another to prove their loyalty, but somehow women who come into Trump’s orbit produce the reverse effect. Beneath his 1950s “women are cufflinks” mentality lies a “you play ball like a girl”2 fear. (See also Sheldon Cooper, Big Bang Theory).3
Third, while Donald Trump’s ego and likely narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)4 is the key to discovering his Achilles Heel; it is not, in and of itself, the heel.
For Donald Trump, it’s downtime. From golfing to executive time as President5 to his Fortress of Solitude breaks at Mar-a-Lago6, Donald Trump needs extensive breaks to rant and fume and soothe his ego.
Unfortunately, his criminal trial in Manhattan is taking a huge bite out of his schedule. And he’s precluded from leaving any time he wants. And it’s showing. Bigly.
Great movie. SPOILER: After watching it several times, it becomes very clear that Paquette know that his boss, Barney Quill (the victim), is a rapist and that Mary Pilant, the new bar manager, is his daughter.
Hamilton “Ham” Porter in The Sandlot
ICYMI. Sheldon Cooper in both The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon perpetually loses in his interactions with women.
His niece, Dr Mary Trump, and a crop of other psychologists have implied more than once that Donald Trump shows signs of having NPD.
https://www.axios.com/2019/02/03/donald-trump-private-schedules-leak-executive-time
Mar-a-Lago is Trump’s Fall to Spring Fortress of Solitude, Bedminster in NJ serves the same purpose in the Summer.