Jan 3, 2018

CNN attacks Trump’s mental stability, fitness for office

Photo: YouTube / Getty Images

After Trump's Twitter tantrums yesterday — calling for the jailing of a political opponent and bragging his nuclear button is bigger than North Korea's — CNN used its powerful platforms and people to suggest the president is mentally unstable.

The big picture: 2018 is off with a familiar bang, with the president trashing the media, and the media trashing him.

Jake Tapper started his 4 p.m. show, "The Lead": "President Trump is kicking off 2018 by going on Twitter, blasting Democrats, calling for a political opponent to be thrown in jail, demanding a potential witness be investigated, and praising himself. So, no New Year's pivot, apparently."
Brian Stelter opened his late-night media newsletter, Reliable Sources (which had the subject line "Trump's fitness"): "There's a word for this. Madness."
Stelter on "Anderson Cooper 360": "What would we say if the leader of Germany or China or Brazil posted tweets like Trump's? How would we cover it? We'd say: That person is not well. We'd wonder whether that person is fit to hold office."
And a banner on a special 10 p.m. Tapper edition asked: "ARE WE CLOSER TO NUCLEAR WAR THAN EVER?"
Tapper: "None of this [is] normal, none of this [is] acceptable, none of this [is] frankly stable behavior."

Why it matters: Trump has been known to watch CNN at that hour, and Stelter ended his item: "Was Trump watching?"

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Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 1,365,004— Total deaths: 76,507 — Total recoveries: 292,467 — Map.
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States update: New York death toll surged to its highest one-day total as state predicts a plateau in hospitalizations.
2020 update: Wisconsin Supreme Court blocks the governor's attempt to delay in-person primary voting until June.
What should I do? Pets, moving and personal health. Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
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