News

Actions

Former national intelligence director questions Trump’s fitness for office

Posted at 11:58 AM, Aug 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-23 11:58:25-04

James Clapper, former director of National Intelligence, said Wednesday morning he questioned President Donald Trump’s fitness for office.

“I really question his ability to be — his fitness to be — in this office, and I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for it,” Clapper told CNN’s Don Lemon on “CNN Tonight.”

Hours after Trump delivered a defiant speech in Phoenix, Arizona, Clapper said he found the President’s rally “downright scary and disturbing.”

Clapper denounced Trump’s “behavior and divisiveness and complete intellectual, moral and ethical void.”

“How much longer does the country have to, to borrow a phrase, endure this nightmare?”

“He should have quit while he was ahead after last night,” Clapper referring to Trump’s announcement on US strategy in Afghanistan. “Again, I think the real Trump came through.”

Clapper also said he is worried about the President’s access to the nuclear codes.

“In a fit of pique he decides to do something about Kim Jong Un, there’s actually very little to stop him,” Clapper said. “The whole system is built to ensure rapid response if necessary. So there’s very little in the way of controls over exercising a nuclear option, which is pretty damn scary.”