February 15, 2020
NOT THE ONION:
The authors of 'A Very Stable Genius' discuss Trump's rage, ignorance, and the unprecedented dysfunction of his White House (Anthony L. Fisher, 2/15/20, Business Insider)
Insider: "A Very Stable Genius" has an episode where Trump meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the president tells him, "It's not like you've got China on your border." You wrote that a number of top White House officials were aghast at Trump's ignorance. Why was this particular instance such an issue for them?Leonnig: We did interviews with more than 200 former and current senior level officials, advisers, friends, and aides to the president. The reason they shared these stories is they feel that the president rejects facts and information. It's like he can't be bothered with it. And his rejection of a briefing before he went to meet with Prime Minister Modi had terrible consequences.Modi went from being a person who was trying to have a real serious negotiation with Trump about partnership, about how to protect himself from China and Russia and Pakistan. And as a result of the president not knowing that India shares a very significant border with China, Modi began to withdraw a little and, as told to us by aides, viewed Trump as just not serious enough to make a deal with.
Posted by Orrin Judd at February 15, 2020 8:09 AM