David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaDemocratic Senate campaign arm outraises GOP by M in August A federal court may have declared immigration arrests unconstitutional Blunt says vote on Trump court nominee different than 2016 because White House, Senate in 'political agreement' MORE’s 2008 presidential campaign and later served as a senior adviser in his administration, on Sunday diagnosed Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE during an NBC interview as “a psychopath running for president.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The assessment prompted a startled response from Chuck Todd, the host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” who questioned Plouffe’s qualifications to make a psychiatric diagnosis of a major-party presidential nominee on television.

Plouffe defended his opinion by pointing to what he said are the hallmark symptoms of psychosis.

“Well, listen, grandiose notion of self-worth, pathological lying, lack of empathy and remorse,” he said.

He acknowledged, however, that he lacked authoritative medical credentials when Todd asked him whether he was qualified to make an off-the-cuff diagnosis.

“Right, I don’t have a degree in psychology,” he said.

Plouffe postulated an abnormal mental condition as the likely reason that Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is not running a better campaign and has not proved competitive in swing states such as Colorado and Virginia, where Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Democratic super PAC to hit Trump in battleground states over coronavirus deaths Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight MORE now appears to have an insurmountable lead.

Plouffe said he initially assumed that Colorado and Virginia would be tough states for Clinton because he expected that “Trump would try and do some things to appeal to the middle of the electorate, to appeal to suburban, college-educated women.”

Trump instead, political strategists in both parties believe, has failed to reach out meaningfully to college-educated and women voters.

His unconventional tactics have confounded GOP leaders and strategists in Washington for months.

Plouffe said that’s because Trump is “basically a psychopath running for president.”

“He meets the clinical definition,” he said.