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I am a life-long Democrat. I believe wholeheartedly that the role of the government is to make life for it’s citizens better. The Democratic party values, as described by Britannica is:

The Democratic Party is generally associated with more progressive policies. It supports social and economic equality, favoring greater government intervention in the economy but opposing government involvement in the private noneconomic affairs of citizens. Democrats advocate for the civil rights of minorities, and they support a safety net for individuals, backing various social welfare programs, including Medicaid and food aid. To fund these programs and other initiatives, Democrats often endorse a progressive tax. In addition, Democrats support environmental protection programs, gun control, less-strict immigration laws, and worker rights. (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Democratic-Party)

I have NEVER supported Donald Trump. He’s opportunistic and psychopathic. To ensure that I am not using words that are over-used to the point of having no meaning or multiple reasons, I thought it would be helpful to list the traits linked to these words.

Opportunistic: An opportunistic person takes advantage of opportunities to gain an advantage, often without considering the consequences or how their actions affect others. Opportunistic leaders are self-centered and use their power and influence to serve their own interests and avoid accountability. They exploit others for personal gain, take advantage of public fears or prejudices, have little regard for principles or consequences, and use situations to gain power for themselves.

In business relationships this individual withholds or distorts information, reneges on agreements or changes the terms of a deal, and undermines goals. They quickly assess what people want to hear and then create stories that fit those expectations. They con other people into doing their work and then take credit for it. Financially they misappropriate assets and will alter earnings figures to meet a desired outcome. They use verbal abuse or name-calling to incite conflict and gossip, using the ensuing emotional distress to form alliances who they can then manipulate to target and threaten those who disagree.

In personal relationships, this individual exploits trust and is transactional in relating to others, manipulating them for the purpose of undermining their self-worth and creating doubts and fears that they can take advantage of. They are self-serving and self-centered and uninterested in investing in long-term relationships. As in business relationships, they make false promises, misrepresent their intentions, and hide their true nature.

Opportunists typically have a short-term focus, prioritizing only their immediate wants and needs and are skilled at acting out charm and empathy to hide their lack of emotional depth. They lie and misrepresent facts and often portray themselves as a victim to emotionally manipulate others, caring more about status and ambition than fairness.

Psychopathic: The psychopath is an opportunist. They are able to con and use others with little to no regard for the human impact of their deceitfulness, whether their victim(s) are family members, colleagues or strangers. Psychopaths are attracted to other people with psychopathic traits and especially to people they can exploit. Psychopathy is linked to underdevelopment of the brain’s emotional regulation and impulse control regions. Scientists have observed signs of atypical functioning of particular brain areas.

A psychopath is diagnosed by using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and the Psychopathic Personal Inventory (PPI). Both focus on criteria that capture a callous unconcern for others by using a 20-item checklist. The revised version of the 20-item checklist includes the characteristics shown below. Each is scored on a three-point scale based on whether the item does not apply (0), applies to a certain extent (1), or fully applies (2) to the individual. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/psychopathy

• Glibness/superficial charm
• Grandiose sense of self-worth
• Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
• Pathological lying
• Conning/manipulative
• Lack of remorse or guilt
• Shallow affect (i.e., reduced emotional responses, cruelty without feeling bad about it)
• Callous/lack of empathy
• Parasitic lifestyle
• Poor behavioral controls
• Promiscuous sexual behavior
• Early behavioral problems
• Lack of realistic, long-term goals
• Impulsivity
• Irresponsibility
• Failure to accept responsibility for one’s own actions
• Many short-term marital relationships
• Juvenile delinquency
• Revocation of conditional release (from prison)
• Criminal versatility (i.e., commits diverse types of crimes)