Sidney Blumenthal, an advisor in the Clinton administration, wrote a brilliant and well-resourced article for the London Review of Books about the history of the Trump family and about the personal anxieties of Donald Trump, as expressed in his own words. His statements are documented. It may be the best, most comprehensive article you will ever read on the subject of “What Makes Donald Run?”

The short summary is that Trump and his family grew up in Queens in a grand mansion, but he longed to be accepted in Manhattan society. He latched his star to the repulsive Roy Cohn and various Mafia dons and never won what he most craved: respect. Again and again, he was driven to prove that whatever he did was the biggest and best, even when it wasn’t.

Fred Trump, Donald’s father, was a king of Queens; the Donald became a joker in Manhattan. In…