Photo : Pool ( Getty Images )

“Unstable,” “inept,” “inexperienced” and “unethical” are all words that many of us have used in reference to our current sitting president before. They are all considered accurate statements about him, and it is not unusual to hear them bandied about in conversations about him. It is, however, still affirming when we hear those words used by someone who has held a high position in our national government—say, for instance, a former CIA director.


John Brennan—who served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency from March 2013 until January 2017—made an appearance on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House on Friday, during which he expressed concerns about Donald Trump’s ability to effectively deal with the threat that Russia poses to the United States.

Brennan, who held senior security positions under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, previously expressed concerns about Trump’s understanding of the Russian threat just five days before his inauguration.


Deadline’s Nicolle Wallace asked Brennan what keeps him up at night or wakes him up with a start in the middle of the night, and he said, “It is no secret to anybody that Donald Trump was ill-prepared and inexperienced in terms of dealing with matters that a head of state needs to deal with.

“I think this is now coming to roost, and I am really worried, particularly the reports of the last couple of days; I think he must be feeling the pressure,” Brennan continued. “There’s a part of me … I had been very angry at Donald Trump for the things he said and the things he did. I am now moving into the realm of deep worry and concern; our country needs strong leadership now.”

Brennan said that our country “needs confidence” that we will be able to deal with both Russia and North Korea, but “if we have somebody in the Oval Office who is unstable, inept, inexperienced and also unethical, we really have rough waters ahead.”

Brennan was not at all optimistic about how things will go in the United States as long as Trump is president: “I do think it’s unfortunately going to get a bit more painful, a bit worse, before it gets better.


“I do hope we are going to be able to get through this very, very difficult chapter in our history without incurring damage that could be long-lasting,” he added.

As an example of Trump’s ineptitude, Brennan cited an instance Thursday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed his nuclear capabilities, and Trump, instead of addressing that situation, tweeted about actor Alec Baldwin.


“Where is your sense of priorities?” Brennan asked. He continued:

I’m hoping that those in Congress as well as the 30 percent of Americans out there who still believe in what Mr. Trump is saying will look past that and say, “Are we willing doing what we need to do as a country to protect ourselves, and ensuring that our children and grandchildren are going to remain safe, secure and prosperous in the future?” I have my serious, serious doubts, and the longer this goes on, the worse it’s going to get.


I couldn’t have said it better myself.