Brooks: Trump ‘Has Severe Mental Flaws’ – But It’s ‘Overly Simplistic’ to Say He’s Completely Lost It

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks argued that while the president “has severe mental flaws,” it is “overly simplistic” to suggest the president has completely lost it.

Brooks said that he didn’t know what to believe in Michael Wolff’s book “Fire and Fury” and cast doubt on the quality of Wolff’s journalism.

He later stated, “Nonetheless, the general picture confirms what we already knew. And I think there is a general sense the president is unfit. They treat — they do treat him like a child.”

He then cautioned, “It’s too simplistic, though, to say it’s like the madness of King George. I certainly have talked to many people over the last several months who said, ‘Yeah, I went into a meeting. He was surprisingly well-informed, surprisingly ran a good meeting.’ I’ve certainly had that experience. And he’s running a White House that, whether you approve of the policies or not, has done this Pakistan deal –, or the change in Pakistan policy, which is defensible. They did pass a tax bill. They [are] doing this regulatory stuff, this judicial stuff. It’s not completely dysfunctional. They are getting stuff done.”

Brooks concluded, “And so I think that he has severe mental flaws. But the picture that’s coming out that he’s completely off his rocker, I think that’s overly simplistic and underestimates this [unintelligible].”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett