The Dark Triad: Trump v Newsom

The Dark Triad is a psychological framework that describes three interconnected personality traits often linked to manipulative or self-serving behavior in social, professional, or political contexts: Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy. We understand narcissism as involving grandiosity, entitlement, craving admiration, and a lack of empathy. Machiavellianism refers to strategic manipulation, deception, and prioritizing personal gain over ethics. Psychopathy involves impulsivity, callousness, superficial charm, and a disregard for others’ feelings or societal norms. Dark Triad traits exist on a spectrum and are not clinical diagnoses.

Trump v Newsom

What do you think about Trump v Newsom? Who has more dark triad traits?

Above, you can see a comparison of Trump v Newsom Dark Triad Traits.

Unfortunately, I used Comet to generate this graph, and it put Trump in light blue and Newsom in poop brown.

You can see that Trump and Newsom are equally Machiavellian, but Trump is more Narcissistic and Psychopathic. That makes sense to me! Remember, every American President has scored high on the Dark Triad. Don’t believe me? Ask AI! Go right now and ask your favorite AI for the last US president who didn’t score high on Dark Triad traits.

The Dark Triad

I asked AI about the Dark Triad for Trump v Newsom. Here are the results.

Above, you can see how Trump and Newsom score on Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy.

The scoring system uses a 0-10 scale for each trait, where 0-2 indicate Low, 7-8 indicate High (clear evidence), and 9-10 indicate Extreme (very pronounced).

Trump’s Dark Triad Profile (Average: 8.0) shows a high level of dark traits, especially in narcissism and psychopathy. His traits are more openly expressed and reactive.

Newsom’s Dark Triad Profile (Average: 6.8) shows a moderate to high level, with a more evenly spread distribution. His Machiavellianism matches Trump’s, but his psychopathy is lower. A greater psychopathy score reflects greater impulsivity, lower remorse, and more emotional volatility.

Trump v Newsom and the Dark Triad

Trump and Newsom are ambitious politicians who exhibit Dark Triad traits, as do many politicians, which might help them succeed in polarized settings by attracting voters who favor strongman qualities.