President Donald Trump’s phone calls with foreign leaders sounded like his combative, meandering coronavirus press briefings — free of facts but packed with conspiracy theories, fantasies and gut hunches derived from social media rumors and the perspectives of Fox News personalities, according to a new report from CNN’s Carl Bernstein.
In tones reminiscent of his contentious coronavirus conference calls with U.S. governors, Trump regularly boasted vaingloriously and flattered strongman adversaries while at the same time bullying top allies, most specifically women whom Trump often insulted directly in calls that officials described as “near-sadistic,” Bernstein reported.
Bernstein, who drew from four continuous months of interviews with a number of former top White House and intelligence officials, reported that top Cabinet advisers thought Trump’s calls were “delusional” and posed a threat to national security. Continue reading.