Poll of the Day > 'A Very Stable Genius': Trump responds to renewed criticism of his mental state.

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https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/06/576204103/a-very-stable-genius-trump-responds-to-renewed-criticism-of-his-mental-state

Updated at 1:07 p.m. ET

President Trump insisted Saturday that he is "a very stable genius," following the recent publication of a book that raises questions about his mental state and fitness for office.

Speaking to reporters at Camp David on Saturday, Trump called Michael Wolff, author of Fire and Fury: Inside The Trump White House, "a fraud," and reiterated his earlier claim on Twitter that he is mentally stable.

"So many of the people that I talk about in terms of fake news actually came to the defense of this great administration, and even myself, because they know the author, and they know he's a fraud," Trump told reporters, adding that he thinks the book is "a work of fiction."

In series of tweets on Saturday morning, Trump claimed that his ability to win the presidency on the first attempt shows he is mentally stable. Some partisans and political observers primarily, though not exclusively, Democrats and liberals along with some journalists have criticized Trump's psychological state, and last year, some prominent mental health professionals released armchair diagnoses of the president.

"Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart," Trump tweeted, noting: "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!"

Donald J. Trump tweeted...

....Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards 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!

Questions surrounding Trump's temperament intensified this week after excerpts from Fire and Fury detailed chaos inside the White House and portrayed an inept Trump at the helm.

Pulitzer-Prize-winning presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin tells Weekend Edition Saturday that Trump's "lack of humility" illustrates an issue with temperament.

"The ability to control impulses and emotions is a really important part of temperament of any leader, not just a president," she says. Trump knows "these tweets get him into trouble, and despite everyone saying, 'Stop,' he cannot stop."

But some on the right say Trump's tweets do not indicate he is mentally unstable.

"I think the president of the United States has shown he's very very capable, very very talented," conservative commentator Ed Martin tells Weekend Edition. "He's a smart guy and he's in his right mind and he's doing a great job from where I sit for the country."

Although professional organizations disagree with the practice, some mental health professionals have publicly questioned Trump's mental state. Reports this week also revealed that a group of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle were briefed by Yale psychiatrist Dr. Bandy X. Lee about the president's fitness for office. Lee warned members of Congress in December that Trump "is unraveling" and "losing his grip on reality."

"We feel that the rush of tweeting is an indication of his falling apart under stress," Lee told Politico. "Trump is going to get worse and will become uncontainable with the pressures of the presidency."

Lee is the editor of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, written by 27 psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals, which offers analysis of Trump's psychological state. The book, and other armchair diagnoses of the president, has faced criticism because of policies by the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association that say it is unethical to psychoanalyze public figures from afar.

"Many of our greatest politicians have had psychiatric vulnerabilities," including Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon and Abraham Lincoln, says Ken Duckworth, a psychiatrist and medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. He told NPR in December that these traits didn't necessarily make them incompetent or unfit for office.

>Trump tweets a thing

Stop the presses
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The author is a fraud which is why he had unfettered access to the white house. Riiiiiight. I feel like a stable genius would have picked up on that well before the book was coming out.
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How many comments has he made without "very" in them at least once? His overall messaging makes him come across as very limited intellectually all on its own, regardless of anything else...
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He's a genius at being stupid.
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He could've abandoned his dream and lived the rest of his life in peace.

...But then he threw himself into a metaphorical wood chipper.

WastelandCowboy posted...

President of the United States (on my first try)

Worth noting that this is untrue.
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This is a man that did not want or expect to actually win the election.
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and people worship this guy... lmao.
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Mead posted...

This is a man that did not want or expect to actually win the election.

He's a man with some serious mental problems.
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Kek this is so memes

Damn son. He's still on hillary?
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NightShift posted...

and people worship this guy... lmao.

Most of them have low IQs, are overweight/obese, and are nationalists. He basically appeals to low effort conservative donkeys.
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NeoSioType posted...

He could've abandoned his dream and lived the rest of his life in peace.

...But then he threw himself into a metaphorical wood chipper.

Obvious signs of genius.
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like, really smart

like totally OMG
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WastelandCowboy posted...

Some partisans and political observers primarily, though not exclusively, Democrats and liberals along with some journalists have criticized Trump's psychological state, and last year, some prominent mental health professionals released armchair diagnoses of the president.

It seems every new president that nonsense like that just gets worse. It's a little disturbing how they'd disparage mental health in general to drive home a cheap political ploy.

WastelandCowboy posted...

Pulitzer-Prize-winning presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin tells Weekend Edition Saturday that Trump's "lack of humility" illustrates an issue with temperament.

lol, just lol.

Doctor Foxx posted...

The author is a fraud which is why he had unfettered access to the white house

lolwut? I'm guessing that word must mean something very different in your native Russian.

TheCyborgNinja posted...

How many comments has he made without "very" in them at least once? His overall messaging makes him come across as very limited intellectually all on its own, regardless of anything else...

"Why use hamburger when you can have steak?"

Otherwise it's kind of a newspeak thing. It's a readily understood way emphasize something.

Blighboy posted...

WastelandCowboy posted...

President of the United States (on my first try)

Worth noting that this is untrue.

Debatable. He's tested the waters a few times, but iirc that was without even filing to run. This was his first real candidacy although his name has been floated for probably 30 years and he repeatedly teased a run.

Mead posted...

This is a man that did not want or expect to actually win the election.

This is a man who keeps spreading nonsense and misinformation. Trump clearly wanted to win, contrary to what John Oliver keeps telling you. As for expectation, that's always going to bounce around depending on polling.
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