EMILY MAITLIS RECENTLY asked on the News Agents podcast why people are running around talking to former diplomats about President Trump when they should be talking to psychotherapists. As a former diplomat, I have to say that I understand the wisdom of Emily’s question. So allow me a spot of amateur psychoanalysis…

President Trump’s illegal military intervention in Venezuela and his absurd territorial claims on Greenland confirm that he has made no worthwhile New Year’s resolutions.

Facing international and domestic pressures, he appears suddenly to have withdrawn, for the moment, his threats to seize Greenland militarily and to impose higher tariffs on Europe. However, it was clear yet again from his performance this week at Davos that he remains broadly set on the same dangerous path of impulsive intimidation, self-aggrandisement and childish narcissism.

Trump gestures in the hallway after his special address during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

He rarely, if ever, behaves rationally. It is therefore extremely difficult to understand what motivates him. Nevertheless, it is essential for other countries to try to make some sense of his erratic behaviour so that they can grapple with the threat it poses. This is particularly urgent for European countries now facing his preposterous posturing on Greenland.

One phenomenon identified by psychoanalysts that may help to provide at least some insight into Trump’s conduct is “projection”. Psychological projection involves attributing one’s own faults or failings to others. Trump is a textbook case of this phenomenon.

For example, he threatened the Iranian regime with US military intervention if it used violence against protestors. Obviously, one’s sympathies must be entirely with those Iranians who have faced vicious repression for wanting........

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