A Donald Trump biographer predicted the president is going to make things worse for himself than they are now — because he doesn't know any better.
Author Michael Wolff, who spent time in the White House during Trump's first term, told The Daily Beast's "Inside Trump's Head" podcast that a number of ongoing issues were coming back into view with the end of a four-day state visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
“I think he is probably feeling good about the King’s visit,” Wolff told co-host Joanna Coles. “I wonder if he knows how badly things are going for him, and I think that ... he is beginning to get an inkling of that. So then the question is: how does he respond? What does ... he do?”
“We know he doesn’t course correct, so he doubles down,” Wolff added. “So, I think that things are about to get — if possible — even uglier.”
The Iran war continues to exasperate the president and drag down the U.S. economy, despite Trump's insistence that "we've already won," and Republicans are facing the very real prospect of losing their congressional majorities in November, Wolff said.
The elderly president's health also appears to be an issue.
"The 79-year-old has chronic venous insufficiency, the White House revealed last summer, a condition common in seniors which makes it difficult for blood to return from the lower extremities to the heart," The Daily Beast reported. "The result has been swelling in Trump’s ankles."
"The president, who doesn’t exercise often and has had trouble staying awake at meetings, is also frequently seen with bruising on his right hand, which the White House attributes to frequent handshaking and his aspirin usage," the report added. "Trump has been taking a higher-than-recommended dosage for the past 25 years, he told the Wall Street Journal, because he’s superstitious."
Trump often brings up the cognitive tests he's apparently taking, boasting that he performs well on the screens for mild cognitive impairment, which he describes as measurements of his intelligence.
“I took the Exam three times during my ('THREE!') Terms as President, and ACED IT ALL THREE TIMES — An Achievement that, even on a single Exam, according to the Doctors, has rarely been done before!" Trump posted Tuesday on his Truth Social website.
The White House issued its routine statement in response to Wolff's claims.
“Michael Wolff ... has been proven to be a fraud,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the Beast. “He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.”
