Is MAGA Vulnerable Narcissism?

This is the third paper in a series applying Kohut’s theory of narcissism to recent identity politics. The first part evaluated Grandiose Narcissism in seven prominent identities. The most successful identities were “Women” and “British Asian Muslims”.  The second part was lexicographic and considered slurs as a way of reducing the status of an out group. This third part concerns Vulnerable Narcissism in white male manual workers in two countries. In the USA this demographic constitutes Donald Trump’s core supporters and their central idea is “Make America Great Again” (MAGA). In the UK the demographic has lacked an acceptable identity, so a search was made for small outbursts of entitlement rage. Right-wing parties have been successful in the EU in 2024 and it remains to be seen whether the Reform Party in the UK meets the narcissistic need.