Obama's former campaign manager: Trump meets the 'clinical definition' of being a 'psychopath'

(Image credit: Warren Little/Getty Images)

last updated 29 August 2016

President Obama's first campaign manager didn't hold back Sunday on Meet the Press, calling Donald Trump a "psychopath."

David Plouffe is now the senior vice president of policy and strategy at Uber, but in 2008, he was part of the team that got Obama into the White House. "I mean, basically, we have a psychopath running for president," he told Chuck Todd. "I mean, he meets the clinical definition." Ticking off a list, Plouffe said Trump has a "grandiose notion of self-worth, pathological lying, lack of empathy and remorse." He softened the blow a bit by admitting, "I don't have a degree in psychology."

Plouffe also said he doesn't think Trump's campaign strategy will pay off in November. "I think the assessment was that Donald Trump would try and do some things to appeal to the middle of the electorate, to appeal to suburban college-educated women," he said. "He's not." Because of that, Plouffe is certain the "race ends today," and Hillary Clinton is "guaranteed at least 269 electoral votes. I think it's likely going to be a landslide."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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