Why does Donald Trump refer to himself as Donald Trump, and is that a sign of something?

It's National Talk in Third Person Day

It’s no secret that Donald Trump likes to talk about himself. And talk. And talk. And talk.

But why does he so often refer to himself in the third person? This question is timely because today is National Talk in Third Person Day.

I know this because my daughter gave J.C. Bruce a handy little planner for Christmas that keeps track of all the year’s holidays. Ordinarily, J.C. Bruce uses it—and other sources—for J.C. Bruce’s column in Florida Weekly. But today, let’s riff on it here.

On National Talk in Third Person Day, everyone is supposed to avoid words such as “I” or “we” or “you” and instead use actual names when conversing with other people, eschewing pronouns.

This is awkward and weird, of course, but it seems to come more naturally to some.

Trump, for instance, rushes foremost to mind. Some examples, although this barely scratches the surface:

He loves to brag: “There’s never been a president like President Trump.” Now if George Bush said that (although he is entirely too humble to do so) it might make sense—he could be talking about his dad, also a president. Trump, not so much.

Trump on immigration: "You wouldn't even be hearing about the word immigration if it wasn't for Donald Trump.” Yep. Trump definitely invented the word.

Trump on the defensive: "18 angry Democrats that hate President Trump they hate him with a passion.” Not just 18.

Trump on his stable geniusness: "China has total respect for Donald Trump and for Donald Trump's very very large brain.” And ego.

And so forth.

And why would a well-adjusted person talk like this? This may be self-answering, but psychologists say there can be a variety of reasons.

Third-person self-reference is called an “illeism.” This is different from using the plural ‘we” to refer to oneself, as in the “royal we.” That’s called a “nosism.”

The frequent use of third person can be a sign of narcissism, or an attempt at reinforcing a brand. We know how Trump feels about branding, and his cloying need for validation speaks volumes about his narcissism, so those are a fit.

But there can be other reasons, according to an entire five minutes’ worth of research on the never-wrong internet.

Sometimes people use the third person “in regulating emotions, and can make people feel more detached and rational about their own problems.” Kinda like looking in the mirror and saying to yourself, “(State your name) is not insane.”

Trump is hardly the first person with this annoying habit. Julius Caesar —assassinated only weeks after declaring himself dictator for life — frequently referred to himself in third person, as did Richard Nixon, Douglas MacArthur and Charles DeGaulle. Seeing a pattern there, perchance?

But sometimes, the use of illeisms can be humorous — mainly because they are so easy to mock. Football great Alex Karras played the doltish Mongo in the hilarious comedy Blazing Saddles, and referred to himself in third person as in:

“Mongo like candy” and “ Mongo only pawn in game of life.”

In that case, Illeisms were used to convey idiocy.

So why does Trump so often refer to himself in third person? We may have just stumbled upon the answer: Our commander in chief is channeling Mongo.

“Trump like cheeseburgers.”

---

Onward thru the fog

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed if you are a rational person living in the Free State of Florida, but there are plenty of smart, reasonable people just like you here. The purpose of this newsletter and the Tropic Press website is to provide a source of news and commentary that shines a light through this irrational fog. That includes both original reporting and shared stories from other sources.

Thank you for your support as a subscriber. It is invaluable. This is especially so for those of you who have chosen to upgrade to paid subscriptions. Your contributions are making this possible.

J.C. Bruce

---

Sharing is caring

As this newsletter was written, Tropic Press was reaching more than 750,000 subscribers in Florida and elsewhere. With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort by sharing this newsletter with friends. If you are reading this as an email, simply forward it. Or you can use the link below. Thanks.

---

More online

Thank you for reading the Tropic Press newsletter. You also have access to the Tropic Press website for additional and previous posts, an archive of posts from our advice columnist, Miss Mingo, occasional guest commentaries, and information about The Strange Files series of mysterious adventures and other books.