Shrinking Trump

Shrinking Trump

Psychologists John Gartner, Harry Segal, and their expert guests, conduct weekly sessions analyzing the psyche of Donald Trump, documenting his cognitive decline and plumbing the depths of his malignant narcissism.

Dr. Gartner is a former part-time assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University Medical School and the founder of Duty To Warn, an association of mental health professionals warning about Trump and Trump-ism.

Dr. Segal is a senior lecturer in psychology at Cornell University.

00:00
00:00

Episodens resumé

On this last show, your favorite psychologists, John Gartner and Harry Segal, review Trump’s bizarre speech in Quantico while explaining their decision to end the series. They are joined by Really American’s Justin Horwitz, as well as two very good friends of the show, Laurie Winer (author and theatre critic) and Ahmed Babba, political commentator (ahmedbaba.news). Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Our site Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Amazon Music Subscribe on iHeartRadio This feels like the last page in a long, intense book we never wanted to end, and here we are: Shrinking Trump has reached its final chapter. Dr. John Gartner and Dr. Harry Siegel sit together one last time, looking back on more than seventy episodes spent untangling the psychological knots in Donald Trump’s presidency. What began as a clinical exercise soon revealed itself as an urgent civic project—mapping the anatomy of malignant narcissism, tracing the reckless impulses that drove one man to…

Episoder

70-

This series on Trump’s mental condition comes to a close

On this last show, your favorite psychologists, John Gartner and Harry Segal, review Trump’s bizarre speech in Quantico while explaining their decision to end the series. They are joined by Really American’s Justin Horwitz, as well as two very good friends of the show, Laurie Winer (author and theatre critic) and Ahmed Babba, political commentator (ahmedbaba.news). Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Our site Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Amazon Music Subscribe on iHeartRadio This feels like the last page in a long, intense book we never wanted to end, and here we are: Shrinking Trump has reached its final chapter. Dr. John Gartner and Dr. Harry Siegel sit together one last time, looking back on more than seventy episodes spent untangling the psychological knots in Donald Trump’s presidency. What began as a clinical exercise soon revealed itself as an urgent civic project—mapping the anatomy of malignant narcissism, tracing the reckless impulses that drove one man to…

03 okt. 2025
69-

Speaking at the UN was one of many dangerous decisions Trump made last week

Your favorite shrinks, John Gartner and Harry Segal, begin their analysis of the week by watching Trump suffer through another terrible press conference by RFK, Jr. From not knowing how to say the generic name for Tylenol, to his claiming Cuba has no autistic children, Trump continues to make the kind of alarming mistakes everyone should be outraged about. Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Our site Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Amazon Music Subscribe on iHeartRadio The show opens by tracing a troubling arc in Donald Trump’s behavior: what began as calculated showmanship has hardened into an overt play for control. Traits of malignant narcissism—grandiosity, a craving for unwavering loyalty—and authoritarian impulses have grown more pronounced since his first term. Each lie, each institutional assault, speaks less to shrewd strategy than to a compulsive need to dominate the narrative and erode the checks that protect democratic life. They turn next to a profound…

26 sep. 2025
68-

The Jimmy Kimmel canceling is a tipping point for democracy

Your favorite psychologists, John Gartner and Harry Segal, review the insidious way the Trump administration is using the Kirk assassination to end freedom of speech. They are joined again by Dr. Vince Greenwood, an expert on psychopathy, who shines a spotlight on Trump’s criminal behavior. Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Our site Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Amazon Music Subscribe on iHeartRadio The episode opens with a stark diagnosis: Trump’s behavior reflects a dangerous blend of malignant narcissism and sociopathy. Gartner and Segal argue that his compulsive lying, criminality, and relentless attacks on institutions aren’t just political tactics—they’re symptoms of a deeper pathology. These traits, they warn, fuel a pattern of authoritarian maneuvering that threatens the very fabric of democratic society. One of the most chilling segments centers on the political exploitation of tragedy. In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder, Trump and his allies swiftly…

19 sep. 2025
67-

Epstein Files Frenzy and Court Losses Fuel Trump’s Collapse

One of your favorite psychologists, Harry Segal, is back to describe and interpret Trump’s strange behaviors this week, from his tone-deaf response to the Epstein-Maxwell victims to his mysterious medical symptoms. Since John Gartner is on assignment, Ahmed Baba, columnist, journalist, and frequent pundit on cable news, sits in as Harry’s guest co-host. (Check out his bestselling Substack newsletter: AhmedBaba.News.) And be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Our site Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Amazon Music Subscribe on iHeartRadio They dive straight into Trump’s two recent court defeats—one over tariffs, another over immigration restrictions—and ask why he keeps dragging outdated laws back into the spotlight. Rather than solving real problems, these lawsuits feel like rehearsals for the next manufactured crisis, with each loss chipping away at his claims of unchecked authority. They turn next to ICE raids and Trump’s fiery rhetoric about cities like Chicago. When…

16 sep. 2025
66-

Trump stumbles over Epstein while aiming at Chicago

Your favorite psychologists, John Gartner and Harry Segal, present “this week” in Trump’s power grab encouraged by the Supreme Court. They are joined by the great Andy Borowitz who brings his humor and insight to this dangerous moment in political history. Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Our site Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Amazon Music Subscribe on iHeartRadio Trump announced plans to seize control of the D.C. police, declared multiple states of emergency, and threatened to deploy troops in a city where violent crime has actually declined. Gartner and Segal argue these maneuvers aren’t about public safety at all but about manufacturing chaos in order to justify ever-greater power grabs. When Trump set his sights on Baltimore, he twisted the city’s story of revitalization into a caricature of dysfunction. Coverage of neighborhood renewal, falling crime rates, and community-led solutions vanished beneath his fearmongering. Gartner and Segal contrast the real…

12 sep. 2025