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ABSTRACT: A comparison of the family backgrounds, childhoods, personal lives, personalities, and political views of the Republican and Democratic nominees in the 2016 presidential election. The author is a presidential psychobiographer who has been presenting and publishing on candidates and presidents since 1976. He uses his training in child development and psychoanalysis to demonstrate some of the influences of early development on the candidates' subsequent lives and careers. The strengths and weaknesses of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are discussed. Included in the analysis are family background, childhood, character, coping mechanisms, temperament, role models, foreign policy, health, interpersonal relations, marriage, parenting, and religious views, as well as the appeal and obstacles to election faced by each candidate. KEYWORDS: psychobiography, political psychology, psychohistory, comparative-candidate-research, personality, Trump's narcissism, Hillary Clinton, presidential election, Republican, Democrat, nominee
INTRODUCTION
It is easy to focus on the dissimilarities between the lives and politics of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Donald John Trump.1 The man views himself as revitalizing Manhattan and in the process building a real estate empire and a reputation as a celebrity personality-of achieving the American dream of business success.2 The woman sees herself as devoted to political change, politics, and social welfare policies. Hillary's focus has been on building her credentials to run for president, and Donald's on accruing money and staying in the public eye. The Democrat sees herself as a political healer of social inequalities, and the Republican views himself as the man who can restore America to the greatness he thinks has slipped away. In the course of their activities, the woman has made millions as a political author and political speaker, while the man has made billions through his real estate, television, licensing, and other ventures.
There are also similarities between these well-educated baby boomers. Both are graduates of Ivy League institutions. Trump received his bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and Hillary's law degree is from Yale University. His prior college education was two years at Fordham University and her undergraduate degree was from Wellesley College. In terms of age, they are only separated by 16 months, with Trump being the elder. If elected, at inauguration Trump would be 70.5 of age and have a statistical life expectancy of 14.1 years...