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| Donald Trump mounts extraordinary defence of his 'mental stability' | Donald Trump mounts extraordinary defence of his 'mental stability' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| In an extraordinary and unprecedented public defence of his own mental stability, Donald Trump issued a volley of tweets that seemed guaranteed to add fuel to a growing constitutional crisis. | In an extraordinary and unprecedented public defence of his own mental stability, Donald Trump issued a volley of tweets that seemed guaranteed to add fuel to a growing constitutional crisis. |
| Suggestions in a new tell-all book that he was mentally unfit to be president were out of “the old Ronald Reagan playbook”, Trump wrote on Saturday. | Suggestions in a new tell-all book that he was mentally unfit to be president were out of “the old Ronald Reagan playbook”, Trump wrote on Saturday. |
| “Actually,” the president added, “throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.” | “Actually,” the president added, “throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.” |
| He also said he “would qualify as not smart, but genius ... and a very stable genius at that!” | He also said he “would qualify as not smart, but genius ... and a very stable genius at that!” |
| The book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, by Michael Wolff, burst into the public consciousness on Wednesday, when the Guardian reported excerpts nearly a week ahead of publication. Trump threatened to sue the former Guardian columnist. He succeeded only in prompting the publisher Henry Holt to bring the book forward. | |
| Wolff’s book presents a picture of a doomed administration lurching from crisis to crisis, steered by a childlike figure who responds to overstimulation with intense, reflexive outbursts. | Wolff’s book presents a picture of a doomed administration lurching from crisis to crisis, steered by a childlike figure who responds to overstimulation with intense, reflexive outbursts. |
| “The president may not be able to restrain himself from commenting but I can restrain myself from commenting on his comments,” Wolff told the Guardian on Saturday. | “The president may not be able to restrain himself from commenting but I can restrain myself from commenting on his comments,” Wolff told the Guardian on Saturday. |
| At a lunchtime press conference at Camp David, where he was attending a policy session with Republican leaders, the president was asked why he had tweeted. | |
| In a characteristically freewheeling answer which lasted two minutes, he said: “Only because I went to the best colleges or college. I went to – I had a situation where I was a very excellent student, came out and made billions and billions of dollars, became one of the top business people. | In a characteristically freewheeling answer which lasted two minutes, he said: “Only because I went to the best colleges or college. I went to – I had a situation where I was a very excellent student, came out and made billions and billions of dollars, became one of the top business people. |
| “Went to television and for 10 years was a tremendous success as you probably have heard. Ran for president one time and won.” | “Went to television and for 10 years was a tremendous success as you probably have heard. Ran for president one time and won.” |
| In fact, in 1999 Trump mounted a brief run for the nomination of the Reform party, a minor organisation founded by Ross Perot. He also claimed to have succeeded first time in his morning tweets. | In fact, in 1999 Trump mounted a brief run for the nomination of the Reform party, a minor organisation founded by Ross Perot. He also claimed to have succeeded first time in his morning tweets. |
| The president continued, referring to Wolff: “And then I hear this guy that does not know me – doesn’t know me at all – by the way did not interview me for three – he said he interviewed me for three hours in the White House – it didn’t exist, OK? It’s in his imagination.” | The president continued, referring to Wolff: “And then I hear this guy that does not know me – doesn’t know me at all – by the way did not interview me for three – he said he interviewed me for three hours in the White House – it didn’t exist, OK? It’s in his imagination.” |
| Trump called Wolff a “fraud” and his book a “work of fiction” and complained about US libel laws, which he has previously threatened (without follow-up) to change. | |
| Chief of Staff John Kelly told a White House pool reporter the president had tweeted to get around the filter of the media. Trump had “not at all” seemed angry on Friday night or on Saturday morning, Kelly said, adding that the president had watched the Hugh Jackman movie The Greatest Showman – about the carnival barker PT Barnum – with lawmakers and others. | |
| Before Trump’s tweets, Wolff spoke to the BBC. He said: “I think one of the interesting effects of the book so far is a very clear ‘emperor has no clothes’ effect. | Before Trump’s tweets, Wolff spoke to the BBC. He said: “I think one of the interesting effects of the book so far is a very clear ‘emperor has no clothes’ effect. |
| “The story that I have told seems to present this presidency in such a way that it says he can’t do his job. Suddenly everywhere people are going: ‘Oh my God, it’s true, he has no clothes.’ That’s the background to the perception and the understanding that will finally end … this presidency.” | “The story that I have told seems to present this presidency in such a way that it says he can’t do his job. Suddenly everywhere people are going: ‘Oh my God, it’s true, he has no clothes.’ That’s the background to the perception and the understanding that will finally end … this presidency.” |
| The 25th amendment of the US constitution provides for the removal of a president deemed unfit if a majority of the cabinet and the vice-president agree. Talk of such a path has increased with the publication of Wolff’s book, in which the then White House strategist Steve Bannon refers to vice-president Mike Pence as “our fallback guy”. Pence stood to Trump’s right at the Camp David press conference, his gaze rarely leaving the president. | The 25th amendment of the US constitution provides for the removal of a president deemed unfit if a majority of the cabinet and the vice-president agree. Talk of such a path has increased with the publication of Wolff’s book, in which the then White House strategist Steve Bannon refers to vice-president Mike Pence as “our fallback guy”. Pence stood to Trump’s right at the Camp David press conference, his gaze rarely leaving the president. |
| Bandy Lee, an assistant clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine, briefed a dozen members of Congress last month on the risks associated with Trump’s behaviour. At the end of a week that began with Trump taunting North Korea over the size of his “nuclear button”, Lee told the Guardian she and other psychiatrists felt “the danger has become imminent”. | Bandy Lee, an assistant clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine, briefed a dozen members of Congress last month on the risks associated with Trump’s behaviour. At the end of a week that began with Trump taunting North Korea over the size of his “nuclear button”, Lee told the Guardian she and other psychiatrists felt “the danger has become imminent”. |
| The White House has forcefully criticised Wolff’s book and questioned the author’s integrity. Wolff has said he stands by his work, which included more than 200 interviews and extensive access to the West Wing and key figures within it. | The White House has forcefully criticised Wolff’s book and questioned the author’s integrity. Wolff has said he stands by his work, which included more than 200 interviews and extensive access to the West Wing and key figures within it. |
| At Camp David, Trump referred to Bannon derisively as “Sloppy Steve”.. The former Trump campaign chief executive has avoided extensive comment, though in the aftermath of the Guardian story he called Trump “a great man”. The billionaire Rebekah Mercer, a key backer, has disowned him and his role at the far-right Breitbart News is believed to be in doubt. | |
| Trump’s reference to “the Ronald Reagan playbook” was a curious one. Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease, in 1994, five years after he left office. | Trump’s reference to “the Ronald Reagan playbook” was a curious one. Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease, in 1994, five years after he left office. |
| The extent to which he suffered during his time in the White House, when the cold war was still current, remains a matter of contention. Reagan, like Trump in his 70s when in office, long faced questions over his mental state. Opponents pointed to his habit of forgetting names and making contradictory statements. | The extent to which he suffered during his time in the White House, when the cold war was still current, remains a matter of contention. Reagan, like Trump in his 70s when in office, long faced questions over his mental state. Opponents pointed to his habit of forgetting names and making contradictory statements. |
| In a column for the Hollywood Reporter, Wolff wrote of Trump: “Everybody was painfully aware of the increasing pace of his repetitions. It used to be inside of 30 minutes he’d repeat, word-for-word and expression-for-expression, the same three stories – now it was within 10 minutes. Indeed, many of his tweets were the product of his repetitions – he just couldn’t stop saying something.” | In a column for the Hollywood Reporter, Wolff wrote of Trump: “Everybody was painfully aware of the increasing pace of his repetitions. It used to be inside of 30 minutes he’d repeat, word-for-word and expression-for-expression, the same three stories – now it was within 10 minutes. Indeed, many of his tweets were the product of his repetitions – he just couldn’t stop saying something.” |
| The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, has said Trump will undergo his annual physical with the White House doctor on Friday 12 January. The results are due to be made public. | The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, has said Trump will undergo his annual physical with the White House doctor on Friday 12 January. The results are due to be made public. |