Trump also took a swipe at James R. Clapper Jr., a former director of national intelligence and retired Air Force lieutenant general who questioned Trump's fitness after watching his Tuesday night rally in Phoenix, which Clapper called “downright scary and disturbing.”

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“I really question his ability to be — his fitness to be — in this office,” Clapper said on CNN, where he is a contributor.

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On Thursday morning, Trump tweeted, “James R. Clapper Jr., who famously got caught lying to Congress, is now an authority on Donald Trump. Will he show you his beautiful letter to me?”

It was not immediately clear what Trump was referring to when he referenced a “beautiful letter.”

Trump's tweets came after The Washington Post and other news organizations wrote about the different presidential personas on display this week.

In a Monday night address at Fort Myer in Virginia, Trump spoke with solemnity about his new strategy for the ongoing war in Afghanistan, including his decision to increase U.S. troop levels there.

Then on Tuesday night in Phoenix, Trump used divisive language at a raucous rally, attacking the news media, Democrats, Arizona's two Republican U.S. senators, people who are in the country illegally, and people in favor of removing Confederate monuments.