Senior Trump figures called president ‘unhinged’ and like ‘a fifth-grader’, explosive new book claims

Donald Trump’s most senior aides and appointees privately said he was “unhinged”, an “idiot” and has the intellectual capacity of a “fifth-grader”, according to an explosive new book. 

The US president’s senior aides are also quoted expressing fears that he could come across as “goddamn dumbbell” and has gone “off the rails" 

His top economic adviser reportedly even “stole” letters from his desk to stop the president making dramatic changes in America’s trade policy. 

The explosive claims come from a new book by Bob Woodward, the reporter who helped bring down Richard Nixon as president by exposing the Watergate scandal. 

Copies of the 448-page book, which was based on hundreds of hours of interviews and is titled ‘Fear: Trump in the White House', were obtained by The Washington Post and CNN. 

Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, said: "This book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the president look bad."

The exerts paint a damning portrait of a president prone to rages whose struggles to understand national security issues have left aides despairing. 

Unhinged and off the rails

Some of the most senior figures in Mr Trump’s administration are quoted in the book disparaging the president’s intellectual abilities. 

John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, is said to have told a small group meeting: “He’s an idiot. It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything. 

“He’s gone off the rails. We’re in Crazytown. I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I’ve ever had.”

James Mattis, the US defence secretary, is said to have been exasperated after trying to explain the importance of America’s military presence of the Korean Peninsula, which allows a North Korean missile launch to be detected in seven seconds. 

Mr Mattis reportedly told Mr Trump: “We’re doing this in order to prevent World War III.” But privately he allegedly commented that Mr Trump acted like and had the understanding of “a fifth- or sixth-grader”.

Mr Kelly issued a statement saying: "The idea I ever called the President an idiot is not true." He also repeated a previous comment criticising the "pathetic" attempt to "smear" those close to the president. 

Removing letters from Trump's desk

Gary Cohn, Mr Trump’s most senior economic adviser before his departure earlier this year, reportedly went to remarkable lengths to curb the president’s instincts. 

Mr Cohn allegedly was “appalled” by a draft letter formalising America’s withdrawal from a trade agreement with South Korea and so “stole it” from Mr Trump’s desk. 

Mr Cohn is quoted as telling an associate: “I wouldn't let him see it. He's never going to see that document. Got to protect the country."

The former adviser pulled a similar move over Mr Trump’s plans to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA], the book claims. 

Mr Cohn supposedly told Rob Porter, the former White House staff secretary who drafted a letter bringing about the policy change: “I can stop this. I’ll just take the paper off his desk.”

Avoiding a Russia interview

The lengths to which one of Mr Trump’s top lawyers, John Dowd, went to stop the president testifying to the Russian election meddling investigation is also revealed in the book. 

Mr Dowd, who has now left the White House, reportedly carried out a practice interview with Mr Trump in which he stumbled, contradicted himself and lied – triggering a 30-minute rant from the president. 

Mr Dowd later appeared to question Mr Trump’s intellect as he allegedly attempted to convince Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the Russia probe, not to interview the president. 

Mr Dowd is quoted as saying: “I’m not going to sit there and let him look like an idiot. And you publish that transcript, because everything leaks in Washington, and the guys overseas are going to say, ‘I told you he was an idiot. I told you he was a goddamn dumbbell. What are we dealing with this idiot for?’”

Eventually Mr Dowd is said to have told Mr Trump: “Don’t testify. It’s either that or an orange jumpsuit.”  The president reportedly pushed back, saying he would be a “real good witness”. Soon afterwards Mr Dowd quit. 

Insulting colleagues

Mr Trump has lashed out at senior figures in his own administration, according to the book, which claims that the president has insulted a whole string of his own appointees. 

The president is quoted saying of Jeff Sessions, the US attorney general who he has fallen out with over the Russia investigation: "This guy is mentally retarded. He's this dumb southerner.”

Mr Trump reportedly once said to Wilbur Ross, the 80-year-old commerce secretary: “I don’t trust you. I don’t want you doing any more negotiations. … You’re past your prime.”

He is also said to have described Reince Priebus, his first chief of staff, as being “like a little rat” who “just scurries around”.

The president also reportedly mocked HR McMaster, his former national security adviser, for wearing cheap suits that make him look “like a beer salesman”. 

Assassinate Assad

Mr Trump’s erratic instincts and lack of curiosity about national security issues have alarmed senior foreign policy advisers, according to Mr Woodward’s book. 

The president reportedly told Mr Mattis to assassinate Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator, in April 2017 after he used chemical weapons. 

Mr Trump is quoted as saying: “Let’s f****** kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the f****** lot of them.” Mr Mattis reportedly told a senior aide after the call: “We’re not going to do any of that.”

The president’s inner circle is said to call Mr Trump’s lack of understanding about the importance of allies and diplomacy “The Big Problem”. 

One meeting aimed at changing that went badly. Mr Trump reportedly ranted at his Afghanistan generals, saying: "You should be killing guys. You don't need a strategy to kill people."

White House infighting

The rivalry and scheming inside the White House is also laid bare in the book.  Mr Priebus is quoted as saying: "When you put a snake and a rat and a falcon and a rabbit and a shark and a seal in a zoo without walls, things start getting nasty and bloody."

Steve Bannon, Mr Trump’s former chief strategist, is quoted arguing with Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and White House adviser, about the access she enjoys. 

Mr Bannon is said to have once shouted: “You're nothing but a f****** staffer! You walk around this place and act like you're in charge, and you're not. You're on staff!"

Ms Trump reportedly replied: "I'm not a staffer! I'll never be a staffer. I'm the first daughter and I'm never going to be a staffer!"

Staff concerns about the president’s tweeting are also revealed. Mr Trump reportedly asks for print outs of his tweets to check which have been shared the most. 

Mr Priebus is said to have called the presidential bedroom "the devil's workshop" and the early morning hours and Sunday night "the witching hour”, because at those times Mr Trump often tweets.