Former CIA Director John Brennan says Trump is 'mean-spirited' and 'dishonest'

Former CIA Director John Brennan appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday to unload his candid thoughts about President Trump's leadership, as well as Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"He is mean-spirited; he is dishonest; he has shown a lack of integrity; he has continued to, I think, demean the office of the presidency," Brennan said of Trump. Brennan served as CIA director under former President Barack Obama, from March 2013 until January 2017.

Brennan has been a vocal opponent of Trump on Twitter, taking issue with his recent firing of Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI. He said that Trump's "impetuousness" and "ignorance" compelled him to speak out, even as he admitted he'd never criticized a president's character so harshly before.

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"I worked for six presidents," said Brennan. "I didn't agree with some of their policies, but all of them, all of them, were trying to do what they thought was best for the United States. That's not Mr. Trump, he is self-absorbed and he is trying to just promote his own interests."

Trump's "fawning over Putin" also struck Brennan as problematic, as he theorized that Trump had reason to fear the Russian president and speculated that Russian officials may "have something" to hold over Trump. Watch the rest of Brennan's appearance below, via MSNBC. Summer Meza