Regarding Trump, I don’t think he’s a pathological liar. I think he defines lying differently than most people. Men who cheat, they often come from a culture like that. They make promises and say things to make people happy and they think it’s fine. They feel they are good people doing the right thing.
I’ll give you an example. A cheating husband who thinks it’s very normal to cheat. He lies to his wife, because he knows she will get upset. Even if he is sick of his wife and totally not interested, let’s say she is the mother of his children, and he continues to financially support her and be a couple for the children. Macho men like this usually live in countries where the wife can be left with nothing if divorced. Him staying, and supporting her, is living up to his commitment and responsibilities in his mind. Of course, in America the wife has some protections under the law financially, but anyway I’m just describing how these things can be framed in ones mind.
I know people who make promises they can’t keep, but when they say the promise it’s because they truly want to fulfill the promise, they themselves are in denial that it’s impossible.
Mostly, I think Trump purposefully lies, and he knows he’s doing it. I think he looks at it as using the system, or working the system. That it is how the game is played, and it is a justified means to an end in his mind
Maybe we could call him a compulsive liar? I still say he’s just gaming the system.