"These are the people who might not agree with or defend the narcissist, but who enable the narcissist by putting up with their behavior, or rescuing them or bailing them out of the catastrophes they manage to create. These are the people who say things like, 'She's your mother, you need to forgive her' or 'How can you abandon your husband when you know he has problems?' or, 'I give in to your sister to keep the peace.'"
From an article on "The Little Shaman" blog: The Narcissist's Enabler
Graphic, below, from: Do you have the 'D-factor'? Study finds psychopaths, narcissists, sadists and others all share a 'dark core' of humanity
The Narcissist's Enabler", not only points out how enablers exacerbate the problems narcissists create, but it also emphasizes the need for setting boundaries. Some of us muddled through childhood dominated by a narcissist (several when it is ancestral familial narcissism) and found our ways because we eventually did encounter loving environments and learned to finally and truly have real feelings and not deny our individuality. And we learned to love - first experiencing the miracle of receiving, then projecting universal love as our own normal state of being. (I am using the term "narcissism", throughout, to refer to the clinic term - Narcissistic Personality Disorder - NPD.)
A lot of folks have had their long dormant ptsd triggered (as a result of past narcissistic abuse) because of the political climate, or their reaction to it, and/or the reactions of others to it. Some are recognizing narcissism and its evils for the first time. It ain't pretty!
Where there is one narcissist in a family, there are usually more. Too
often it is generational, or worse deeply ancestral thus more difficult
to break the mold in one's own life, and to break obstructing ties that
bind when they are predominately narcissistic. The same is true of
political network circles, political parties, and administrations.
Whether one has experienced narcissism in devastating personal form, or because of being politically aware of it, it is worth noting the problem that enablers are - hopefully to avoid becoming one rather than learning how to be one. It is also worth noting that by it's very nature, the lowest form of manipulative politics is narcissistic.
This is neither the first time nor the last that the prevailing political climate will be experienced by many as being narcissistic. Regardless of which ever administration is current, narcissism in government runs rampant in the form of pervasive lobbying and foreign influence (both clandestine, and in-your-face-blatant and destructive). And wherever corruption is found it is always an indicator that narcissism has taken hold and is obstructing intended functionality.
The sooner one recognizes having experienced life dominated by narcissism and is able to set functional boundaries to guard against narcissists (and to prevent becoming one), the happier, healthier and more successful life can become.