My bet: The felon has deteriorated too much to be cognizant of the humiliation.

[pat_k]

10. Perhaps this is just another loss to be denied, but it feels different.

Roy Cohn taught him well (link)

. . .
. . Cohn imparted an M.O. that’s been on searing display throughout Trump’s ascent, his divisive, captivating campaign, and his fraught, unprecedented presidency. Deflect and distract, never give in, never admit fault, lie and attack, lie and attack, publicity no matter what, win no matter what, all underpinned by a deep, prove-me-wrong belief in the power of chaos and fear.
. . .

What feels different about this is that I think his NPD would have had him endlessly screaming at his "negotiation team" to get a better deal. And when they did not, he would have cast himself as the "strongman" holding out for that better deal.

The thing is, this is just too public and obviously humiliating a loss. It's not like a lost election that he can scream "rigged" about. It's not like a secret lawsuit settlement he can claim was a "win." This is a gargantuan loss and humiliating deal on the world stage that his is publicly walking into. Mechanisms for denying that reality are pretty non-existent.