After Donald Trump on Thursday hurled insults at MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, CNN’s Anderson Cooper read some quotes about the office of the president.
“‘The president of the United States is the most powerful person in the world. The president is the spokesman for democracy and liberty. Isn’t it time we brought back the pomp and circumstance and the sense of awe for that office that we all held?’” Cooper quoted.
“The writer went on to say, ‘That means everyone in the administration should look and act professionally, especially the president.’” Cooper read. “The writer concludes, ‘Impressions matter.’”
The book he was quoting: Trump’s 2015 campaign tome, Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again.
Cooper then warned against normalizing Trump’s attacks.
“It’s not normal,” Cooper said. ”This is the most powerful man on the face of the entire planet. A man struggling to fulfill promises he’s made on health care reform and a whole host of other issues lashing out personally at a cable news anchor, making snide comments and allegations about her appearance.”
Cooper said that adults apologize for “stupid things,” but Trump instead sends his spokespeople out to “do just the opposite.”
He was referring to Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ defense of Trump’s attacks, in which she said the president is “tough” and “fights fire with fire.”
“Donald Trump is many things, but tough is not one of them,” Cooper said, adding:
“Tough is fighting for the health care reforms that he actually campaigned on. Tough is rising above insults and actually leading, What our president does is not a display of toughness. It’s a display of weakness of character, of thinness of skin.”
Cooper also called out the people around Trump for allowing this behavior, including his wife, Melania Trump, who once vowed to make cyberbullying her central issue as first lady.
Check out his full takedown in the clip above.