Does Trump Have Any Real Friends?

For the last year, I have been waiting to hear from all of Donald's childhood friends, the ones he went to school with, the ones he grew up with, even those he has made in business and worked with over the years. Not his employees, not his progeny, not those that have been on the apprentice, those are not lifelong friends. What does it say about a man that has few, or possibly no, actually friends?

Since Trump has no political background or 'public' evidence of philanthropy, he has escaped a lot of the scrutiny that most running for office face. He eschews responsibility from any 'terrible' things he believes the US Government has done because he has never once participated in any form of public service. His unwillingness to release any tax returns also leaves a big question mark about his actual financial status. However, what most people do have, whether they are political actors or not, are friends that will speak kindly on their behalf.

The media and the GOP are not his friends. At best, the media presents him as a somewhat erratic but dedicated man of the people. At worst, Trump is called out on his lies and inaccuracies, his bizarre behavior, and his highly inflammatory statements. The GOP seems to be getting in line behind a man that they hope will allow them to continue business as unsual in Washington. As of today, only one registered Republican member of Congress, Rep. Richard Hanna of New York, has said he will vote for Clinton. While a handful of other Republicans have distanced themselves from Trump by saying that his views do not represent their own, few have actually taken the next logical step of rejecting him as their Candidate. 

So does Donald have an 'inner circle' of close friends developed in his 70 years on this planet? If he does, I have managed to miss the interviews or statements of each and every one of them. If you can name one that I have somehow overlooked, I would appreciate a link to the appropriate source. I cannot find evidence of any close friend speaking on Trump's behalf, nor has he presented a name of any single person that can vouch for his character over many years. He often alludes to what 'people are saying' or 'I have heard', but there are never any names attached to these assertions.

Why does it matter that Trump may have no real friends? It matters because normal people can and do maintain relationships over a sustained period of time. Most people have someone, even just one friend, that will vouch for their character. Many journalist and psychologists have put forth the very plausible suggestion that Trump has a Narcissistic Personality Disorder. As a nurse, I can honestly say that most people running for the leadership of a country have a healthy degree of narcissism, but the disorder is a very different from a merely inflated degree of self-importance, it walks right along side of being a psychopath. 

The Mayo Clinic, DSM-5 Symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Trump's constant cries of being treated unfairly by the media, of being "the only one who can fix" the world's problems are not only childish, but incredibly dangerous. A true psychopath has no understanding of relationships, and no ability to empathize with other human beings. Not every psychopath (or sociopath as it is also known) is a danger to society, they usually are functioning people who simply lack the ability to fully empathize with others. Psychopathy only becomes dangerous when an individual has no ability to empathize or even sympathize with other human beings and acts in a manner that is dangerous or criminal. Again, these represent a very small percentage of those diagnosed with any degree of Psychopathy, but in the case of Donald J. Trump he is nailing every possible symptom of both Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Psychopathy. He is dangerous. He is dangerous for America, and he is dangerous for the planet.

Without friends, and without empathy for others, he simply can't make decisions when American lives are on the line. Trump displayed this spectacularly in the past few days as he first insulted a Gold Star family, the Khan family, then went on to suggest his business achievements are tantamount to giving one's life in service of country. What is shocking to me is the number of people in powerful government positions, almost entirely GOP, that have refused to speak up and denounce his outright bigotry, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and disregard for even a modicum of sensitivity. That is the real story here. Why are generally sane Republican politicians not speaking out against this very dangerous man who is entirely bereft of any statesmanlike qualities?