The ‘Dark Triad’ and Donald Trump: What sends some to the C-suite and others to prison

Former U.S. president Donald Trump speaks to the media at the end of the day during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments.& (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP) Bill Danielsen, Royal Roads University Every day there are headlines about Donald Trump’s many legal woes. At his ongoing criminal trial in a Manhattan courthouse, the former president of the United States is accused of the inappropriate use of campaign funds to cover up a sexual relationship with former adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Despite Trump’s many legal challenges and his dubious personal attributes, he’s the Republican Party presidential nominee heading into the November election. Love him or hate him, there can be little doubt about some of Trump’s key personality traits. Not surprisingly, various professionals have made arm’s-length assessments of the former president, and he rates quite high in what are known as the Dark Triad personality traits. Dark Triad poster boy? Dark Triad traits consist of the personality characteristics of Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathology. Let’s look at each of these briefly: — Machiavellianism involves a comfort with interpersonal manipulation and a generalized lack of morality or empathy. — Narcissism tends to involve a sense of entitlement, selfishness and...