US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised himself as “a very
stable genius,” following the release of a bombshell book that
calls into doubt his mental health.
But Trump’s response to the book’s allegations had Washington
focusing anew on the question of his stability.
In a series of extraordinary early-morning tweets, Trump said
that “throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental
stability and being, like, really smart.”
“I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star to
President of the United States (on my first try). I think that
would qualify as not smart, but genius….and a very stable genius at
that!”
The new supposed tell-all book — Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury:
Inside the Trump White House” — was rushed into stores Friday after
the Trump administration failed to suppress it.
The book quickly sold out in Washington and has been the talk of
the town. Trump has decried the instant best-seller as “phony” and
“full of lies” as the White House issued a scorched-earth dismissal
of “Fire and Fury” along with its author and his sources.
Trump’s stability has been questioned by critics almost since he
declared his candidacy for the presidency.
In March 2016, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt
Romney said Trump lacked the “temperament of a stable, thoughtful
leader.” And Trump’s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton regularly
declared him “temperamentally unfit” for a job requiring
“knowledge, stability and immense responsibility.”
Trump’s tweets came ahead of his meetings Saturday with top
Republican lawmakers and Cabinet members at the Camp David
presidential retreat to discuss party priorities ahead of the
crucial 2018 midterm elections.
Yet the sensational details in the new book and Trump’s
continued defense of his mental health have wrenched attention away
from policy and news of US financial markets hitting all-time
highs, bringing even more scrutiny over whether the US leader is
fit for office.
– ‘Like a child’ –
On Friday, Washington’s chief diplomat Rex Tillerson was obliged to
defend Trump after being asked during an interview about claims
that the president has a short attention span, regularly repeats
himself and refuses to read briefing notes.
“I’ve never questioned his mental fitness. I’ve had no reason to
question his mental fitness,” said Tillerson, whose office was last
year forced to deny reports that he had referred to Trump as a
“moron” after a national security meeting.
Even in defending Trump, the former ExxonMobil chief executive
told CNN he has had to learn how to effectively relay information
to the president.
Journalist Wolff, no stranger to controversy, quotes several key
Trump aides expressing doubt about Trump’s ability to lead the
world’s largest economy and military hegemon.
“Let me put a marker in the sand here. One hundred percent of
the people around him” question Trump’s fitness for office, Wolff
told NBC’s “Today” show.
“They all say he is like a child. And what they mean by that is
he has a need for immediate gratification. It’s all about him.”
– ‘Dope’ –
The book includes extensive quotes from Steve Bannon, Trump’s
former chief strategist, who accuses Trump’s eldest son Don Jr. of
“treasonous” contacts with a Kremlin-connected lawyer, and saying
the president’s daughter Ivanka, who imagines herself running for
president one day, is “dumb as a brick.”
But it is Trump himself who is cast in the most unfavorable
light.
The book claims that for Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and
former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, the president was
an “idiot.” For chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, he was “dumb as
shit.” And for National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, he was a
“dope.”
Wolff also says he detected signs that some believe could point
to incipient dementia, or at least mental deterioration — his
repetition of the same stories and anecdotes, sometimes within
minutes.
The book’s publication came as news emerged that at least a
dozen members of the US Congress were briefed last month by Yale
University professor of psychiatry Bandy Lee on Trump’s mental
health.
Assessments questioning Trump’s stability have grown throughout
his first year in office, fueled by what critics said were his
often petulant, and even childish, reactions to criticism.
Last November, Lee wrote to The New York Times that she and
several other “concerned mental health professionals” were
detecting “more than his usual state of instability,” with
“characteristics (that) place our country and the world at extreme
risk of danger.”
The White House has regularly dismissed such criticism, saying
it is no secret that the president has a strong personality, but
that it makes him a more — not less — effective leader.
AFP.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised himself as “a very
stable genius,” following the release of a bombshell book that
calls into doubt his mental health.
But Trump’s response to the book’s allegations had Washington
focusing anew on the question of his stability.
In a series of extraordinary early-morning tweets, Trump said
that “throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental
stability and being, like, really smart.”
“I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star to
President of the United States (on my first try). I think that
would qualify as not smart, but genius….and a very stable genius at
that!”
The new supposed tell-all book — Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury:
Inside the Trump White House” — was rushed into stores Friday after
the Trump administration failed to suppress it.
The book quickly sold out in Washington and has been the talk of
the town. Trump has decried the instant best-seller as “phony” and
“full of lies” as the White House issued a scorched-earth dismissal
of “Fire and Fury” along with its author and his sources.
Trump’s stability has been questioned by critics almost since he
declared his candidacy for the presidency.
In March 2016, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt
Romney said Trump lacked the “temperament of a stable, thoughtful
leader.” And Trump’s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton regularly
declared him “temperamentally unfit” for a job requiring
“knowledge, stability and immense responsibility.”
Trump’s tweets came ahead of his meetings Saturday with top
Republican lawmakers and Cabinet members at the Camp David
presidential retreat to discuss party priorities ahead of the
crucial 2018 midterm elections.
Yet the sensational details in the new book and Trump’s
continued defense of his mental health have wrenched attention away
from policy and news of US financial markets hitting all-time
highs, bringing even more scrutiny over whether the US leader is
fit for office.
– ‘Like a child’ –
On Friday, Washington’s chief diplomat Rex Tillerson was obliged to
defend Trump after being asked during an interview about claims
that the president has a short attention span, regularly repeats
himself and refuses to read briefing notes.
“I’ve never questioned his mental fitness. I’ve had no reason to
question his mental fitness,” said Tillerson, whose office was last
year forced to deny reports that he had referred to Trump as a
“moron” after a national security meeting.
Even in defending Trump, the former ExxonMobil chief executive
told CNN he has had to learn how to effectively relay information
to the president.
Journalist Wolff, no stranger to controversy, quotes several key
Trump aides expressing doubt about Trump’s ability to lead the
world’s largest economy and military hegemon.
“Let me put a marker in the sand here. One hundred percent of
the people around him” question Trump’s fitness for office, Wolff
told NBC’s “Today” show.
“They all say he is like a child. And what they mean by that is
he has a need for immediate gratification. It’s all about him.”
– ‘Dope’ –
The book includes extensive quotes from Steve Bannon, Trump’s
former chief strategist, who accuses Trump’s eldest son Don Jr. of
“treasonous” contacts with a Kremlin-connected lawyer, and saying
the president’s daughter Ivanka, who imagines herself running for
president one day, is “dumb as a brick.”
But it is Trump himself who is cast in the most unfavorable
light.
The book claims that for Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and
former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, the president was
an “idiot.” For chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, he was “dumb as
shit.” And for National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, he was a
“dope.”
Wolff also says he detected signs that some believe could point
to incipient dementia, or at least mental deterioration — his
repetition of the same stories and anecdotes, sometimes within
minutes.
The book’s publication came as news emerged that at least a
dozen members of the US Congress were briefed last month by Yale
University professor of psychiatry Bandy Lee on Trump’s mental
health.
Assessments questioning Trump’s stability have grown throughout
his first year in office, fueled by what critics said were his
often petulant, and even childish, reactions to criticism.
Last November, Lee wrote to The New York Times that she and
several other “concerned mental health professionals” were
detecting “more than his usual state of instability,” with
“characteristics (that) place our country and the world at extreme
risk of danger.”
The White House has regularly dismissed such criticism, saying
it is no secret that the president has a strong personality, but
that it makes him a more — not less — effective leader.
AFP.
Read more https://nairalaw.com/fire-and-fury-i-am-a-very-stable-genius-says-trump/