Donald Trump seems to suffer from a textbook case of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD); he behaves as if he's the poster boy for that mental condition. And a narcissist of Trump's ilk — one who makes Muhammad Ali's showboating jests look tame by comparison — is the very last thing the world needs in the White House.

NPD symptoms include:

1. Pompous and arrogant demeanor.

2. Need for constant admiration from others.

3. Exploitation of others to achieve personal gain.

4. Grandiosity with expectations of superior treatment from others.

5. Unwillingness to empathize with others' feelings, wishes or needs.

6. Fixation on fantasies of power, success, intelligence and attractiveness.

Remind you of anybody? If not, either you haven't been paying attention or you've been beamed up to Trump's alternate universe.

An essential trait of any democratic nation's top leader is a keen ability to empathize with others across ethnic, religious and cultural differences. Also, it requires that the office holder be committed to vigorously addressing economic and social challenges facing people and the nation's security, without acting solely on personal insecurities and/or petty vendettas.

Trump has demonstrated none of these qualities in the current election cycle, and he has ridiculed those who have such abilities. His self-aggrandizing borders on the legendary, as do his desperation for approval and fantastical ideas about geopolitics.

To use 12 of Trump's favorite words, his clinical narcissism has prevented him from offering anything positive which is "amazing," "great," "huge," "incredible," "terrific" or "tremendous." In reality, his presidential bid is best described as "disgusting," "a disaster," "horrible," "lightweight," "terrible" and "weak."

This results from a person staring into Narcissus' spring for decades. Falling in love with your own reflection stops you from helping anybody, Trump. Not even yourself.

D.S. MONAHAN

EDOGAWA WARD, TOKYO

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.