Long, but informative.

This Epstein stuff reminds me of guys I’ve know. One guy I knew up at Western in 1983, when I was living with my girlfriend. We met him through a friend, who warned me about him. He never made it clear what the issue was. He just said, “Be careful with him.”

I was seeking a subculture kind of product as many of us did back in the 1970s/80s. In college. It wasn’t an unusual thing to hear.

When we met him at his house, he seemed like a nice guy, good-looking, pleasant, charismatic. Kind of short. But I liked him well enough.

One day, he came to our house about something. I had to leave him in the living room with my girlfriend for a few minutes to get something.

When I returned, she had an odd look on her face. After he left, she said, “NEVER again leave me alone with him!” She seemed a bit distraught.

“What'd he do?”

“Nothing. But promise me, OK? Never leave me alone with him.” I never did.

“OK. What happened?”

She couldn’t articulate it. But something was “off”, and I never left her alone with him again.

Later, I asked around about him, and finally, someone, a girl, answered: “There’s a rumor about rapes that have happened. That’s it's him.

From then on I observed him differently and began to notice there was something odd, if you were looking for it.

I’ve met a few others like him, mostly short, good looking guys, oddly enough. Predators. Narcissism restrained, until it’s not.

We see this in people like Jeffrey Epstein. Donald Trump, who is not short, but privileged and pampered all his life.

Decades later I met another guy like that college guy. My new girlfriend, who was very good looking, and eventually became my wife…asked me to always go with her to see her divorce lawyer about her previous marriage, as there was something odd, about him she couldn’t put her finger on, but made her uncomfortable.

When I met him, he was a good-looking guy, a lawyer, well-dressed, seemed nice enough, and short (I mention this because it seemed relevant for some reason). But something was off about him I couldn’t put my finger on, either. I assumed it was just him wondering why I was there? But then, what did he care? Unless…I was in his way somehow?

Eventually, I realized it was bizarre behavior you couldn’t quite point out as bad, but obviously, left you feeling... bad. Later, the more you thought about it, the more it annoyed you. But what was it? He didn’t really do or say anything that bad.

Court day arrived…

At one point, he leaned over me in the back of the court waiting for our turn, and asked my girlfriend if she had been smoking cigars? She screwed up her nose and said, “No!”, somewhat offended and a lot weirded out.

He was leaning over, right in front of me, sitting there, leaning toward her to speak quietly. Never looked at me or asked ME, the obvious one to ask if I’d been smoking cigars.

It was evoking in me a desire to punch him out, right there, in court. I really had to restrain myself and try to keep calm, but I couldn’t figure out my reaction to him, or to his stupid question. That last part is important. Stupid. Non sequitur.

But he got a twofer out of it. He was abusing me while abusing her. Smart malignant narcissist. Triangulation for control. He didn’t want information about cigars. He wanted control of the social geometry.

That’s the thing about these types?

They gauge the scene so you can’t respond negatively to them. Or appropriately. In part, as Trump does in public. Because you’re perplexed about what’s happening. It’s just too bizarre. By time you work it out, you're away from them.

But what it is, is taking control of you, a power swap you do not agree to. It’s a kind of social rape. In plain sight. Taking your power, in their confusing abuse of you in ways that you can’t at the time judge as abuse, or control issues. It's just WEIRD.

We’ve all seen this with Donald Trump.

Remember his never letting go of the French president’s hand in their forever handshake. In obviously pulling people to him in handshakes. In dusting off “dandruff” that wasn’t there in public, on camera, on the French president?

It’s a form of coercive dominance behavior.

Malignant narcissism is not just vanity or ego. It is a compound personality pattern, typically understood as a convergence of:

Pathological narcissism – entitlement, grandiosity, lack of empathy

Antisocial traits – disregard for boundaries, rules, or others’ autonomy

Sadistic tendencies – deriving satisfaction from others’ discomfort or confusion

Paranoia – constant status-monitoring and threat perception

In short:

Power-seeking + boundary violation + emotional exploitation

That’s exactly what we had experienced.

They gain psychological reward from violating others’ autonomy.

And now Trump is doing this.

To the entire country. Now, even to the world at large.

Profile in Awfulness: Howard Lutnick

Andy Borowitz