Re: "When a President believes he is entitled to his own facts" — Letters that should have been in the new york times

To the editors:

Maggie Haberman (Re. When a President believes he is entitled to his own facts, 10.19.18) illustrates the profound threat posed by President Trump's idiosyncratic relationship with objective reality. Young children make up things all the time; 'pretend play' is a normal aspect of childhood and a source of great pleasure precisely because one's imagination is given free range. Most of us outgrow this phase and are capable of discerning when we are engaging our imaginations and when we are observing the external world. Yet the most powerful man in the world is perversely engaged in the acrobatic juggling of reality and facts to suit his inner emotional needs.

How can he get away with this? It is only because he has others who are willing to play along with him. This includes members of Congress who are complicit in their silence and, as Haberman points out, a Republican base that uncritically plays along infusing Trump with the power of a charismatic leader . Robert Jay Lifton, a psychiatrist and scholar on the effects of war and political violence, speaks of the danger of 'malignant normalization' when threats to the safety and fabric of society are no longer perceived as such. It is unfolding before our eyes.

Respectfully submitted

Larry S Sandberg