I think there is a simple explanation for Trump being nice at dinner. He has no real backbone. He needs to feed off other people, and then because he's actually spineless he has zero judgment--zero moral compass. This is the classic setup you see in TV involving kids--the horrible bully when he's cornered and undefended turns into a sniveling baby. The dog who snarls and lunges at the end of a leash held by his owner, but if the dog is alone confronted by another dog is belly to the ground and pees on the sidewalk. I wouldn't call it self -awareness. I think it's more that he depends completely on the cues around him. In a simple, private social situation he's pretty much helpless. Maher could probably easily have goaded him into being the pussy-grabber or any of his other evil personas but it takes the cues and prompts.
For example, if he had a principled opinion that the Iran deal should have never gone down, he would have been able to stand up for his own decisions about that.
Which is also why when talking about Reagan the only thing he could come up with was the guy's hair, he can't see beyond superficialities.
|