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They’re really unhappy with everything else because something has made them unhappy about themselves. They have incredible fragile egos, but only in regard to something they care about. This creates a weird space where they are very touchy to some kinds of criticism (or perceived criticism), and oblivious to other kinds.
So – a temper tantrum in a restaurant. Did they feel threatened by another customer? Was the waiter condescending (or perceived as condescending)? Did the restaurant remind them of something from years ago and upset them? If they don’t care about your opinion, it might have nothing to with what you’ve been talking about over the meal, because who cares what you think about anything.
If something has made them unhappy – absolutely, they will lash outward at the world. It’s true that self-blame and internal monitoring are not options, but that doesn’t mean they don’t feel insecure or jealous or whatever. It’s just that, self-reflection doesn’t appear to be an option, so it’s the world’s fault for making them feel bad.
Thank you for this postscript. I have a sibling with disabling mental illness, and I’m sure many people reading this know (or are related to) someone with similar problems.
Many people with adult BPD relatives take a “no contact” approach, finding it the best (or least worst) way to avoid gaslighting, abuse, manipulation, and general chaos that personality-disordered people can create around themselves. It’s too bad we can’t do this with Trump.
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It gets worse:
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No kidding.
The ability to out-pander to extremists to get the nomination doesn’t scale well for more moderate people. Who couldn’t see this coming? It’s what all the media bleating about Donald pivoting about post-election.
Did I say not scale well? He was out-polled by approx. 3M votes, so it already was failing on Election Day.
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Also, that probably a relatively high water mark driven by the recent Comey “revelations”. He was stupendously lucky.
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I think it might be something like the nihilism and hedonism of the protagonist in “A Clockwork Orange” but in an unfit body, so physical actions are limited, then consume tons of energy drinks to reduce your attention span to about 10 seconds, then imagine you have been coddled and praised your entire life.
But that’s just a feeling. I think your assumption that his mind “works” in any common understanding of the term might be in error. 
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