ABSTRACT
It is not only verbal bullying for which Trump is well known, especially via X and campaign rallies, but also his physical and social bullying. Indeed, Trump meets each of four widely recognized criteria for being a full-fledged bully: His bullying behaviors are aggressive and unwanted, intentional, repeated over time, and occur in the context of an imbalance of power. Few people around him have been spared his verbal bullying. Trump also is notorious for using social bullying to control and punish others. He engages less in physical bullying than verbal and social bullying, unless one includes his support of physical violence and use of lawsuits to threaten and deny others their physical possessions. As shown in this chapter, Trump possesses all the characteristics of a classic schoolyard bully: He denies responsibility and blames others, is aggressive and easily frustrated, has difficulty following rules, thinks badly of others, views violence in a positive way, has friends who bully others, and has unexplained extra money or new belongings. In the new normal among Trump supporters, children learn that those character traits are to be valued and emulated. This is reflected in the results of several recent research studies showing increases in bullying and hate crimes, with perpetrators often citing Trump in support of their behavior.
