What parallels can be drawn between Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump if we examine them not only as political figures, but as carriers of particular personality structures, motivations, and behavioral patterns well known from psychotherapeutic practice?

This question was addressed by world-renowned psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, and the author of the concept of malignant narcissism, Dr. Otto Kernberg. in his interview “Psychologie der Massen. Am Ende hat Trump Angst vor Putin” published in the German magazine Spiegel on November 23, 2025.

Otto Kernberg, born in 1928 in Vienna, has a childhood history marked by courage and survival. His family, of Jewish descent, recognizing the danger to their lives during the German occupation, was forced to emigrate to Chile. This decisive step saved them, as all relatives who remained in Vienna perished in concentration camps. After emigrating to Chile, Otto Kernberg moved to the United States in 1961, where he continued his scientific and clinical career.

Today, as a U.S. citizen, Kernberg watches footage of people being forcibly separated from their families during deportation arrests and interprets these events through the prism of both his personal trauma and his professional understanding of how political decisions can recreate psychological mechanisms of humiliation, exclusion, and dehumanization. For him, such scenes are not simply expressions of harsh immigration policy — they activate familiar patterns of group dynamics and leadership behavior he once witnessed in totalitarian contexts and which, in his view, are re-emerging in contemporary U.S. politics.

According to Otto Kernberg: “That Trump uses such methods does not surprise me. I expect nothing else from him. What is shocking is the lack of an adequate response. Why such timidity among Democratic politicians? After all, Trump openly declares — he is not the president of all Americans, but only of Republicans, and accountable only to one party. This is precisely what characterizes dictatorships.”

From Kernberg’s personal memories: “I remember the moment we were expelled from public school. Suddenly it became clear — we were no longer part of this society. There was no longer any friendship between Jewish and non-Jewish children, no ordinary interaction. Everywhere on signs and placards it said: ‘Jews and dogs forbidden.’ I still see them clearly on the benches near Vienna’s Volksgarten, where I lived.”

In this context, a question arises:
Does Donald Trump’s current behavior allow for a meaningful parallel between him and Adolf Hitler?

According to Otto Kernberg: “Yes. But of course, there are differences as well.

Hitler from the outset ordered the killing of people he declared enemies. He always acted consistently — including in the ways he achieved his aims. And he did not tolerate criticism — if someone attempted to criticize him, he would instantly rage and sever all ties.

Donald Trump has a more childlike, sometimes almost playful manner. He is inconsistent: he makes grandiose promises but rarely follows through. But he does have one skill — he intuitively senses people’s desires and turns them into slogans. Remember when he said he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine in one day?

He clearly wants his supporters to love him, yet behaves in ways that make many others oppose him.

I cannot assign a psychiatric diagnosis to someone I have not personally examined. Therefore, I do not know whether Trump suffers from malignant narcissism in the clinical sense. Perhaps in his private life he behaves much more sensibly and decently than in public — although I don’t believe it.

But as a politician, he certainly demonstrates traits of malignant narcissism, fueled by the fact that society may fear him. Yet in the presence of those with similar power, Trump himself experiences fear — as in the case of Putin. Trump could have forced Putin to stop the war by providing Ukraine with more powerful weapons. But he did not. Instead, he gives ridiculous, childish statements about how disappointed he is in Putin, and displays strength against small countries like Venezuela and Colombia, portraying himself as a ‘great man.’”

When asked by the journalist: How can one oppose politicians like Trump?

Otto Kernberg replied: “With a strong, consistent opposition grounded in the principles of democratic liberalism. I mean the kind of stance shown by courageous individuals like Alexei Navalny in Russia, who paid with his life for criticizing Putin and his regime, or by intellectuals like historian Timothy Snyder, who resigned from Yale University in protest. Meanwhile, Democratic politicians such as governors Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania or Gavin Newsom in California do not take a sufficiently firm position against Trump. It seems they are afraid of him.”

We — the Ukrainian Institute for Personality Disorders Studies — reflecting on Otto Kernberg’s interpretations, conclude that drawing parallels between Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump is based primarily on an analysis of their psychological characteristics and styles of political leadership, rather than on direct historical comparison. Kernberg highlights several traits shared by both leaders in different forms — intolerance of criticism, tendencies toward polarization, use of group emotions as a mobilizing tool, and a propensity to personalize political conflict. Despite significant contextual and historical differences, comparing these personality structures helps uncover mechanisms that facilitate the emergence of authoritarian tendencies across various political systems.

Thus, the analytical value of Kernberg’s perspective lies in applying psychological models to gain a deeper understanding of contemporary political leadership and the reasons for its societal appeal.

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Within this program, we will explore these processes in depth — particularly how aggression manifests in groups and organizations, how it shapes political movements, and what happens to society when leaders use people’s emotions to mobilize and control them. These themes allow for a richer understanding not only of individual politicians but also of the broader context — how psychological mechanisms can influence entire communities.

This material is based on the interview with Otto Kernberg “Psychologie der Massen. Am Ende hat Trump Angst vor Putin” in Spiegel, published on 23.11.2025. The full text is available at: https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/

(c) Yuliia Holopiorova,

Ukrainian Association of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy