Trump says he’s a ‘very stable genius’
President continues to rip book questioning his mental fitness
Washington — President Donald Trump declared himself a “very stable genius” on Twitter Saturday and later at a news conference called the author of a book that questioned his mental fitness a “fraud.”
His comments came Camp David in Maryland, during a weekend retreat with top administration officials and Republican congressional leaders strategizing on the year’s legislative agenda, including matters such as infrastructure, immigration, welfare reform and national security.
Still, Trump’s explosive rebuttal to author Michael Wolff not only opened the day, but also ensured that the president’s capability for the presidency was a topic that would not go away.
In his early-morning tweets, Trump said two of his greatest assets “have been mental stability, and being, like, really smart.”
He noted that former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton “played these cards (about competence) very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. 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 book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” presents a damning portrayal of the Trump White House and has many of the president’s closest advisers questioning his intelligence, leadership and maturity even as they stroke his ego with praise and attention.
It casts Trump as a man who didn’t want to win the presidency, doesn’t understand the weight of the office and has little grasp of policy details. One aide compared it to “trying to figure out what a child wants.”
Trump and White House officials have pushed back hard on the book, which quotes senior aides variously describing the president as an “idiot,” “dumb” and a “dope.”
He turned up the heat during his news conference Saturday, saying he went to the “best colleges,” was a “very excellent student” and came out and “made billions and billions of dollars — became one of the top business people.” He said he then he went into television and for 10 years was a “tremendous success.”
Wolff, he said, “doesn’t know me at all” and did not receive the three hours of time with Trump that the author has claimed. “It’s in his imagination.” Wolff says Trump helped clear the way for the writer to hang around the West Wing for much of the president’s first year in office.
But Trump said Wolff “was never in the Oval Office” and “we didn’t have an interview.” Then he acknowledged a “quick” interview with Wolff “a long time ago.”
Trump said former top strategist Steve Bannon, who is quoted in the book as making several disparaging remarks about Trump, facilitated the access.
Even before his presidential campaign, Trump was known to be sensitive and boastful about his intelligence. In 2013, he tweeted: “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest — and you all know it! Please don’t feel stupid or insecure, it’s not your fault.”