A new book about Donald Trump claims that the president is “dangerously uninformed”, according to excerpts published by The Washington Post. “A Very Stable Genius” penned by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, details among other things how the president allegedly told his the-then Chief of Staff John Kelly: “Hey, John, what’s this all about? What’s this a tour of” during a visit to the USS Arizona memorial dedicated to the victims of the Pearl Harbor attack that resulted in the US entering WWII.
The White House has not responded to a request for comment.
The authors claim: "Trump had heard the phrase 'Pearl Harbor' and appeared to understand that he was visiting the scene of a historic battle, but he did not seem to know much else”.
In another excerpt, Leonnig and Rucker claim that Trump dismissed China’s threat to India reportedly telling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi: "It’s not like you have China on your border". The authors also claim that Modi’s eyes purportedly bulged out after he heard the alleged statement with one Trump aide saying that the Indian PM left the meeting thinking: "This is not a serious man. I cannot count on this man as a partner. The Indians took a step back in their diplomatic relations with the United States".
Another presidential aide revealed to the authors that Trump has "ruined" the magic that surrounds the presidency by showing disdain for the United States and its founding principles. "The disregard he has for right and wrong. Your fist clenches. Your teeth grate", the aide said.
"A Very Stable Genius" named after Trump’s description of himself in a twitter post in 2018, also details how the US president reportedly wanted to meet Vladimir Putin and how the 73-year-old allegedly declared himself a Russia expert following a two-hour meeting with the Russian president.
"Tillerson’s years of negotiating with Putin and studying his moves on the chessboard were suddenly irrelevant", the authors wrote. "I have had a two-hour meeting with Putin. That’s all I need to know. I’ve sized it all up. I’ve got it", Trump reportedly told Tillerson.
The 417-page book also details how the president was allegedly frustrated with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a 1977 law that prevents US companies and citizens from bribing foreign officials in order to get business deals and reportedly wanted to get rid of the legislation.
"A Very Stable Genius" will be released on 21 January. This is not the first book on President Trump and his presidency. The most notable was "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” by US journalist Michael Wolff. In the book Wolff wrote among other things about alleged Russian interference in US elections and money laundering involving the president’s son-in-law. The White House released a statement saying the book is filled with false statements. President Trump chastised Wolff’s work calling it "a complete work of fiction".
Donald Trump also rejected claims detailed in the book that he was mentally unfit to run the country. Taking to Twitter, 45 called himself "a very stable genius" and said his mental stability was one of his greatest assets. His declaration was ridiculed both online and offline.