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'Rotted his brain': White House official melts down at MSNBC host over Trump insult

Ailia Zehra
09 May

MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell on May 8, 2025 (Image: Screengrab via MSNBC / YouTube)

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung strongly reacted to MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell for questioning President Donald Trump's mental health.

The Daily Beast reported Friday that Cheung said O’Donnell is "clearly suffering from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his brain."

O’Donnell had suggested that the president's recent comments—where he mentioned he isn't sure if it's his responsibility to defend the Constitution—"could be a sign of mental illness, or it could be a sign of early-stage dementia in a 78-year-old man."

READ MORE: 'No idea what her job was': Trump's WH press sec buried over her remarks on fired official

“In Donald Trump’s case, stupidity is the most innocent explanation for his ‘I don’t know,’” O’Donnell said on his MSNBC show Wednesday.

“But during mental health month, we have a right to consider other possibilities," the veteran anchor added.

O'Donnell went on to say that even a high school student would know to response "yes" to that question, but Trump said he didn't know.

“Every high school student in America is supposed to know the answer to that question, which is one word: ‘Yes,’” O’Donnell said. “But Donald Trump’s answer was ‘I don’t know’—which could be a sign of mental illness or could be a sign of early-stage dementia."

READ MORE: 'Civil war is coming to the Trump movement': Expert says MAGA could soon tear itself apart

In his statement to the Beast published Friday, Cheung shot back at the MSNBC host, saying: “President Trump aced his cognitive test, meanwhile Joe Biden’s handlers refused to allow him to take one out of fear of what was apparent to the entire world—his mind was severely in decline and lacked the intelligence to lead the country."

“People like Lawrence are complicit in the coverup to hide Biden’s condition, and he knows he’ll have to live the rest of his life reconciling the fact he helped deceive the American people," the White House official added.

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