President Trump on Saturday told reporters that he was an “excellent student” who went to “the best colleges” in seeking to explain why he called himself a “stable genius” earlier in the day.
Democrats and the media have been raising questions about Trump’s mental fitness for office in the wake of revelations from a new book detailing the first year of the Trump administration.
Trump, asked why he tweeted about his mental stability this AM, responds: “Only because I went to the best colleges… I had a siutation where I was a very excellent student… Ran for president one time and won. And then I hear this guy that does not know me…” (via CBS) pic.twitter.com/zmZwyNrNNV
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 6, 2018
Trump was asked by a reporter at Camp David on Saturday why he “felt the need” to tweet the early morning message that blasted doubts about his mental health. In the tweet, Trump referred to himself as “like, very smart.”
{mosads}
“Only because I went to the best colleges, or college,” Trump responded during the press conference, where he was flanked by GOP congressional leaders.
“I had a situation where I was a very excellent student, came out, made billions and billions of dollars, became one of the top business people, went to television and for 10 years was a tremendous success, which you’ve probably heard.”
Trump reiterated that Michael Wolff, the author of the bombshell new book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which has raised fresh questions about Trump’s competency, did not have access to the White House for his reporting.
“[And then I] ran for president one time and won, and then I hear this guy that does not know me, does not know me at all. By the way, did not interview me for three hours, it didn’t exist, OK? It’s in his imagination,” Trump said.
In early morning tweets Saturday, Trump wrote that throughout his life, his “two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.”
“I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius….and a very stable genius at that!” he added.
Trump has made similar comments about his mental ability before, in an interview with CNN in 2015.
“I had an uncle went to MIT who is a top professor. Dr. John Trump. A genius,” Trump said at the time. “It’s in my blood. I’m smart. Great marks. Like really smart.”