According to intelligence expert Malcolm Nance, “Prior to Trump, every president maintained the continuity on how the constitution was upheld and defended.” Life changed the day after the inauguration, when presidential water bearer and spinner of “alternative facts” Kellyanne Conway grossly overestimated the number of attendees. It was her Trump-hating husband George who famously sided against his wife, their carnival sideshow bickering playing out on the nightly news. He was also a major proponent of a Rolling Stone article that, borrowing a page from social psychologist Erich Fromm, labeled Trump a “malignant narcissist.” (Trump checks all four boxes: 1. Narcissism. 2. Paranoia. 3. Antisocial personality disorder. 4. Sadism.) The commentariat, give or take an Anthony Scaramucci, boasts more Ph.Ds than a free postdoctoral job board. Gaslighting is given a rigorous explanation, and try as one might to tune him out, The Mooch does a damn frightening job of delineating the average Trump-humper and what it is about their billionaire regular guy that renders their faith unflappable. And lest we forget: the Hitler similitudes that kicked into full gear instantly after Trump’s inflaming “both sides” snipe. Never one to defend a Nazi, I was still quick to observe that Hitler sent roughly 16 million people to their doom, while the only thing Trump ever killed was a 24 oz. Porterhouse. Dan Partland’s seditious documentary argues that while President Trump doesn’t possess a similar capacity for evil, he does fit the same psychological modus operandi as Chancellor Hitler. According to the first Mrs. Trump, the Donald’s habit of repeating things three times came from reading Hitler’s speeches. There’s the occasional misstep — the Jane Goodall analogies drawn between gorillas and our alpha-male orangutan-in-chief are amusing, but fruitless — but for the most part, the film does a fit job of arguing in favor of insanity. (2020) — Scott Marks
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