‘At the Bottom, All Tragedies are Stupid’

So are the words of Stephen King. Hence, perhaps even I could write a tragedy without any literary talent. For when comic absurdity becomes reality, that is tragedy enough, and one need only recount it.

The only mental health professionals I know of to have publicists are Jeffrey L— and John G—. Both have done everything they could to destroy the efforts of conscientious professionals, one from without and the other from within. One worked from a clever conniving that effectively got him posts he obviously little measured up to, and the other from a clumsy clownishness that assumed position with top professionals only to discredit them all. Both have obvious personality pathologies that echo those of Donald Trump, whether for or against him. Both rode on the unexpected success and influence of the book I edited, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, whether by opposing it or by claiming it to be his.

The book was an unprecedented New York Times bestseller of its type, being a collection of specialized knowledge by multiple authors, made accessible to the public as a service. We donated all revenues so as to remove conflicts of interest, and it became a phenomenon in the publishing world.

It was an attempt to meet an unprecedented national situation. If the president were any less buffoon-like, people may have taken the dangers he posed more seriously. But the public did not recognize that it was precisely this level of obvious incompetence that was to be feared and underestimated the threat of allowing such…