Humans love a good story, especially one where there is an obvious “bad guy” (or woman!) and a hero or heroine who saves the day. We like things clearcut and simple because it helps our brains see and make sense of patterns in our lives. We like certainty and don’t like to live in a world that is random and harsh, even though that is the reality of life.
So how do some people cope with these mental biases? They create or fall victim to conspiracy theories, narratives that allege there is an evil plot by nefarious “others” to do harm in some systemic way to the “good guys” of the world. These plotters are often different racial or ethic groups, intellectuals and scientists, or the rich and powerful. Conspiracy theories tend to assert there is a vast web of influence corrupting numerous people and institutions and harming or taking power away from the common people.
Certainly, the undue influence of the rich and powerful has always been a concern — and it absolutely is right now in America where an oligarchy is forming between billionaire tech titans and the Trumpublican Party. And yet the MAGA GOP cult is some of the most conspicuous consumers of conspiracy theories at present. Why would those who actually have the most political power right now feel victimized by alleged conspiratorial “others?”
I believe it is because the MAGA crowd has the highest tendency toward narcissistic personality traits — what I call Other-blamer traits. This cult has attracted those with poor shame tolerance, who externalize or blame others, rather than be accountable and admit fault. They are led, of course, by the most extreme, grandiose narcissistic sociopath the country has ever seen in public office.
While conspiracy theories play on our human nature and innate psychology, MAGA cultists fall victim to them more often because they really, really love to have someone to blame. And conspiracy theories do this in a big way.
David Frum, in The Atlantic (“Why the COVID Deniers Won: Lessons from the pandemic and its aftermath”, March 2025) writes about conspiracy theories: “We crave satisfying explanations. We want to believe that somebody is in control, even if it’s somebody we don’t like. At least that way, we can blame bad events on bad people. This is the eternal appeal of conspiracy theories, How did this happen? Somebody must have done it — but who? And why?”
Narcissists are “Other-Blamers” to Relieve their Shame
The reason I use the phrase “Other-blamers” to describe narcissistic traits is to highlight this blame-shifting tendency. Because they have not learned to tolerate shame in healthy, moderate ways, they then cope by deflecting accountability in a variety of ways: defensive anger, stonewalling and pouting, rationalizing and excuses, and boasting and self-aggrandizement. They also love to play the victim as a way to get others to back down on holding them accountable. So if some shady “others” are engaging in a planned plot to harm them, this is a perfect excuse for why their lives are not turning out as planned. If it is the “government elites” that have kept their plumbing business from succeeding by creating regulations, that is a handy bailout and saves them from having to admit that maybe they were lazy, drunk, or just poor business owners.
To engage in the daily levels of other-blaming that narcissists do, it requires a very dedicated ability to lie to oneself. They cannot tolerate holding themselves accountable (“Maybe you should get to work on time and that would make your plumbing business successful.”) So they lie repetitively: “It’s not my fault my plumbing business isn’t successful. It’s because my wife made me late… or the traffic … or my employees are idiots … or my customers are jerks.””
Conspiracy theories are all about finding fault, even if it is packaged in a convoluted, fact-free story that is being told and swallowed by the gullible. Far better to blame someone, anyone, even the space aliens, rather than blame themselves.
Narcissists are also easily led into conspiracy theories because they are inveterate liars and so they assume others lie too. Other-blamers spend much of each day rationalizing to themselves reasons they are being held back or not fully appreciated by others — essentially a lie to themselves. They then project this tendency to be deceptive onto others. If your view of other people is that everyone lies, it makes it easy to believe that the “elite” or “scientists” or “the Jews” or “George Soros” are lying to them. Then it is a short trip to believing that the entire staff of NASA and all politicians (thousands of people) conspired and have kept secret for decades the alleged fact that the moon landing was fabricated. We now have a director of the Health and Human Services department who spews forth numerous conspiracy theories, such as the widely debunked lie that vaccines cause autism.
Frum’s article described how the conflicting advice during the early months of the Coronavirus pandemic made it easy for dubious people to allege the experts were lying, which confirmed their own internal view of others (and themselves) as liars. See my blog: Narcissistic Opposition to COVID Safety on Full Display.
And, of course, humans have a confirmation bias, where our brains seek out information that confirms our existing opinions. The internet enables and encourages confirmation bias through algorithms that instantly feed viewers more of the same crock.
Sadly, we have a perfect storm for conspiracy theories: our natural human traits plus our current media filled with blatant disinformation and the Trumpublican political leaders who fan the flames with lies and false narratives. This has created an epidemic of narcissism and blame-shifting, where about a third of the country avidly supports a raging sociopathic narcissist and a cult of narcissism in MAGA. They now encourage each other while social media helps them amp up their beliefs to each other, creating a feedback loop that strengthens their distorted beliefs and builds their sense of being “right.” It feels soooo good to blame others and they mutually gain a feeling of self-righteousness while doing so, because they have convinced themselves (more lies!) that they are making the world safe and America greater.
These types of narcopathic personalities are very well defended against shame and now they are in a self-reinforcing feedback loop confirming that they are “right.” Believing in conspiracy theories, of course, gives narcissists a feeling of being “in the know” and superior to others because they have secret information that others don’t have access to.
Narcissists do not learn from shame and guilt the way that most of us do — by admitting fault and changing our behavior. This means that, unfortunately, the solution will likely be a painful rock-bottom crash, because Trump/Musk has caused an economic depression, a political crisis, or a devastating war. Being defeated in war is what it took for Nazi Germany to come out of its narcissistic cult that was fed by conspiracy theories.
you may also like…
Why Does Trump Incite Racist Hatred Among His Base?
Accountability: It’s the Root of Moral Behavior and Trump Doesn’t Have Any
Ms. West: I am using this method of writing to you in order to pass along a heartfelt compliment regarding the chapter you contributed to The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump. I found it not only well-written but deeply satisfying in terms of explaining such a wide range of Trump’s words and actions while relying upon only a few fundamental pathologies that were described in very simple-to-understand terms. I am a general internist and personally cannot listen to Donald Trump for more than a few seconds before red flags start waving that he is engaged in self-protection, using virtually every rhetorical trick to deflect, defend, counterattack, assert wildly, etc., just as you described. Thank you so much for your contribution to the book and your clear-eyed insights that may sound simple but are quite profound in their broad application. Occam’s Razor calls upon physicians to lean toward diagnoses that best explain all the observable abnormalities, and your treatment of the Donald Trump problem was a wonderful expression of this useful insight.
Thank you so very much for the compliments and I’m glad I could be of help. I agree that simplifying things is usually the best approach. Shame is the “trans diagnostic” emotion because it explains so much of human behavior, especially abusive, narcissistic and sociopathic behaviors that Trump and others exhibit. It all stems from their inability to hear criticism, feel shame and then be accountable.