The types of personality that turn into an authoritarian when given power tend to have damaged senses of both internal identity and external reality.
When Trump says "America First" or "Leftists hate our country", what he really means is himself. He's not really lying; "America", in that context, is just an extension of his own ego. Likewise when Putin talks about the "Russian state" or "Russian world", that's something that he conceptualizes as an extension of his own physical body. The channels run by Vlad Vexler on YouTube have an accessible discussion of some of this if you're more interested.
It's not that he wants to hurt federal workers, set back science, or destroy US state capacity. But he does so anyway, because his concept of "America" is one that stops at his own ego. Other people aren't really real to him.
When Trump says "America First" or "Leftists hate our country", what he really means is himself. He's not really lying; "America", in that context, is just an extension of his own ego. Likewise when Putin talks about the "Russian state" or "Russian world", that's something that he conceptualizes as an extension of his own physical body. The channels run by Vlad Vexler on YouTube have an accessible discussion of some of this if you're more interested.
It's not that he wants to hurt federal workers, set back science, or destroy US state capacity. But he does so anyway, because his concept of "America" is one that stops at his own ego. Other people aren't really real to him.