Donald Trump has called himself “a stable genius” and “like, really smart” after a new book raised questions about his mental fitness to be president.
Trump sent a series of tweets in which he said his enemies were “taking out the Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence”.
This is in response to the Michael Wolff’s new, explosive book Fire And Fury, which claims Trump’s staff view him as a child who needs “instant gratification”.
The president said mental stability and being “really smart” were “my two greatest assets”.
The leader of the free world then boasted about being a “successful businessman” and “top TV star”.
And said his successful presidential run “would qualify as not smart, but genius and a very stable genius at that!”
The tweets follow a war of words over the book, whose author Trump branded a “total loser” on Friday.
In defending his book against claims of inaccuracy, Wolff has said the president’s staff believe his “mental powers were slipping”.
He also suggested the book could help end Trump’s presidency.
Speaking on Radio 4′s Today programme this morning, Wolff said: “One of the interesting effects of the book has been a ‘Emperor has no clothes’ effect.
“The story I have told seems to present this presidency in such a way that it says he can’t do this job. The Emperor has no clothes.
“People are going ’oh my god, it’s true. He has no clothes’. That’s the background and perception that will finally end this presidency.”
Walter Shaub, who resigned as head of The Office Of Government Ethics in July, said Trump’s tweets were more concerning than any claim in the book.
Shaub also said Trump’s earlier late-night tweets attacking his former aide Steve Bannon did not suggest Trump was particularly “stable”.
BBC correspondent Jon Sopel, who had an infamous run-in with Trump at a press conference last year, spoke for many.
Trump’s attempt to tweet like he was doing a stand-up set left people perplexed.
Others felt the need to say you are a “stable genius” did not suggest you were one.