On Monday’s edition of New Day, co-host Alisyn Camerota had Tony Schwartz, co-author of President Trump’s The Art of the Deal, on as a guest to discuss the upcoming summit between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. During the interview, Schwartz performed his now exhausted routine of calling the president “mentally ill.”
Schwartz blasted:
What happens is he’s under a severe amount of stress. So I believe, and David Axelrod said this last night, Paul Krugman said this over the weekend. I have long believed and have said that he is, I'm going to say it very bluntly. He's mentally ill. This is a man -- and I understand I'm not a psychiatrist. But he's prima facie mentally ill. He has a personality disorder. That means on its face this is a man who is unstable, who doesn't think clearly and has narrowed his frame – let me just say this, has narrowed his frame by pushing out anybody who will disagree with him. And therefore he is listening only to himself, and he believes, megalomaniacaly that he is always right.
To give credit to Alisyn Camerota, she pushed back initially saying “The people who are with him every day say they don’t see signs of that.”
While she offered Schwartz an opportunity to walk that comment back, he doubled down with snarky tone saying “Alisyn, I love you. But that's nonsense.” He continued:
They say it publicly. But privately, and I have heard it privately, they all are terrified by his in stability. Virtually everybody, including, I suspect, the man who you just had on, the senator, the Republican senator Cassidy. All of these people understand after this much time, what did Kelly, John Kelly say over the weekend? He said it's a nightmare to work in this white house.
There is no evidence that President Trump has any mental issues. As The Hill reported this past January the president’s physician, Navy Rear Adm. Dr. Ronny Jackson, said that “There’s no indication whatsoever that he has any cognitive issues,” and “I’ve found no reason whatsoever to think the president has any issues whatsoever with his thought processes.”
Camerota decided for whatever reason to cease pushing pack on such incendiary and baseless comments but instead moved on to a question for the other guest on this segment. It is difficult to imagine that she wouldn’t have aggressively pushed back if a conservative guest had come on the program and made statements comparable to these about president Obama or any Democrat in office.
This isn’t the first time Schwartz has made these wild claims about Trump. On July 18, 2016 he appeared on ABC and said “You know it's a terrifying thing. I haven't slept a night through since Donald Trump announced for President because I believe he is so insecure, so easily provoked and not, not particularly nearly as smart as people might imagine.” Last August he tweeted that Trump is “prima facie mentally ill” a line that he repeated in today’s interview.
While it is no surprise that Schwartz is still saying these things, Camerota should have pushed harder against these false claims and should have considered not inviting him on in the first place given his past performances.
Below is a transcript of the June 1st segment.
New Day
6/11/18
7:46:37 – 7:49:18
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Tony, you are able to get into his head because of all the time you spent co-writing his book The Art of the Deal. Here’s what you tweeted out. “Trump’s G-7 pique is all about his fragile ego. He’s a bully, seeking to cover over his vast insecurity. He’ll serve his interests, not ours, with Kim Jong-un.” What does that mean? What are his interests with Kim Jong Un.
TONY SCHWARTZ: His interest is almost entirely about how he is seen or how he thinks he's seen. And therefore his perspective is a very -- it's wearing blinders. And all he cares about right now particularly in light of what happened at the G-7 is that he can restore in his own mind his sense of self. And what's so fragile in Trump is his sense of self. And he has almost no ability to tolerate criticism. As you saw when Trudeau criticized him. And that's a very scary thing. Because in -- right now, as he walks into this meeting, his concern is rehabilitating his image, even if it’s at our expense.
CAMEROTA: But what does it mean at our expense? It means a photo-op is good enough? That's all he will get out of it? Or he needs denuclearization? What happens in here with his ego as you know it?
SCHWARTZ: What happens is he’s under a severe amount of stress. So I believe, and David Axelrod said this last night, Paul Krugman said this over the weekend. I have long believed and have said that he is, I'm going to say it very bluntly. He's mentally ill. This is a man -- and I understand I'm not a psychiatrist. But he's prima facie mentally ill. He has a personality disorder. That means on its face this is a man who is unstable, who doesn't think clearly and has narrowed his frame – let me just say this, has narrowed his frame by pushing out anybody who will disagree with him. And therefore he is listening only to himself, and he believes, megalomaniacaly that he is always right.
CAMEROTA: Look, all sorts of people who spend time with him say that that’s not true and that he’s operating on – all of his faculties are intact. I just have to say this. The people who are with him every day say they don’t see signs of that.
SCHWARTZ: Alisyn, I love you. But that's nonsense.
CAMEROTA: No, people say that.
SCWARTZ: They say it publicly. But privately, and I have heard it privately, they all are terrified by his in stability. Virtually everybody, including, I suspect, the man who you just had on, the senator, the Republican senator Cassidy. All of these people understand after this much time, what did Kelly, John Kelly say over the weekend? He said it's a nightmare to work in this white house.
