Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed then-President Donald Trump in the days following the January 6th riot on Capitol Hill, mocking him for having a 'fat butt' and saying he's been 'crazy for a long time,' a bombshell new book revealed.
While Trump's close friend and ally, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, said the former president has 'personality problems' that will need to be dealt with if he seeks the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
Pelosi had a blunt phone call with General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the days after the insurrection to discuss the process to launch America's nuclear weapons.
She expressed her concern about Trump's fitness to make such a decision, according to Bob Woodward and Bob Costa's forthcoming book Peril, excerpts of which were published by CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post.
'What I'm saying to you is that if they couldn't even stop him from an assault on the Capitol, who even knows what else he may do? And is there anybody in charge at the White House who was doing anything but kissing his fat butt all over this?' she said, according to the book.
'This is bad, but who knows what he might do?' Pelosi said. 'He's crazy. You know he's crazy. He's been crazy for a long time. So don't say you don't know what his state of mind is.'
According to Woodward and Costa, who said they had a transcript of the conversation, Milley responded: 'Madam Speaker, I agree with you on everything.'
Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed then-President Donald Trump in the days following the January 6th riot on Capitol Hill, saying he had a 'fat butt'
Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump had an antagonistic relationship during their respective tenures running the congressional and executive branches of government
Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham golfing together in West Palm Beach, Fla., in May
Meanwhile, the book quotes Graham, who is close to Trump and still golfs with him, as having concerns about the former president.
'If he wants to run, then he's going to have to deal with his personality problems ... we've got a very damaged team captain,' Graham reportedly said, in reference to talk Trump might seek a second term in the White House.
Pelosi and Trump had an antagonistic relationship during their respective tenures running the congressional and executive branches of government. By Trump's final year in office they were not on speaking terms.
The low point came during his final State of the Union address when he ignored her extended hand and refused to shake it at the beginning of his remarks. When he finished speaking, she tore up the text of his speech.
Bob Woodward and Bob Costa's forthcoming book Peril is out Sept. 21
Pelosi said publicly in January that she called Milley to express her concern about Trump's access to the nuclear codes.
Woodward and Costa's book, out on September 21, reveals the details of that conversation.
'What precautions are available to prevent an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or from accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike?' she asked him.
Milley assured her that there were 'a lot of checks in the system.'
She'd also questioned his mental health, suggesting in May 2019 that his family hold an intervention and she challenged his physical health, calling him 'morbidly obese' in May 2020.
In response Trump called her a 'sick woman' with a lot of 'mental problems.'
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