There's been talk of tRump's mental state. He is congenitally unable to obey

[Stonepounder]

The First Law of Holes. That's his biggest problem and the one that should scare anyone with an ounce of sense.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_holes

The first law of holes, or the law of holes, is an adage which states that "if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging".[1][2] The meaning behind it is that if you find yourself in an untenable position, you should stop and change what you are doing, rather than carrying on and exacerbating the situation.

And tRump simply is completely unable to understand this.

[stevenleser]

1. Well said, nothing to add! nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. That's because he doesn't recognize when he's in a hole.

He sees the hole inside-out, as a mountain he's on top of.

[unblock]

3. he's not the only one, most republicans are like this. he's merely more obvious.

for most republican, their commitment to their right-wing, republican worldview is tribal, perhaps even effectively religious.

there's simply no amount of real-world evidence that will convince a believer that god doesn't exist. no bad news -- no floods, no tornados, no mass shootings, no terrorist attacks, no senseless murders, no crimes, no wars, nothing. there's an explanation for everything that doesn't involve disbelief in god, so bad news has zero impact on their belief. god's angry with us, moves in mysterious ways, has a plan, etc.

(not meaning to imply that belief in god is inherently right-wing or republican, of course it isn't; just using it as an example of a worldview that can't be shaken by things that have an explanation within the worldview).

similarly, republicans are committed to their right-wing, hate-filled worldview, and they have plenty of self-reinforcing mechanisms. bad news is the result of a liberal media, or else clinton cheated or liberals voted multiple times, whatever. more directly, trump continues to get media attention and enthusiastic supporters and so on.

he hears and accepts the positive signals and dismisses the negative signals easily because he's always done that. that's part of the worldview of his attention-seeking controversial behavior. of course some people will be horrified by what he says, *that's that point*! that's how he makes the headlines.