The Power of Positive Thinking, rule #2:

Think a positive thought to drown out a negative thought.

For our president's narcissistic purposes, a "negative thought" is anything that suggests he's to blame for his own actions. And a "positive thought" is any thought that makes him feel proud, blameless, or aggrieved. Anything that justifies his actions.

Negative thought: "The status of the Kennedy Center has plummeted since my name was attached to it."

Positive thought: "It's the condition of the Kennedy Center that's the root of the problem. It's not my fault. It's someone else's fault."

I think this twisted interpretation of rule #2 has some explanatory power for at least 50% of the obviously-counter-factual babble that comes out of this man's mouth. Maybe more. I think if you listen to him with this in mind, you'll recognize the pattern very often.