Donald Trump and Patrick Bateman share a cluster of overlapping traits around narcissism, domination, and materialism, though Bateman is an extreme, murderous exaggeration of these tendencies. Below are key shared attributes, framed with the caveat that Bateman is a fictional, hyperbolic psychopath, while Trump is a real political figure.
Inflated self-importance and belief in exceptionalism: Both present themselves as uniquely gifted, stronger, smarter, and more capable than others, and speak in superlatives about their achievements.
Insatiable need for admiration: Each depends on external validation—Bateman through status and social approval, Trump through crowds, polls, ratings, and constant public attention.
Fragile ego under criticism: Both react poorly to perceived slights, becoming defensive, angry, or contemptuous when their status is questioned.
Obsession with luxury and brand names: Bateman catalogs suits, restaurants, business cards, and high-end brands; Trump foregrounds gold interiors, luxury properties, and branded goods as symbols of success.
Reducing people to status markers: Both evaluate others almost entirely by wealth, looks, and social position, treating people as accessories or props rather than as full subjects.
Equation of moral worth with economic success: In each case, being rich and “a winner” is treated as proof of virtue, while poverty or failure is implicitly seen as personal defect.
Dominant/controlling interpersonal style: Both favor a commanding posture—interrupting, overriding, or steamrolling others to assert control and maintain hierarchy.
Enjoyment of “the deal” or the hunt: Bateman’s violence is framed as a predatory thrill; Trump narrates deal‑making as a competitive arena where outmaneuvering others is inherently pleasurable.
Bullying and humiliation as tools: Each uses ridicule, put‑downs, or cruelty to elevate himself at others’ expense, making degradation of others part of a power performance.
Limited, flattened inner emotional life: Bateman is written as affectless, often unable to access genuine feeling; Trump frequently presents himself as untroubled by doubt, guilt, or empathy, emphasizing toughness over reflection.
Instrumental view of other people: Both see others primarily in terms of utility—what they can provide in status, sex, money, or admiration—rather than as individuals whose needs and feelings fundamentally matter.
Disregard for harm done: Bateman literally annihilates people without remorse; Trump commonly downplays or dismisses harms, framing outcomes in terms of winning, media dominance, or personal vindication rather than human cost.
Carefully curated persona: Bateman constructs the perfect Wall Street yuppie façade; Trump cultivates the image of the deal-making, rule‑breaking tycoon and strongman leader.
Blurring of reality and self‑myth: Bateman’s narrative constantly destabilizes what is real versus imagined; Trump frequently exaggerates, embellishes, or contradicts himself, creating a mythic self-story that can supersede factual reality.
Reliance on spectacle: Both operate through spectacle—Bateman via grotesque excess and hyper-consumption, Trump via rallies, media stunts, and provocative statements that keep attention fixed on him.
Embodiments of late-capitalist values: Each figure condenses a particular kind of American capitalism obsessed with deals, winners vs. losers, and relentless consumption.
Aspirational icons for certain milieus: Bateman idolizes Trump in the novel as the ultimate symbol of success; in turn, Trump has been read as a real-world embodiment of the ruthless, success-at-all-costs ethos that Bateman represents allegorically.
Moral emptiness masked by success: Both dramatize how social admiration can attach to those whose internal moral core is thin or compromised, so long as they perform success convincingly enough.
Fictional psychopath vs. real politician: Bateman is written as psychopathic and homicidal, designed as satire and horror; Trump, however troubling critics may find his traits, operates within real political and legal constraints.
Narrative function: Bateman is a vehicle for Ellis’s critique of 1980s finance capitalism; Trump is a historical figure whose overlap with Bateman’s traits has become part of that ongoing cultural critique, not its original source.