Trump biographer says his biggest problem is worse than dementia

President Donald Trump's behavior can only be understood as the actions of a mental "child," and according to his one-time biographer, his biggest problem driving this behavior is worse and more fundamental than dementia.

Michael Wolff is a longtime author and reporter who has extensively covered Trump's political career, including several books about his chaotic first term in the White House. In the latest episode of his Daily Beast podcast, "Inside Trump's Head," he reacted to the recent news surrounding the president's efforts to take over and rename the Kennedy Center. A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that Trump's name could not, in any way, be added to the building without congressional approval.

In response, Trump lashed out on Truth Social, dubiously claiming that the center was in disrepair for years before his takeover, leading some to predict that he might have it demolished in retaliation. Wolff, for his part, said that this reaction was Trump in a nutshell.

"This is Trump... this is, 'if I don't get what I want, I take my marbles home,'" Wolff said. "The petulance here, the crybaby nature of this, this phenomenal lack of, well, maturity, of course. But this is all Richie Rich behavior. It's remarkable. And so the National Orchestra has no home. There's nowhere for people to play on a large stage in Washington. It's just incredible. The foremost art center. And also, the other thing is that it's a memorial to a slain president... So the fundamental logic of this, the logic that there is... a thriving art center that reflects well on the nation's capital, that has been named after the slain president. Nevertheless, Trump can wave it away and demand that it be remade in his own image."

He added: "I'm pretty well grounded in what's inside Trump's head, but this is even a leap for me to understand... except it is the baby thing. You can't understand it because it is like a child."

Co-host Joanna Coles concurred with that assessment and also questioned whether or not Trump is getting worse in that regard. She specifically noted the commentary from the president's own neice, Mary L. Trump, a psychologist who has frequently observed that her uncle appears to be descending into dementia, just as his father did later in life.

Wolff, conversely, suggested that the "truer explanation" for this behavior is much simpler.

"Yes, it's very possible, but I think that almost gives him an out," Wolff said. "That's an explanation, and the truer explanation is he's a f—— asshole, you know, and he doesn't care. So it's rage, it's petulance and it's 'I can do anything I want.' So that's not dementia, that's Donald Trump, okay? That's not dementia, that's Donald Trump. I don't know which is worse, actually. A president with dementia or Donald Trump doing Donald Trump."