Dan Rather questions Trump's mental state after Alabama debacle: 'Mr. President -- this is ridiculous'

Veteran newsman Dan Rather agrees President Donald Trump's continued defense of his inaccurate claims about Hurricane Dorian and Alabama raise serious questions about his mental state.

The president warned Alabama was in the storm's path in a Sunday tweet, four days after early projection models showed that possibility, and apparently doctored a weather map Wednesday with his trademark Sharpie marker.

"Each time something like this happens, we say we can't go any lower, he can't go any lower," Rather told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "But this map of Alabama and the hurricane, I mean, what can you say?"

The former CBS News anchor said the ongoing debacle was alarming.

"It does raise some questions, all kinds of questions," Rather said. "I've been reluctant to go there as to whether there's something wrong with him. Something like this, I'm almost speechless about it, but it does raise questions as to whether something is really, really wrong with him. "

Rather was also troubled that Republicans would stay silent on something as obviously wrong as the Alabama misadventure.

"I'm surprised, some days even shocked, of how few, how very, very few Republicans would stand up and say, for example, on the Alabama hurricane, 'Folks, come on -- Mr. President, this is ridiculous, stop it,'" he said. "There certainly has been a lack of courage, and we talk about being optimistic for the future. We're going to need all the courage we can muster."