Trump and allies hit back at exposé
President Trump rejects FireandFury author’s accusations, calls himself a ‘stable genius’
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump last Saturday rejected an author’s accusations that he is mentally unfit for office and said his business career and election victory showed he is “a very stable genius.”
Michael Wolff, who was granted unusually wide access to the White House during much of Mr Trump’s first year, has said in promoting his book that Mr Trump is unfit for the presidency. He told BBC Radio in an interview broadcast last Saturday that his book is creating “the perception and the understanding that will finally end this presidency.”
Mr Trump battled back in a series of extraordinary morning posts on Twitter, which appeared to catch some in his inner circle off guard.
Mr Trump said Democratic critics and the US news media were bringing up the “old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence” since they have not been able to bring him down in other ways.
Mr Reagan, a Republican who was the US president from 1981-1989, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1994 and died in 2004.
“Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart,” said Mr Trump, a former reality TV star and developer.
“I went from very successful businessman, to top TV 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!”
Mr Trump, 71, sent the tweets from the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, where he discussed a legislative agenda for the year with Republican congressional leaders and many Cabinet secretaries.
Mr Wolff’s book, FireandFury:Insidethe TrumpWhiteHouse , portrays him as unfocused, unprepared and petty while presiding over a chaotic White House.
Mr Trump, answering questions from reporters at Camp David after the meeting, called Mr Wolff a “fraud” and said the book is “a complete work of fiction”.
“I think it’s a disgrace,” he said. Mr Trump said he never granted Mr Wolff an interview for the book and blamed former adviser Steve Bannon, who he called “Sloppy Steve”, for granting the writer access at the White House. Mr Wolff has said he spoke to Mr Trump but that the president may not have known he was being interviewed.
The tweets were another sign of Mr Trump’s frustration at what he views as unfair treatment by the news media of his presidency amid a federal investigation into whether he or his campaign aides colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign, in which he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told reporters at Camp David that he had not been aware of Mr Trump’s morning tweets. Mr Kelly said Mr Trump did not seem angry and last Friday night had watched a new movie, The GreatestShowman about legendary circus promoter PT Barnum, with the lawmakers.
Mr Wolff’s book has proved to be another shock to the system for Mr Trump and his top aides, coming just as he starts his second year in office.
Mr Wolff told NBC News last Friday that White House staff treated Mr Trump like a child.
“The one description that everyone gave, everyone has in common is they all say he is like a child,” Mr Wolff said. “And what they mean by that, he has a need for immediate gratification. It’s all about him.
“This man does not read, does not listen. He’s like a pinball, just shooting off the sides.”