A GOP strategist lambasted President Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE on Thursday, saying that members of the president's team couldn't be less professional if they were monkeys "hurling their excrement at each other."

In an interview on MSNBC's "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell," Steve Schmidt accused Trump's closest aides of "vile" behavior, referencing the "chaos and incompetence" detailed in Michael Wolff's newly published book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House."

"We see in this book the chaos, the incompetence, the recklessness, the unpreparedness for duties and responsibilities around the most powerful person in the world of this entire menagerie," Schmidt said. "Truly, when you look at their comportment in this majestic place, the West Wing of the White House, they couldn't be more vile than if they were monkeys hurling their excrement at each other in a cage."

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Schmidt is a top critic of the Trump administration on the right, and has frequently attacked the president's top aides in the past. The MSNBC contributor formerly served as Sen. John McCain John Sidney McCainThe electoral reality that the media ignores Kelly's lead widens to 10 points in Arizona Senate race: poll COVID response shows a way forward on private gun sale checks MORE's (R-Ariz.) campaign manager during his unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid.

In December, Schmidt accused Trump and Republicans of passing the GOP plan to reform the tax code based on a "foundation of lies," arguing that no true conservative could vote for the bill. No GOP senators voted against legislation, and only a few Republican defections occurred in the House.

“This tax bill demonstrates, once again, the total collapse of all and any rigor around the policymaking process in the GOP Congress,” Schmidt said last month. “It is built on a foundation of lies. It adds more than a trillion to the debt. No real conservative should vote for this.”

Schmidt also accused the president of assaulting "the dignity and the majesty" of his office last month with his attack on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten GillibrandSuburban moms are going to decide the 2020 election Jon Stewart urges Congress to help veterans exposed to burn pits The Hill's Campaign Report: 19 years since 9/11 | Dem rival to Marjorie Taylor Greene drops out | Collin Peterson faces fight of his career | Court delivers blow to ex-felon voting rights in Florida MORE (D-N.Y.), when he tweeted the senator "would do anything" for campaign donations.

“It bears mentioning just for a moment how abnormal this is,” Schmidt said in December. “The assault, the constant assault on the dignity and the majesty of the office of the president of the United States.”