When biography trumps substance abuse

The Wall Street Journalhas likened the President of the United States to an alcoholic, claiming that Trump clings to his lies "like a drunk to an empty gin bottle." We tend today to avoid disparaging references to addiction, but in what sense is the addiction reference true?

I have laid out the criteria for addictive experiences—that they provide immediate gratification with little effort, but can have the unfortunate negative consequences, which drive the individual to repeat the addictive behavior.

Think of Trump tweeting, responding to some itch in his bonnet that he can only alleviate by striking out with a tweet: " found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory..." When reactions are nearly uniformly negative, the President is doubly motivated to answer his accusers—an inability to "let go" that Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman strive to explain in TheNew York Times.

In addiction terms, Trump may resort to addictive behavior to allevi