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Deep in His Paranoia Trump Fears John Bolton Is Trying to Destroy His Presidency With Leaks to the Press

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“One of his most frequent tricks in terms of talking about himself on background,” Nunberg said, “is him having the reporter say [he is] someone ‘familiar with the president’s thinking.’”

President Donald Trump suspects that former national security adviser John Bolton is out to get him.

Bolton left the White House last month, and he and the president’s relationship had soured so badly they argued over whether he quit or was fired, and Trump now suspects the hawkish career bureaucrat is behind a flood of leaks against him, reported The Daily Beast.

Three people familiar with Trump’s private conversations said the president speculated that his former national security adviser was behind the anonymous accounts that listed Bolton as one of the top officials deeply disturbed by the Ukraine pressure campaign.

“[Trump] was clearly implying something to the effect of, ‘Oh, gee, I wonder who the source on that could be,’” one source said.

Bolton told the website last month that leaking allegations against him were “flatly incorrect.”

Neither Bolton nor the White House commented on the president’s suspicions, but Trump ally Matt Schlapp told The Daily Beast that he believes the leaks are coming “career folks inside who hate Trump,” although he’s not certain about the former national security adviser.

Related –
Bolton Blasted Trump’s Ukraine Extortion: ‘I Am Not Part of Whatever Drug Deal Rudy and Mulvaney Are Cooking Up’

“He’s smarter than that, although he does aggressively defend himself,” said Schlapp, whose wife Mercedes Schlapp stepped down as White House director of strategic communications in July and now works for the Trump re-election campaign.

Trump has long been paranoid of leaks, but his dark suspicions have deepened since the whistleblower complaint was revealed last month, setting in motion an impeachment process.

The president has resisted calls to set up an outside team to fight impeachment, in part because he has struggled to find lawyers to help and also because he doesn’t trust anyone else to put out his message besides himself, and apparently his personal attorney — and possible co-conspirator — Rudy Giuliani.

That approach has made his Republican allies nervous.

“There is a certain level of frustration that all the sudden the president says something, then Rudy does, and it is not always consistent,” said veteran GOP consultant John Brabender. “There is a frustration that not everybody knows what they should be doing. It is not that they can’t defend the president, it is a frustration that they don’t know exactly how they are supposed to defend the president.

Trump has viewed the impeachment inquiry as part of an ongoing conspiracy to undermine his presidency, according to those who know him, and his response so far has been driven by paranoia.

But his allies worry that approach renders him incapable of accepting advice and focusing on other parts of his job.

“In my experience, what he despises is somebody writing that Donald Trump feels under siege and his emotions are this and his thinking is this,” said former campaign aide Sam Nunberg. “He hates people saying what he is thinking.”

Trump leaks on himself to counter those outside leaks, Nunberg said.

“One of his most frequent tricks in terms of talking about himself on background,” Nunberg said, “is him having the reporter say [he is] someone ‘familiar with the president’s thinking.’”

Nunberg said he hasn’t seen any recent reports that suggest Trump is cold-calling reporters to speak on background, but the president is relying on the media to fight impeachment.

“He’s apparently so anxious about GOP support in the Senate, he’s taken to sending WSJ columns against the House inquiry,” said a Senate source, referring to a White House email sent to every senatorpushing a column by the Wall Street Journal‘s Kimberly Strassel.

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'VERY STABLE GENIUS'

‘Dumbest Man on the Planet’: Trump Hilariously Mocked for Saying ‘If We Didn’t Do Any Testing We Would Have Very Few Cases’

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May 14, 2020

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President Donald Trump’s remarks at an Allentown medical supply facility are being pointed to as proof he not only opposes testing for coronavirus but doesn’t understand why Americans need to be tested.

And he’s getting royally rousted for them.

On Thursday Trump visited an Owens & Minor distribution plant, telling employees in a speech that testing is overrated.

“It could be that testing’s frankly,” he said, taking a long pause, “ah, overrated?”

He also suggested it would be better to not test.

“When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing we would have very few cases.”

Upon learning of the President’s remarks, many mocked him for what sounded like a suggestion the would be less people infected with coronavirus if there were less testing.

 

 

 

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‘Ultimate Hypocrisy: Morning Joe Panel Rains Holy Hell on Trump’s ‘Unpatriotic’ Behavior During National Anthem (Video)

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February 4, 2020

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MSNBC’s Al Sharpton led an panel that decimated President Donald Trump’s “unpatriotic” behavior during the Sunday Super Bowl performance of the national anthem (video below).

“Kaepernick did not mock the national anthem,” Sharpton noted, saying Trump’s fidgeting and waving his arms in the air as if it was playing just for him to conduct, was “a mockery.”

“I think it was unpatriotic for the President of the United States to act like this was some composition that he could exploit,” Sharpton told the “Morning Joe” panel Tuesday morning, adding that it “shows the ultimate hypocrisy.”

“It’s disgraceful,” Mika Brzezinski added. “Any Republican Senators who need any more evidence about this president needs to look at this video.”

“Unfit,” Joe Scarborough added.

Trump indeed was caught on camera during a Mar-a-Lago Super Bowl party, which cost taxpayers $3.4 million. The national anthem video was posted to the Instagram account of a real estate agent for a Russian-American firm. That agent is reportedly known to regularly spend time at Mar-a-Lago and other Trump properties, as the Miami Herald reported.

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House Republicans Have a Plan to Defend Trump During Impeachment Hearings – It’s All About His ‘State of Mind’

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November 12, 2019

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Rather than act as impartial investigators, dedicated to ascertaining the facts of the President’s actions, and whether or not those actions were legal, or are impeachable, House Republicans will stick to a plan that focuses on his “state of mind” and other intangible arguments.

“Confronted with a mountain of damaging facts heading into tomorrow’s opening of the public phase of impeachment, House Republicans plan to argue that ‘the President’s state of mind’ was exculpatory,” Axios reports, noting it has obtained an 18-page GOP memo that was sent out to House Intelligence Committee members Monday night.

“To appropriately understand the events in question — and most importantly, assess the President’s state of mind during his interaction with [Ukrainian] President Zelensky — context is necessary,” the memo reads. “The evidence gathered does not establish an impeachable offense,” it insists, wrongly.

Also wrong, or immaterial, are these four critical points the memo directs Republicans to make during the hearings.

“The July 25 call summary — the best evidence of the conversation — shows no conditionality or evidence of pressure.” (False.)

“President Zelensky and President Trump have both said there was no pressure on the call.” (True, but immaterial.)

“The Ukrainian government was not aware of a hold on U.S. security assistance at the time of the July 25 call.” (False.)

“President Trump met with President Zelensky and U.S. security assistance flowed to Ukraine in September 2019 — both of which occurred without Ukraine investigating President Trump’s political rivals.” (Immaterial. Doesn’t matter. Attempts to commit crimes are still crimes.)

You can read the full memo here.

The impeachment inquiry hearings with live, televised witness testimony, begin Wednesday.

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