Trump praises himself as a 'stable genius'

US President Donald Trump said he was "like, really smart" in a series of tweets on Saturday morning, commenting on the rumors of his mental health and intellectual capacity bolstered by the new "Fire and Fury" book on his presidency.

 

Trump also drew a parallel between himself and the popular former president Ronald Reagan, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1994, six years after leaving power. 

In a Twitter post, Trump said the "Fake News Mainstream Media" were using the same playbook by "screaming mental stability and intelligence."

"Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart," he wrote.

"I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star […] to President of the United States (on my first try)," said Trump, who followed in his father's footsteps as a real estate developer before starting a career in reality television.

"I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!" he wrote.

While Trump claims that the 2016 campaign was his "first try" at running for president, he briefly pursued the nomination for a minor Reform party in 2000 before dropping out.

Trump's tweets come a day after Michael Wolff's book "Fire and Fury," an account on the first year of the Trump presidency, went on sale. According to the book, many of Trump's closest allies described him as an "idiot," childlike, and unfit for office.

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Several months ago, US media reported that State Secretary Rex Tillerson referred to Trump as a "moron." Tillerson refused to outright deny the reports, although a State Department spokeswoman rejected the rumors as untrue.

Trump also said it never took place, although he added that if Tillerson "did that, I guess we'll have to compare IQ tests. I can tell you who's going to win."

Read more: 'Fire and Fury' says Trump too overwhelmed to consider Europe

In an unrelated 2013 tweet, Trump also described his IQ as "one of the highest."

The "Fire and Fury" author Michael Wolff also claimed that president Trump was repeating himself increasingly often, in what could be construed as a sign of mental infirmity.

"It used to be inside of 30 minutes he'd repeat, word-for-word and expression-for-expression, the same three stories — now it was within 10 minutes," Wolff said in a column published by Hollywood Reporter.

The US journalist also claimed that the 71-year-old Trump "failed to recognize a succession of old friends" in the closing days of 2017.