Jake, almost all of what you just said is in the article. For example, your suggestion that "genuine compassion might have done a lot" seems to ignore:

"Then again, he had a way of latching onto you. The more you gave, the more he wanted. It felt eerie.

We tried our best to make him feel at home."

What wasn't in the article was the bit about equating voting for Trump to mental illness. The closest it comes is this:

"This is what Trumpism looks like up close."

And that's kinda undeniable. We pretty much know that Trump had an abusive and traumatic relationship with his father. Regardless of the source of abuse, mental health is often a casualty, and coping mechanisms vary massively. The subject of this article and Trump have maladaptive coping mechanisms. Trump, of course, has managed to bully and bluff his way through life, but as with all bullies, he's damaged and he knows it. And like attracts like.

Obviously, many millions of Americans don't have that excuse -- but a depressingly large number do, to a greater or lesser extent -- and the bullies that staged that poorly organized coup are very much like the young man in this article, which the author seems to have done a pretty good and compassionate job of recognizing.