The Tony Schwartz essay you link to is very compelling evidence of the malignancy of Trump's character. And of all people, he should know.

But I must point out once again that the real issue here is not that we have a sociopathic President. The true horror is how many of our fellow Americans find this a good thing. And even among those who readily agree with the Schwartz assessment there seems to be a substantial number of our fellow citizens who are willing to tolerate this behavior because it coincides with their ideological goals.

We have a diseased President, but he is not our problem; a certain proportion of any population will suffer from this disorder, so it follows that a certain proportion of our leaders will also suffer from it. The American tragedy is that so many of us are willing, and even eager, to tolerate it. Even if Donald Trump were to leave the Presidency tomorrow, his followers and supporters would still be with us, undeterred and and clearly ready to replace the man with someone just like him. About a quarter to a third of the American people are either just like Trump, or simply don't care what he does as long as he gives them what they want.

This is what fills me with despair.